With only a handful of episodes left to film, I was honored to head to Harpo Studios with my two best friends on Friday for a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show.
We found out a week before that we had the chance to get tickets and couldn’t turn down the opportunity. I was scheduled to be in San Diego for the weekend following the Cultivate Conference but quickly jumped on the phone, changed plans, re-arranged flights, booked new ones, and after narrowly getting back home to Chicago [my flight landed at O'Hare at 12 AM], headed to Harpo for Oprah’s Last-Ever Makeover Extravaganza. The episode airs on May 12, so I won’t give away too many details but just share about the experience.
Pulling up at Harpo there was a buzz in the air as a crowd of audience members stood in line. Knowing that there were only a few more episodes left, we were all in a for a once-in-a-lifetime experience sitting in the audience for one of the last tapings of the Oprah show.
I grew up watching Oprah every day after school and have been a huge fan of Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes, so being there was just slightly exciting. Ok, I was totally geeked.
Thanks to the hook-up from a friend, we were part of a 25-member group of people who got the royal treatment as guests of the show. Since it was Oprah’s last makeover show the ENTIRE AUDIENCE got a makeover. They flew in celebrity makeup artists and hairstylists and transformed one of their studios into a salon. Since I’m a guy my makeover basically meant they did my hair differently and made me wear bronzer. We also got brand-new outfits to wear and a $100 gift card to Old Navy.
After we were primped and made ready, the 25 of us were ushered to the office level of Harpo to Oprah’s screening room, a theater where she watches movies and screens episodes. I may have peeked in her office, too. Since we had to get there at 9:30 AM and the show wasn’t taping until 1 PM [because of all of the makeovers] they gave us a catered lunch. As time drug on I have to say we were all getting more and more anxious, having no idea what to expect.
At one point, Oprah’s dog Sadie came trotting through like she owned the place [I think she does, actually] and we all had to pet her just so we could say we pet Oprah’s dog. So we did.
Once it was close to showtime, the makeup team came back and touched up our makeup and stylists made sure that our clothes were just right. We were then ushered through the main hallway, down Oprah’s main staircase, through the infamous blue hall of photos and were all seated in the front two rows. Yes, we were seated in the second row… and it wasn’t normal audience seats either, these were chairs that were added. We were literally right next to the stage.
The studio was absolutely magical. There is just something absolutely electric about that room. I mean, when you think of all of the people that have shared that stage… our President, stars, celebrities, musicians, humanitarians and world leaders… it’s just kind of overwhelming. To sit in the audience and share in an experience that millions of people will watch was sort of mind-boggling. It definitely felt like sacred space.
Oprah’s team does an incredible job at what they do… from making you feel so welcome and appreciated to getting you hyped-up and ready for the experience of a lifetime. They were all so humble and genuinely grateful for us being there. We had met a few of her staff earlier in the day and as they were seating us they remembered us all by name. I was totally impressed and blown away considering how many people were in the audience and for the fact that this was the second show they were taping the day.
When the big moment finally came and Oprah walked onstage, I have to be totally honest and say that I may have teared up a little. Having watched her since I was a kid and knowing this was one of her last episodes it was all just a little bit too much. Yeah, I’m man enough to admit that.
Oprah is just as elegant and graceful in real life as she is on camera. She exudes such a commanding but loving spirit and was so kind. Some of the best moments of the show were the off-camera moments where she’d joke and talk with the audience. It was so crazy being just feet away from her.
Since the show was the last makeover show they brought in all the big guns… Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Bobbie Brown, Collier Strong, Orlando Pita, Ken Paves and a lot of other people I didn’t know. Being a Project Runway fan, I was pretty stoked to see Michael Kors. And yes, he is orange in person.
The show was so much fun and in classic Oprah fashion we got some give-aways… all things that my mom and sisters are going to have to fight over.
Once taping was over, Oprah hung around for a few minutes to chat with the audience. She shared how on May 25, the day of her last show, that she would be thinking about every person that was in the audience and said how thankful she was that we’d all take time out of our lives and schedules to include her. She was very emotional and totally sincere, and it was really amazing to see and share that moment. She, even after 25 years, was still honored that we’d all fly from different parts of the world and take time to be in that audience and genuinely made us feel like we were all valued and appreciated. Yes, she’s Oprah, but she showed us that she’s a real person, too. That was humbling.
After that the 25 of us were ushered back to the screening room and while we were on our way we were able to meet Michael Kors and Diane VonFurstenberg. They were both a riot. Once we had our belongings we got a behind-the-scenes tour of Harpo before taking off. It was pretty wild to see the inner-workings of what makes the show happen. On our way out we were able to say hi to our friend Brian, one of Oprah’s producers and one of the stars of Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes.
When the whole experience was over I have to admit I needed to pinch myself a little bit. I know there are thousands of people that would give anything to go to the show or be in that audience and it was an honor to have been there with two of my best friends. Oprah is a remarkable person and her influence and the impact her show makes is undeniable. She and her staff, despite their fame, are some of the kindest, humble, and sincere people I’ve met and were all so welcoming. They created an experience that [even though I was a guy and it was a makeover show where all of the prizes were for women] I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
And me, being the church guy have to put on my church hat for a minute and say… how can we make our church services captivating experiences… ones that people would stand in line for and wait for with excitement and anticipation? How, even though there may be hundreds or even thousands of people coming, make each person feel honored and welcomed? How can we get our volunteers and staff to remember people’s names and faces? How can we humbly let God use us to have influence and make a global impact and yet still tread the individual person like they are just as important as anyone else? How can we create an experience that creates a lasting impression?
So there ya go… there’s my Oprah experience. Tune in on May 12 to see the show and look for me in the audience! 
