Wed. 9:30 a.m. - My intern and I get picked up by a Wolf Trap driver at the Center for Education
10:15 a.m. - Arrive at the Melrose Hotel in NW D.C. to pick up Eric Idle.
10:30 a.m. – Accidentally drive to 635 Massachusetts Ave. NE instead of NW, which is the location of National Public Radio studios.
10:33 a.m. - Place a borderline frantic call over to Wolf Trap to double check NPR's address. Now we're still on pace to arrive at NPR by 10:50, but given that I'm in charge of delivering Monty Python troupe member/internationally recognizable celebrity Eric Idle to Robert Siegel at NPR for his 11 a.m. "All Things Considered" interview, combined with that fact that he's sitting right next to me, I imagine it's only natural to feel an inkling of panic...
10:43 a.m. - Back on track and headed to the CORRECT address.
10:50 a.m. - Mr. Idle is comfortably sitting in a leather office chair in the "All Things Considered" studio, sipping a tall cup of tea. NPR staff members quickly catch on to his presence, and about 15 people gather in the control room to listen to his 25 minute discussion with Robert Siegel.
11:00 a.m. - Interview begins. Tears caused by laughter are legitimately running down the face of a NPR staffer that has situated himself almost right up against the glass between the control room and the studio. Topics range from Idle's co-creation of and starring role in Not the Messiah! (He's a Very Naughty Boy,) (which incidentally is tonight's performance at the Filene Center,) to the Python films Life of Brian and The Holy Grail, to the holy grail stage adaptation, Spamalot. Tune into NPR this afternoon at 5:50 to catch the full length interview.
11:30 a.m. - Interview concludes. Per his request, we take him down to the waterfront in Georgetown for some seafood, and despite the fact that the waiter misplaced his order, leading to a lunch of crab bisque, oysters on the half shell, and a side salad, rather than what I think was an order for a soft shell crab sandwich, we enjoyed a pleasant dining experience which, surprisingly, didn't involve any incidents from nearby Monty Python fans dining in the restaurant.
12:30 p.m. - After a brief stroll to walk off our lunch, we escort Mr. Idle back to his hotel. Mr. Idle proceeds to give us the insider's scoop on what we can expect from Thursday evening's performance, which includes over 100 musicians on stage, a flock of multi-racial sheep, snow in July, and a finale to end all finales.
1:00 p.m. - We drop Mr. Idle off at his hotel, wish him well in Thursday's performance, I give him a few last details for pending afternoon interviews with WTOP FM and Associated Press radio, and head back to Wolf Trap.
Quite a morning! And I just have to say...Mr. Idle was an absolute delight. Not a hint of pretension, rather a genuine interest in my work, my life, and a frivolous, liberal demeanor that led to refreshingly candid discussions about life as a celebrity, politics, his future projects, life as a family man, and on and on.
Head out to Wolf Trap tonight for what I think might be the best show of the summer.
Lastly,
here is the link to the "All Things Considered" web-based piece. Audio becomes available at 7 p.m. this evening.
Cheers,
Graham
