by ronanusa

Goose Creek, South Carolina

July 7, 2006

by notso62

Boston, Massachusetts

October 1, 2005

Tickets can be obtained to see a taping of Late Night with Conan O'Brien via the NBC website NBC.com/conan . If you have a specific date in mind, you should try to ask two months in advance otherwise you may have a hard time getting tickets for the dates you want. Be aware that sometimes certain dates are not available because of scheduled hiatus. Tickets are free of charge.

If you don't have tickets already when you visit NYC, all hope to catch a live taping is not lost. You can go early to the Mezzanine level of NBC studios, where they often distribute stand-by tickets to that days taping.

If you have tickets, keep in mind that your seat is not guaranteed. It still pays to get to the studios early. At about 4pm, the audience starts lining up outside of studio 11B. When they are allowed in the theater, seating is a first come, first serve basis. The best seats go quickly and are down to the right front of the theater.

Soon after everyone has had a chance to take their seats, a warm up comic comes out to entertain the audience. Then Conan comes out to do his mic checks et cetera. It is all very entertaining, and it's great to see these people like Max Weinberg (the band leader) and Conan in real life.

The show itself resembles much of what is seen by the viewers at home. With the exception of the band playing through the commercial breaks, the audience is exposed to as much of the stage as is seen by the viewers at home.

I would highly recommend seeing a taping of the Conan O'Brien show when you're in NYC. For free entertainment, it cannot be beat. It's such a great experience that you will remember it for years to come.

by Backpackingrl

Buffalo, New York

February 5, 2005

My husband and I have both been to the show on two separate occasions. Both of us had a great time. The key to getting tickets is planning ahead. They are not difficult to get, but you have call for them in advance, try about 2 months or more. You cannot pick the date you want to go, but you can give a general range of your trip. For example, I asked for the second week of December and that is what I got. Call 212/664-3056 to get your tickets.

Once you get your tickets, you will be told that they do not guarantee admission. They simply give you the right to stand in line and hope you get in. This is true but makes you think things are more desperate than they actually are. When I went, our tickets were for a Tuesday. We showed up an hour early and were the first ones in line. No one who showed up that day was turned away. The same situation occurred when my husband went a year later. Do get there an hour in advance, though, as the show has really grown in popularity.

Once you get inside, you will be shuffled by the staff up to a narrow hallway. This is the worst part of the day. You wait here for about 45 minutes. It is hot and cramped and they will tell you that you can’t drink or eat anything despite the vending machines 5 feet away. Once you get out of this hallway, the fun begins. You will be taken into the theater and sit in comfy, plush seats. I was surprised with the size of the set. It was smaller than I thought it would be, and every seat was relatively close to the stage. Before the show, Conan will come out and tell a few jokes and dance with a few audience members. Being that the audience is pretty small, this is very cool. You then wait about 20 more minutes or so for the show to start.

For anyone who has seen the show, you will know what to expect. Conan has been attracting more and more top-tier stars to his show in recent years, so there is a good chance you will get to see someone very famous. We would recommend a night at the Conan O’Brien Show for anyone willing to withstand a little inconvenience (the planning ahead for tickets and hallway wait described above) for some great (and free) entertainment. When Conan becomes the next Jay Leno, you will have a great story to tell your kids, too.