When I officially got the word my first thought went to - What will I wear?! Our instructions were to wear "appropriate formal attire". I inserted "practical" in there. Not only did I need to choose an outfit that was background worthy but it needed to be easily moved in (in other words, not dragging on the ground or something I need to tug @) and my shoes need to be something I can skitter in quickly! Oh...And then there's accessories and hair...
So as the big day neared I found a dress (VS online), found the shoes (clearance @ Payless!), found a mini purse (we were advised to leave cells @ home and not bring much - the purse was my BOGO @ Payless), an antique necklace (only $10 @ an outdoor sale in Chelsea) and cleaned myself up a bit (hair cut, brows, nails, etc...) . Then day of, my roomie was kind enough to share her makeup artist skills to glam me up and I chose a fairly basic pull back hairdo - making sure it wasn't too bouffant for those that may be sitting behind me! ;)
We were asked to be at Radio City Music Hall by 4:30pm. When I arrived, I had to wk past a large grouping of police to get in the seat fillers line. I heard one policeman say, "Greenal must the color this year..."
My friend joined me in line and soon we were being ushered into the RCMH and given green wristbands - an easily spotted sign that we were seat fillers and not celebs. ;)
After everyone was seated in the back of the auditorium, we waited and watched snippets of the rehearsal that happened earlier in the day. We were given a steady countdown of how many minutes we had left to use the bathroom - once the show started there would be no trips to the bathroom (probably one of the reasons why we weren't provided w/ water while we waited to sit!) Soon we were given instructions as to how the night was going to roll. Err...Is it a problem that I'm not totally clear on who's who and where I'm supposed to go?! My friend assured me that once we were in motion I'd get it. I hope so. They said our movement would happen during the 4 minute commercial breaks - w/ most of the movement happening in the last 30 seconds and if you didn't have a seat by then you needed to get your ass back to the line!
They also told us that 2 very expensive watches were going to be given away during the commercial breaks and told us that only people that PAID for their tickets could win. (Later, the friend of my friend laughed at that saying off-handedly that no one on the main floor actually paid for their tickets. Har. Probably truer than we know. Although we were told the seats we were in were going for $500.) Later the guy that gave away the watches milked his kinda/sorta 15 minutes of fame. First he said he could dance - so he did in a "Go Watchman! Go Watchman!" kinda way and then the next time he was out there he sang "New York, New York" and specifically called out Jane Fonda as the person he was singing it to.
We were in the 2nd row of seat fillers so we headed to the left side of the stage (or stage right). And there we stood and stood, with the occasional musical chair moment and then we'd stand some more. My new shoes needed some gellin' insoles! But as the awards progressed more and more seats needed permanent or long term (i.e. - more than a segment) filling so it really started to pay off!
Here are some "highlights" from the night -
*Standing on the side, we saw Bret Michaels get clobbered only we weren't sure who it was. The audience gasped but quickly got over it as the show went on! (It was kind of a - did I see what I just think I saw?! - moment.)
*Sat by Geoffrey Rush briefly, only to discover the guy who's seat I was filling was standing in front of me the whole time but didn't say anything until he was ready to sit down. Then he said, "Okay, I'll take my seat now. But that's a very nice green dress you're wearing."
*I should also note that while I was sitting by Rush, Angela Lansbury touched his arm and said "Geoffrey" in a way that I can't really type out.
*When I got up to vacate the seat next Rush we were being scurried off and Raul Esparza thankfully tucked in his feet as I cut the corner close - oops.
*Anne Hathaway uses a lot of "sweeties" and "hon/honey" when she talks - wasn't sure if that was an always thing or just when she's in those situations. She introduced her father to Colin Hanks (Colin was w/ what we think was his gf...she took a pic of him w/ the stage behind him on her phone) and then later flew past and handed Raul a Starbucks Coffee - where did she get that from?!
*One of the seat filler wranglers said that Jane Fonda's bf was a "free spirit" so they'd have to keep an eye on him. ?! And he referred to James Gandolfini as "Jimmy".
*After actresses from Mary Stuart were done waiting to see if they'd won their category - they started munching on candy! - one had elbow-length evening gloves on, too! (I think it must have been a bag passed out to all the attendees as another seat I sat in had it lying on the floor. Which brings me to a side note: Not only did you have to get yourself past people in a quick and decent fashion - do I put my ass or front to the celeb?! - but you had to be mindful of items left behind.)
*Speaking of "ass or front" - Chandra Wilson had a lovely green dress on but it was looooong and in order to sneak past it, I did turn my ass to her and drop my mini purse in my friend's lap who just happened to be sitting in front of her. ;)
*More on Chandra - there was a mini "Grey's Anatomy" reunion as she and "Meredith's Mom", Kate Burton, excitedly greeted each other and chatted for a bit.
*While standing on the side during pre-show there was this entourage coming down the stairs for who?...Harvey Weinstein.
*Also while standing on the side we saw several celebs pass us on their way back stage and out again - Will Ferrell, Bebe Neuwirth, Poison, Samantha Mathis, Oliver Platt (wearing what looked like a Converse type black shoe - white soles w/ a tux), Lauren Graham and others...
*After Geoffrey Rush won, my friend and I ended up sitting next to each other in the vacated seats. Our hair and faces were touched by a cast member of "Hair" and the cast of "Norman Conquests" flew past us when they won. We were kinda hoping Rush wasn't going to come back but he finally did, apologizing for making us move. (By then he probably knew our faces as we seemed be cycling around that area a lot.)
*I sat by another seatfiller behind one of the gentleman (director? producer?) involved w/ Billy Elliott. When the 3 boys won the camera sat on him and the seatfiller next me was texted immediately after the segment and told she was on there (btw - obviously some people brought their cells. I did. But I kept mine off in my purse and wasn't texting during the show - Sheesh!). Anyway, I was all excited that I was probably on too and then when I found the clip all I could see was my sleeve! (you can see it about the 3:14 mark) LOL! BTW - The seat I was sitting in was vacated by Stephen Mangan (Norman from "The Norman Conquests") - they did not come back to their seats before the end of the show.
*Neil Patrick Harris entertained the audience w/ magic tricks during a couple commercial segments. First he asked a "random audience member" to pick a number, any number as he wrote on the small dry erase board he brought out. He guessed the number, she said "no" and he flipped his board around...it said "no". ;) Then the second time he came out and asked another "random person" (both times stressing that he'd never met the person before, right?) to guess a number and then forget that number and guess again. This time he actually got the right number (82)! Not sure if the person was a plant or if he truly was magical! ;)
*During another commercial break they aired "Shrek Auditions" which someone in the balcony apparently recorded! They also aired a "teaser trailer" for the upcoming Addams Family musical and the crowd lit up as they listed the cast. And they tossed in a few retro ads for previous versions of "Hair" and "Guys & Dolls" on Broadway.
Although my feet weren't very happy by the end of the night it was still an amazing experience....and something to reflect upon when I'm actually there as a presenter or nominee...someday... ;)
**Note: As we were filtering out of RCMH I turned on my phone, turned around and snapped this pic...
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1 comment:
That's a very nice dress!
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