VIDEOS: David Letterman And Jimmy Fallon Perform Monologues To Empty Theaters During Sandy

by UInterviewOctober 31, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Hurricane Sandy might have brought the city of New York to its knees on Monday, but it sure didn't stop dedicated late night talk show hosts David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon from showing up to work — even though they had no audiences to perform for.

Letterman performed his monologue to an almost-empty Ed Sullivan Theater, other than band leader Paul Schafer and a few scattered behind-the-scenes employees. When Schafer, who engaged in his usual onstage banter with Letterman, asked how they were supposed to deal with the awkwardness of not getting laughs when they told jokes, Letterman responded, "Just like every night. We pretend the audience isn't here."

Letterman's jokes included such gems as, "I got up this morning, turned on the radio and listened for the talk show closings. I have no luck. No luck." And when Letterman's "guest," Kate Hudson, was introduced, it was just a nondescript bald man who emerged and proceeded to answer question as if he were Hudson.

Fallon, whose approach is typically far less dry than that of veteran Late Show host Letterman, chose not to deliver the entirety of his monologue to the empty theater, instead talking to the camera as it followed him through the door from the street, where he explained that Late Night had sent its audience home. Finally, Fallon took the stage, and The Roots gamely laughed at his truncated monologue.