My friend PL and I were foolish enough to decide to book a flight to LA to go see A Christmas Pudding. It was a small venue, probably no more than 100 seats, and we made sure to arrive early. So early in fact that we ran into Elisa who was checking the microphones, but we got the best seats. Front raw, and what later appeared to be right in front of Tim during the entire show.
The show, a creation of David Birney is made of a variety of texts, from Hamlet to Fruit Cake Recipes, that were read by David Birney, Anne Cioffi, Charles Cioffi, Tim DeKay, Michele Roberge, Ned Schmidtke and Elisa Taylor. The readings were interspersed by Christmas carols sung by a choir.
Tim, who wears tuxedos like no one, was, of course, super elegant. He wasn’t the one who read the most, but his reading of The H-street Sledding Record, by Ron Carlson, was definitely the highlight of the show, and not just because it was Tim reading it. (you can find a recording of it on Youtube. Definitely not as good as Tim’s, but the story is adorable, and fits him so well). You can just tell how much Tim loves acting and being on stage.
But the best part of the show was probably simply watching Tim looking so lovingly at Elisa when she was reading. He was absolutely and totally absorbed, cracking a loving smile every once in a while. (So, okay, maybe I won’t try to ruin their marriage 😉 )
At the intermission we were offered cookies (delicious) and hot cider (delicious too, but a little too hot…). When we were called back to the show, PL and I diligently went back to our seats in the front raw, and when Tim caught sight of us he shot us a gigantic smile. But that was only the beginning…
After the show, the cast joined us in the reception room. And Tim managed to exceed all our expectations. We were hoping we’d get a chance to greet him. You know, just “Hi Tim, great show!”. We were not expecting him to be so happy to see us there that he spent most of his time at the reception with us.
We talked about White Collar of course, and our separation anxiety, our ideas for the finale… He even shared things that I swore not to tell anyone… He talked about all the souvenirs from the set he kept (mostly Peter’s casual clothes, but also seven suits, and surprisingly no ties… And a painting just outside of Neal’s appartment because that’s the one he was seeing the most, waiting for his cue to go in). He talked about the difficulty of commuting (apparently you can tell which scenes he shot on mondays). He talked about sending his kids to college, and not doing theater until then, because he doesn’t want to have to go to work when they’re coming home from school (isn’t that an adorable dad?). He also wanted to know everything about me, what brought me to Madison, my job… We even talked about the faith of Pluto, who is back in the little circle of planets, and the recent discoveries by Philae.
He also confirmed he was working on projects with Fox Television Studio and that he was hoping to direct a Christmas movie (which I assume is Loving Ebeneezer).
He spontaneously offered that we’d take pictures, and when it was time for him to leave, he gave me the longest hug ever.
Tim, me, PL and Elisa
I’m not completely back on Earth yet… But it has to be said, Tim is definitely the kindest, sweetest person I’ve ever met.
I am excited just only read about it…I can’t immagine how excited you were ! Thanks for sharing your experience
And yes he is born to wear a tux 😉
The photo doesn’t render how good he looked in that tux.
And yes, I was really excited. I did manage not to make a complete fool of myself I think, so that’s good. But man I had a hard time sleeping afterward…
Wow, that’s a great story. Tim seems so friendly and down to earth. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks!
Yes Tim is incredibly friendly and accessible. And he seems to genuinely appreciate those moments.
I am excited just only read about it…I can’t immagine how excited you were ! Thanks for sharing your experience
And yes he is born to wears a tux 😉
OH!!! Now understand why you were going to cacth a plane …and ..PL silence!! You lucky girls !! ….but next time give me a call!!!
For those of you not familiar with the H Street Sledding piece it is essentially a young husband and father’s wondrous tribute to his wife and young daughter. Tim’s eyes just glowed during his enthusiastic report of one family’s Christmas traditions involving a fierce sledding instinct and tossing horse dung on the roof.
As performed by Tim, it was no longer a reading of words on pages, but elevated, infused with boundless energy and sly humor and the sheer joy of loving and being loved. Le sigh….
Tim is always so good with his emotions and I think when it come for his wife and kids well …to say that he elevates everything he is reading is still reductive…oh now I regret so much to not have been there!!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful experience! You made my day!
That is very cool! I’m actually a diehard David Archuleta fan (you’ve probably never heard of him), and started watching WC re-runs while David was out of the country. I was immediately drawn in by Matt’s good looks (not gonna lie), and the whole premise (“Catch Me If You Can” was one of my favorite movies). But after seeing WC only a few times, I realized it was Tim & Matt’s chemistry that really kept me coming back.
I’ve met David in person at a Meet & Greet, and had exclusive seating at his concert rehearsal. And although David isn’t Tim or Matt, I’ll never forget that experience. It was a very special once-in-a-lifetime event. So I can just imagine what this must’ve been like for you. My goodness! Hopping on a plane for an intimate “show” with your guy…that’s something that Archuleta fans would do. ha. I understand what made you do it, & it’s just so neat that you were able to spend so much time with Tim, and actually have a discussion…wow! I don’t know Tim or Matt very well, but he seems like a very grounded, genuine, fun-loving person.
He totally is. And he is so worth the time and effort. I’ve met a couple of other celebrities, and none can match Tim. Though the fact he isn’t a giant celebrity also helps, because he remains accessible. But really he is still such a class act.
I went to the set last summer, and it’s not Matt’s fault that he has dozens of fans around him, but that doesn’t allow the quality time you can have with Tim, when you’re only a group of four people who actually appreciate him and don’t just want a picture and signature.
LOL I was told to watch WC because as a fan of Ocean’s 11 and heist movies with smart criminals I should appreciate that show. I really didn’t expect to actually fall for the cop… And I totally blame Tim for it. 😉
Ah, yes..Oceans 11…another one of my favorites! ha. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Brad Pitt & George Clooney were in it.
Hope it’s OK if I add this link: http://www.tvtango.com/news/detail/id/600 It’s a conference call that Tim & Matt did with TV Tango after the finale. I thought it was pretty insightful & detailed. And I was so..”relieved” to know they’re both OK, and still in touch with each other. I know that sounds sappy, but..lol.
About tomorrow…I am just a basketcase. lol. Since I can’t see the finale until it’s out on DVD, I’m so torn. If nobody dies, I want to know how it ends. But if someone does, then I don’t want to know. If Neal has to leave his life & all of his friends, I’m not ready to face that yet. But if it ends on a happy note, I don’t want to wait a year to find out. And the only way to know which kind of ending it is…is to look. But I can’t. lol…So just in case I don’t stop by for awhile, thanks for allowing me to post these last few weeks. And..we’ll all get through this somehow. Yep. 🙂
Wow, what a fun time!
That sounds absolutely like a perfect day. Glad you had it.