I realize that there are some of you out there that don’t like Martha. So, you’ll probably be surprised when I tell you that, in spite of ALL the NYC has to offer, the main reason we went to NYC was to see Martha. The quilty peeps and I joke that Jewels is THE original Martha fan. Considering that, Jewels, you were amazingly well behaved!
Martha was Amazing! Awesome! Absolutely Fabulous! I wasn’t terribly excited about going when I found out the focus of the show would be about aging. I really don’t need aging reminders these days. But, I needn’t have worried — it wouldn’t matter who the guests were, it was just fascinating to watch Martha and her staff at work. I probably sat with my mouth wide open the whole time. And the set is more beautiful that it appears on tv. More beautiful than people say it is. Jaw droppingly beautiful.
We had incredible seats (thanks Gurney!.) On the floor, second row. Right. In. Front. Of. Martha. During the first segment, they showed a long video about the new center that Martha has opened at Mt. Sinai hospital and it was really fun to watch Martha watch the video. She was just as attentive as if she were seeing it for the first time. Every once in awhile she’d glance up and scan the audience — but never with any acknowledgement — just a brief glance, then back to the video. And I was actually proud of her as she interviewed her guests that day — none of the classic Martha-interrupt-the-guest behavior.
Between segments, of course, we had Joey to entertain us. He’s very funny and kept the audience pumped up. One thing that really annoyed me though, was that between segments, they play music. High energy music to keep everyone motivated, but also, I suspect to keep the audience from hearing any comments that might be made by the staff as they prepared for the next segment. Ob. Nox. Ious.
Martha was so impressive, I can’t possibly describe it to you. After our morning live segment, they asked the audience to remain seated while Martha did a 4-5 minute taping for something. They explained that what she said would all be gibberish to most of us. She was taping a highly technical blurb describing the inner workings of the Martha Stewart website. I was stunned that she could read through all those technical words — only stopping one time to check on the correct pronunciation of an acronym. She practically read it like she was reading a first grade storybook. For all I know, she rehearsed the blurb for hours, but I doubt it. Wow — there’s a reason she’s at the top.
After the show, they announced that they had a few extra tickets for the afternoon taping. We briefly debated what to do — NYC shopping beckoned and it was a tough call. We felt a little gyped at the audience gifts — pomegranate juice and a ticket to a yoga class weren’t far off from our joking predictions that we’d probably get prune juice and a month’s discount at a nursing home. We decided to go for it, and we were lucky that we were the first section to be excused. We rushed to the desk and got the last two tickets and positions 1 and 2 for standby for the afternoon show. Then we went to City Quilter and grabbed some lunch before our return to the studio at 1 p.m.
The first hint that we’d made the right decision was in the warm-up room when Joey told us that we’d be getting a few nice prizes and that the morning guests got nothing. (It warmed my heart to see that they considered pomegranate juice a cop-out gift!) The second show (to be aired today or tomorrow in the states, depending on your market) was a lot more fun and exciting. Sherry Sheppard (the new host on The View) and Martha made children’s halloween costumes. (Sherry was pretty funny — Junie pointed out that she made a funny joke about jail which I missed, so I’m anxious to see the show this week.) We snagged a nice beginner sewing book from those segments. Then, Martha cooked two different chicken dishes with two Itialian chefs. Those segments bagged us a beautiful Italian cookbook! But more than the prizes, I was really glad we went to the second show because that experience was so different from the morning session. A taped show vs. a live show, we sat on the complete opposite side of the studio, and it was just a lot more fun! And during the taping, a cameraman made a mistake and there was a tense moment — would Martha yell “Off with his head”??? Everything remained calm and after a brief embarrassing moment to identify the culprit, taping resumed.
At the end of the second show, Martha hung around for three or four audience questions. I got to ask one of them. I’ve always loved the big jars that she has on her set (pictured in the middle picture of the top row in the collage above) so I asked her if they’d be available in her Macy’s line. She said all of the products (including those jars) that were in her old Martha Stewart catalog will be available at Macy’s around the fall of ’08. Yipee!
Thanks for a fabulous trip Quilty Peeps! Jewels, thanks for the inspiration to go in the first place; Joni, thanks for making all the arrangements; and Gurney, thanks for getting those awesome Martha tickets. You are all THE VERY BEST EVER Quilty Peeps!!!
XOXO,
Anna
P.S. Vallen is hosting a potluck today! I hope you’ll all join us. I plan to attend, although I have a rather full day, so I’ll probably do an after-potluck report! ;-)
Are you kidding me? There are people in this world who do not worship at the Altar of Martha? Say it ain’t so! :)
I do not and never will worship at the Altar of Martha! LOL
But have occasionally bought from her product line at KMart and find the quality to be pretty good. It depends though.
