How To Score Tickets To The Late Show With David Letterman

November 30, 2009 at 2:19 PM | by Heidi Atwal | Comments (0)

So you spent most of Thanksgiving feigning interest in your relatives' flat, inappropriate jokes. We fully empathize, having let out our share of faux-laughs over turkey and sweet potatoes. Family holidays can be fantastically warm, fantastically awkward, or some combination thereof, and they usually entail a healthy amount of humor therapy after the fact in order to fully recover. Don't worry; Uncle Dave's got you covered�David Letterman, that is.

If you're a native New Yorker or holiday traveler to the city, we suggest trying your chances at landing tickets to The Late Show. Now that Conan's migrated to the West Coast, Dave is the last bastion of New York-filmed late night comedy on network television. Sorry, Jimmy Fallon.

Since Dave is a hallowed TV figure, tickets aren't only in-demand, but you'll have to put in a little bit of work to prove that you're worthy of gracing a taping. The process starts out easily enough: first, fill out the ticket submission form, selecting three dates you're free to attend and entering the name of you and your guest. Then, as the story usually goes with talk show requests, you play the waiting game.

Don't call them; they'll call you. And when they do, be sure you're well-schooled in the ways of Mr. Letterman and Co. Per the website: "A ticket will only be issued to those individuals who correctly answer a random trivia question about the show." In other words, if you don't know what his Top 10 list is, don't bother applying.

There are a few other ways to land tickets as well, including by stopping by Letterman's lobby to have your request processed in-person. Representatives are on-hand from Monday through Thursday, 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Don't line up any earlier than 9:00 or else you automatically make yourself ineligible for tickets. This route doesn't necessarily guarantee you entrance, either, and you can only submit an application once every six months. But if you're in the area, know who you'd like to bring along as a guest and have ID on you, it might be worth swinging by.

Groups of 10-20 can apply for a shot of sitting in the audience, matching t-shirts optional, by filling out this online form. The group contact will need to write a short piece about why your crew wants to attend the Late Show, so make sure he or she has a good story to tell.

Finally, there are a limited number of stand-by tickets available on the day of. You can call 212.247.6497 starting at 11:00 AM to get your name on the list, and you'll have to check in one hour before the taping starts. This means having to watch all of the guests with guaranteed tickets march by you and hope that some tourists flaked or got caught up at the Empire State Building, missing their chance to see Dave in all his gap-toothed glory.

Whew. Why does this whole affair seem harder than applying for college?

Related Stories
· The Late Show With David Letterman [Official Site]
· How To Score Tickets To Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show [Jaunted]
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[Photo: CBS]

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