Day 7 -- Tuesday, April 7

It was an incredible night. Everything that could have gone well did. The pre-taped scenes got good laughs, especially the second one. The original set-up line, "Two hours," also led to a good laugh. And the line suggested by Nathan was a huge hit, possibly the biggest laugh of the scene. Bravo, Encore!

The day itself ran smoothly and mostly uneventfully for me. Since my "big" scenes were already taped, I really only had heavy lifting to do. That went fine. Nathan Lane asked about my Studio Test for Madness Reigns, which inspired me to lay down this challenge, "Just you wait until some Tuesday night this fall at 9:30 when you and I are going head to head. Me against you, baby. NBC versus The WB." He found that pretty amusing. Laugh now, Mr. Must-See-TV.

During the producer's run-through, the line he had suggested got a hardy laugh from the group gathered and after the scene he looked at me as if to say, "How about that?" I said, "Thanks for the big line. It's a hit." To which he replied, "See if they're that nice to you over at The WB."

The crowd began to roll in at around 6:15pm. Everyone was in make-up and costumes, gathering in the back to run the lines for the show one more time. I put in my three lines when they were called for. When we were ready to go, the band wrapped it up, the warm-up guy announced the show regulars, and we were underway. The opening scene got a good response and the first limo scene also went over well, as I mentioned. After all my fretting and frittering last night over how well or unwell they had gone, the first one was behind us and I could at last breathe easily. I hadn't jeopardized my future with the show and with these producers. Whew.

The rest of the taping went well. The audience was very supportive, listening and laughing the whole way through. The supporting cast was solid, very funny. Joan Plowright was fantastic. And Nathan Lane was genius. His flair and style and voice and energy were all phenomenal. It was a tour de force.

The show was followed by a reception, at which many nice things were said to me. Peter Casey, one of the executive producers called me "money in the bank," and Lori Openden, the Head of Casting at NBC, said, "You're very consistent. You do a great job." My agent, Joel, was there. My friends Terry Ward and Kellie Waymire also hung around after the show to eat and drink with the bigwigs. And David Lee, the director and executive producer, was as supportive as always. His confidence in me helped make both the Frasier episode and this shoot a wonderful environment to work in. It was simply a fabulous adventure and a magical night.

Go back to Day 1

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