So glad you had a great time! What a wonderful treat. :)
This is so fun to read.. I don’t know Martha, is she the ‘cooking’ version of Oprah?? (LOL)
Well, in England we don’t hear so much about Martha- apart from the time she went to jail! Thanks for sharing your experience with us- it’s really fascinating, and I’m glad you had such a good time.
You lucky lucky dog!!! If there is one thing I really miss, it’s the Martha Stewart show. No one over here even knows who she is or how talented she is. I try my best to keep up-to date by subscribing to her e-newsletter…but it’s not quite the same!
wow…so fun to read…it must have been incredible to experience in person.
What a fun experience! I love Martha. My daughters and I met her once years ago at a book-signing. She touched my daughter’s shoulder and this guy in the line said my daughter should never wash her shoulder again! (he and his partner were interior decorators and huge Martha fans.) :)
Sounds like a fun time! It would be neat to go to something like that just to see how they do it.
Thanks a lot for this post! I’m a fan of MSL but never saw or heard her so it was very interesting!
Heh, I just watched the Sherry episode of Martha an hour or so ago. She was pretty funny, I liked the bit about using the fray check on her life. Lucky you!
Too cool. I was captivated by thi spost, great to know what a professional Martha is. You’d harldy imagine a year ago she was in jail… I’m very impressed byher own strength of character.
Oh, Anna, what a wonderful post!!! You really have a way with words and captured our Martha experience to a “T”. Loved the photos too! I had a fabulous time and can’t wait to do it again! Thanks for showing us NYC! You’re the BEST!!! xoxox
Anna, Anna, Anna. I was very well behaved wasn’t I???!!!!! I didn’t want to scare the H— outta everyone. I enjoyed myself more than you will ever know. Martha is the “Queen” beauty, talent, money my gosh what more could you ask for.? I would go everyday if I could, and I highly recommend every “Martha fan” go at least once. Truely wonderful. Thanks again to my quilty peeps. xoxo
PS Martha, have your people call my people.
ooo I love Martha! I watch it each day while I’m breastfeeding my boy! Lucky you, I’m so jealous.
You lucky, lucky gal! We don’t get a lot of her stuff here and here show isn’t widely available to everyone. That’s so cool! Definitely the trip highlight.
I do believe I would enjoy attending a Martha Stewart taping. I can tell you had a blast and thanks for sharing with us!
I have been a fan of Martha since her very first TV special which I still have on VHS tape. At that time her name was not one that everyone knew. She made Christmas ornaments and edible goodies. I also bought her first book way back when. I remained a fan throughout her career but I miss her old MSL show, the one without the guests, etc. etc. I’m sure experiencing being in the audience would be a memorable occasion. Sounds really fun!
That sounds like such a fun experience… and 2 shows… wow!! I’d love to see Martha in person to see if she’s giving everyone ‘the evil eye’ as media portrays her doing. What did you think about that??
Thanks for sharing,
~Joni
Funny that you asked about the evil eye because I watched for that too. I didn’t see any of that although you can tell Martha runs a tight ship. Everything and everyone in their place! I can’t say enough about her staff – super nice. It was a great experience! Junie (aka Joni)
wow, what an exciting trip – I personally like Martha’s stuff, although I don’t watch her in Australia (not sure if she is on). The mags are good though, and some of her homewares.
glad you had such an inspiring trip.
Glad you had a fab time Anna! We don’t see Martha over here and I am ashamed to say I only heard about her a couple of years ago! Hope you are enjoying your books. Lucy x
Wowie!! That was wonderful! I almost feel like I was there, Anna! Thank you for a behind-the-scenes look at the taping of the Martha show. I hope we get to see the goodies you received, too! Sounds like such a great time was had by all.
While I’m not a Martha devotee any longer (I’m sorry but that magazine is heinous) I love this post – it looks like you guys had a great time and took some awesome ass pictures!
Plus, it’s always great to hear about people doing things that fulfill lifetime dreams. And good for you for sticking it out for a second show. You won’t have to wonder what if?
Like, the people who didn’t stick around for Oprah’s second taping and then she gave everyone a car or whatever.
Now that must have been a fun experience! I have always wanted to do that too. Your post about it was terrific.
I. Am. So. Jealous.
I loved watching Martha on the Apprentice, and I would so like to be able to watch her show on TV over here, but thanks for giving us such an insight into the making of a TV show. And it’s so good that you enjoyed it!
You are SO lucky! I LOVE Martha! I didn’t know you could get tickets to her show tapings/live shows. Do you have a connection or did you just buy them? I will have to look into this.
Great post – it’s interesting to hear the behind-the-scene scoop!
:) D
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