This episode was filmed in front of a live studio audience…
A gay man, a single woman, and a rich drunk lady walk in to a bar….OBSESSED. That was the word you could use to describe my fascination with Will, Grace, Jack and Karen. I own the whole collection, have binge watch the Saturday afternoon marathons so much I could almost quote the scripts. So, when I saw the words “your status just changed from Waitlist to Available” I almost dropped my phone! I was planning to leave NY a little later that day, but quickly recalculated the time needed to get from Brooklyn to JFK and on to LA before midnight. I threw my things in my backpack, called my Uber and high tailed it to the airport. A few phone calls and a text, and Todd and Vinny met me at the airport for the connection to LA. We landed at nearly midnight, rented a car and headed to crash with family for the night.
The next morning, we headed for Universal Studios where we stood in line with tickets, ID and waited our turn to be frisked for a cell phone. These folks were SERIOUS about kicking you out if you were caught with one.
When we entered the studio, we were seated with a bunch of other very eager fans and told that the day’s episode was highly top secret. The case had spent weeks memorizing every word and physical movement of 4 episodes of I Love Lucy. It was the first time that any sitcom had been given permission by the Arnaz family to reproduce any portion of the show.
Debra Messing (Grace) recreated the VitaVitaVegamin scene and nailed it from beginning to end in one take. The crowd went wild and Lucy Arnaz came from backstage in tears to hug and congratulate her. It was a surreal experience!
There were other portions taped, and the cast spoke with the crowd and thanked everyone for their support and patience as they painstakingly made sure that every movement, word and facial expression was perfect. While we waited for scenes to change, the man in charge of keeping the audience entertained stopped to chat with Todd. He told the guy how I had been at work just 24 hours before, got an email and went straight to the airport. The man said, ‘That’s incredible. Hold on a sec…’ and went to a stash in the corner and came back with a shirt for me!
Such a fun and spontaneous day, in my favorite state, watching my favorite show before it was gone forever.
