LP Attends a Broadcast in Hollywood…

LP Attends a Broadcast in Hollywood Or: Why Sleep When You Could Be at the Live with Kelly and Michael After Oscar Show?

My wife likes the morning entertainment programs on ABC TV. She watches The View and The Chew, and starts the day with Live With Regis and Kathie Lee and Kelly and Michael and Sleepy and Grumpy and Dopey. (That’s the Snow White and the Seven Co-hosts edition.) When she heard that free tickets were being offered for Kelly and Michael’s After Oscar Show in Hollywood, she acted swiftly, and the next thing we knew we had received an official invitation to attend.

There’s an old adage: Be careful what you wish for. The excitement of attending the live broadcast of what promised to be a star-studded show was tempered by the instructions that followed. Live really is live-- on the East Coast. To make that happen, the program would begin at 6am in Hollywood. Invited guests were admonished that buses would be leaving the designated parking lot at the Hollywood Bowl at 3am. The recommended arrival time was 1:30 am to ensure parking, pickup, and delivery.

Thus we found ourselves, after two hour’s sleep, arriving in downtown Hollywood (well, almost downtown) shortly after 2:00 am. Fortunately the check-in process was a breeze, thanks to the staggering number of cheerful staffers toting clipboards and wearing headsets. Even the buses were clearly marked. (Although you’d be hard pressed to board the wrong bus at the Hollywood Bowl at two o’clock in the morning.)

Wristbands were issued, with the strict injunction that they not be removed or altered. At the time, the colors meant nothing; although later they would be very important, indeed!

Scheduled departure was 3:00 am, and so it was that we departed, like clockwork, shortly before 4:00am. It was a very short trip to the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theater, and our own special entrance back among the service areas of the Hollywood and Highland Center. As locals, we knew our way around and were not in the least surprised to come around the corner to find the entrance just ahead.

These are the same doors that just 12 hours earlier had been open wide for Hollywood’s elite on the biggest, dressiest, and most potentially awkward night of the year.

The scene on this morning was, perhaps, not quite as glamorous as the evening before. True, audience members had been admonished to dress as they would for a fancy dinner party, with an emphasis on solid, bright colors. This was augmented with a lot of what Californians consider the absolute minimum necessary for possibly rainy weather.

Once inside, there was plenty of time to explore the Dolby, except for the fact that we had been instructed to stay in lines that were carefully routed around cavernous lobby. I did manage to take a trip to the men’s room, and just happened to take a few additional photos.

Here’s the lobby bar—all the liquor and celebrities had already been packed up and taken away, however.

In the lower level the famous VIP Dolby Lounge (through the glass doors on the right) was locked up tight.

Audience members ringed the upper levels of the lobby, patiently awaiting the signal to enter.

We had been told that there would be seating and audience “warm-up” by 5:00 am sharp. So it was that at 5:30 the doors opened. Just in case anyone was still unsure of what was about to happen, signs were helpfully posted for all to see as we entered the auditorium.

Once inside, the early hours and long wait were worth it. The entire theater was still set up exactly as it had been for the previous evening’s Oscar telecast, which had gone out live to an estimated audience of three billion.

Above and behind us balconies stretched up to dizzying heights. Somewhere up there a single golden Oscar statue was suspended in space.

Monitors tucked discreetly around he room showed Kelly and Michael, backstage scarfing down In ‘n Out hamburgers. (I later learned these had been sent over by the crew at Good Morning America.)

The Live crewmembers, for their part, were even a bit star-struck, and were taking advantage of any down time to take photos of each other in Oscar’s hallowed sanctuary. We learned at this time that while cameras and video recording devices were strictly prohibited, there was no prohibition on cell phones. I guess with a live broadcast there’s no sense worrying about spoilers.

On stage there was an almost constant shuffle of giant Oscar statues, which became more frantic as airtime approached.

Just as the people around me began wondering if we were to receive our warm up, and if it would be delivered by Live producer Gellman, Gellman himself took the stage. There was a thunderous round of applause for the familiar figure.

Following some quick instructions about how “lively” the crowd was expected to be (very lively) Kelly and Michael came out to greet everyone, and pose for an obligatory “selfie” with the Dolby audience.

This seemed like a good time to take a selfie for, er, myself. Without a staffer to do the honors, the effect was not quite the same.

At precisely 6:00 am (9:00 am in the east) the program’s taped opening began, followed by Cirque du Soleil live on stage. For whatever reason, the After Oscar broadcast began with a performance of a number from Amaluna, the new show that was about to open in New York City.

Per Gellman’s instruction, the Cirque performers were greeted with rapturous applause, followed by Kelly and Michael’s entrance. After the madness that had preceded the program open, the pair warmly greeted the crowd and set up a lengthy taped segment featuring Michael on the red carpet.

Here’s how the same scene looked to the home viewer:

It was interesting to note that during the entire hour-long broadcast, Kelly and Michael stayed on stage, often bantering with the audience during commercial breaks and even watching the taped segment from the side of the stage.

The first commercial break saw a flurry of activity as the interview chairs were put into place for first guest Lupita Nyong’o, the winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

During the interview, Lupita cradled her “golden man” and thanked the hosts of Live for their early support for 12 Years a Slave. When Michael wistfully suggested that he had never had the opportunity to hold an actual Oscar, Lupita agreed to let him take possession for three seconds.

Here’s how the home viewers saw it:

Following the interview, and during the break, Kelly and Michael posed for a formal photo with Lupita Nyong’o and her “golden man.”

Here’s that photo:

The other guest segment that morning was an Oscar Fashion panel, featuring Carson Kressley, Maria Menounos, and Lawrence Zarian. The panel agreed that this was one year in which Oscar fashions were great all around, although each had a few favorites on their list.

After the look at fashion and a taped backstage segment with Kelly, the program was winding down. Indie band the American Authors was set up during a commercial break.

Kelly and Michael, who had admitted to getting no sleep the previous night, continued their unflappable ways during the round of activity that accompanied each break.

Despite technical problems over the air (the band was out of synch with their monitors), the performance of Best Day of My Life got the entire Dolby Theater crowd clapping along.

It hardly seemed that a whole hour had passed by the time the final commercial break arrived. Kelly and Michael had only one final taped segment to introduce, and then it was time to close.

Following a funny video piece that placed the Live hosts in some of the nominated films, it was time for goodbyes, complete with confetti and a reprise of Best Day of My Life.

Once the all clear was sounded, the audience made their way to the exits as the crew of Live With Kelly and Michael assembled on stage for a group photo.

Incredibly, the whole crew headed back to New York City that day, and was right back on the air live on Tuesday morning. The After Oscar Show was history, but the memories (and photos) linger on.

To see video clips of the Live With Kelly and Michael After Oscar broadcast, log on to the Live site and find clips for Monday, March 3.