His name was Rico...

It had been an early morning. I arrived early to the airport, and actually was seated on an earlier flight than I was scheduled for. We landed at JFK and sat on the tarmac for about thirty minutes before we could deplane. But, eventually we did, and I airtran'd it to the subway and got to my new apartment around noon.

By mid-afternoon, it was time to go. A new (we worked together this summer) friend of mine had been offered four tickets to the taping of Barry Manilow's new PBS special, which will also be put out on DVD late this year (I believe). So, we followed the rules and wore dark colors, didn't bring any coats, no bags, no cameras, not even our cell phones... it was like living in the 90s again. Wowza.

But, for all the stinginess we had to endure, heck, we were treated well. As VIPs, we had access to the preshow open bar (2 or 3 gin and tonics for this guy), an escorted bathroom trip, and then fourth row center seats inside the soundstage at Brooklyn's Steiner Studios where it was being taped. For three hours or more, we sat around and waited, clapped a hell of a lot (often just because a guy in a headset told us to), stood up for Barry a lot, watched him forget some lyrics and have to go back and reshoot, sing COPACABANA and MANDY twice... in all it was pretty cool. Of course, were we actual fanilows, it would have been way cooler. I mean, between us, we probably recognized four songs (and that included the STATE FARM insurance jingle).

But worth it it was. Following the taping (where I saw two friends who had been hired to dance and cheer for Barry), we VIPs flashed our invites to the redcarpet after party on a rooftop at the Studios. More gin and tonics were drunk, steak and sushi offered (hell, I even ate some sort of duck roll because it was free!) and really rich desserts carried around on trays by other actors who were just making a buck as cater-waiters.

I wish I had been allowed a camera or something because I would insert here a picture looking at New York across the water in the night sky. It was great fun and very exciting. So, don't forget to watch Barry Manilow: Songs of the Seventies on PBS or get it on DVD. You'll probably get a glimpse of some crazy guy sorta clapping in the fourth row...

NEXT: Ms Lion King herself and the new Beatles' flick