By DAVID WALTON
© The Courier-Journal
From Nov. 20, 1999
It's a typical sunny day in Southern California as hundreds of people line up at CBS Studio Center in Studio City for a chance to be part of a live audience on the set of the hit TV show Will & Grace.
Long lines, which have been forming for several hours, indicate just how popular the offbeat NBC comedy series has become in this, its second season.
Its premise reads something like this: Successful, handsome and unattached Manhattan attorney Will Truman (Eric McCormack) is best friends with a single interior designer, Grace Adler (Debra Messing). Former roommates and now across-the-hall neighbors, their relationship is totally platonic because she likes men -- and so does he!
Throw in Will's pal Jack (Sean Hayes), whose idea of fun is no work and all play, and Grace's mouthy assistant Karen (Megan Mullally), who is so filthy rich that she works because she's bored, and, well, there you have the entertaining and unpredictable Will & Grace.
Think of it as Seinfeld, Just Shoot Me and Friends rolled into one with a pinch or two of Ellen.
The NBC brass was so pleased with the ratings the freshman comedy brought in during its first season that it graced the gang with identical Porsche Boxsters before the start of the 1999-2000 fall season.
The show, which is ranked No. 22 for the season, airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC.
I recently got to attend a taping of the show, which takes place before a live audience every Tuesday evening on Stage 17.
On this evening, uniformed security officers stand guard at the entrance, where they conduct a thorough search of all bags and purses. My hand-held tape recorder is discovered, and I'm told to surrender the batteries. After passing through a metal detector, I'm given the "all clear" to take my seat in the dark-painted theater.
The set is nothing like I imagined. It is much larger, a lot longer and filled with so many people.
Directly in front of me is Will's New York apartment with its many recognizable furnishings: the cobalt blue sofa, slipcovered dining-room chairs, stainless-steel refrigerator and collection of male drawings.
To my left is Grace's office, with its oversized window, bolts of fabric resting against the wall, a resource room filled with a rainbow of designer samples and Karen's desk sitting empty for now.
As work crews make some last-minute adjustments on the set, Mickey Champion's Blues Band warms up the audience. Mickey strolls up and down the aisles as she entertains folks with her smooth style and raspy voice.
Tonight's warm-up guy, Bob Perlow (The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Hollywood Squares), arrives with several boxes filled with Will & Grace memorabilia -- T-shirts, pens, hats and autographed photos -- which he intends to give away at some point during the taping.
It's shortly after 7 p.m. when the introductions begin: "Ladies and gentlemen . . . the stars of NBC's hottest show, Will & Grace. "
One by one, the cast makes its way on stage: Hayes, in his trademark pullover V-neck sweater vest; the sassy Mullally; a beaming McCormack; and the stunning Messing.
When the applause subsides, the actors and crew take their places on the set, the house lights slowly dim and the filming begins.
A voice, which will become all too familiar with the audience by night's end, hollers out, "We're speeding, cameras A, B, C and X. Camera on my mark. Rolling."
Tonight's episode, "To Serve and Disinfect," took a little more than four hours to shoot, with most scenes being filmed at least two times. It costs $1 million to produce each episode of the show. (This episode airs Tuesday.)
Watching McCormack and Hayes on the set seems more like watching a scene from "Romper Room." The two grown men are constant cutups and keep trying to top each other with off-the-cuff remarks, which at times has the audience in tears.
When filming the opening scene in Will's office, a telephone starts ringing somewhere on the set. The filming is put on hold while a stagehand hurries off to try and locate the culprit.
McCormack hollers out, "It's NBC, they're pulling the plug." The stage grows extremely quiet. "Lighten up, I was only kidding," says McCormack, which causes the audience to break into laughter.
At the other end of the set, Messing and Mullally seem more focused. When they aren't conferring with writers, they are surrounded by personal assistants, who constantly touch up their hair and makeup. Mullally sometimes applies her own lipstick as "Karen, We Love You" is screamed many times over during the night.
Seeing firsthand how a TV series is put together is fascinating. It definitely makes for a captive audience.
But it isn't the only captive audience this evening. The cast and crew are also entertained during the dance-for-prizes competitions. Members of the audience vying for prizes dance to such songs as "Love Shack," "Funkytown" and "Mambo No. 5."
But the most interesting moment comes when the song "Summer Nights" plays over the sound system and Mullally makes her way over to the warm-up guy and whispers something into his ear. It seems that Mullally had sung backup on this song when she starred in the Broadway revival of Grease with Rosie O'Donnell. With a little coaxing from Perlow and the audience, Mullally is handed the mike and belts out the last verse of the song.
The audience is captivated.
Later, Perlow points out a very special guest in tonight's audience - Shelley Morrison, who plays Karen's illegal-immigrant housekeeper on the show. The audience gives her a standing ovation.
When director James Burrows calls it a wrap, the feeling is twofold. One side of you doesn't want the night to end; the other makes you feel even that much closer to the cast and the characters they play.
As the audience trickles down the aisles toward the exit doors, the stars sign autographs and chat with fans, making them feel right at home before driving off to their own.
