December 8, 2011 - 11:49pm
'The Ellen Show' in Ann Arbor
BY KAYLA UPADHYAYA
- Alden Reiss/Daily
(ALDEN REISS/Daily)
(MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily)
(ALDEN REISS/Daily)
(ALDEN REISS/Daily)
(ALDEN REISS/Daily)
Last night, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted, “If you live in Ann Arbor, Michigan and you aren't following me, I would start now, and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow's a big day.”
Rumors and speculation started spreading around the Internet about where and why Ellen would be in Ann Arbor. This morning, several sources suggested she might be coming to promote Toys for Tots at a Walgreens in town. When Ellen then tweeted instructions to get a toy and get ready, the theory seemed all the more plausible.
A crowd of students and Ellen fans started gathering at the Walgreens on Jackson Ave. around noon. Walgreens employees patrolled the aisles, refusing to comment on anything about the event, and fans with signs and toys waited patiently for word of what was going down.
Ellen’s production team and correspondent arrived and announced everyone should keep checking the “Ellen Show” Twitter account for updates throughout the day. One representative urged fans to go home, get warm and return to the Walgreens around 8 p.m. She said the event, the details of which are still unclear, will be going live at 9 p.m.
Ellen confirmed the location of the event in a tweet shortly after the representative's announcement, instructing her Ann Arbor followers to show up at 2355 Jackson Ave at 7:30 p.m. in a favorite holiday outfit with a toy to donate. She tweeted that people who come could be on her show, help a kid in need, and win something (a “win win win” as she put it).
Though it is still uncertain whether Ellen is in the area and will be attending the event herself and reports as to what time to arrive are mixed, the production team and broadcasting truck that arrived around 2 p.m. made it clear that “The Ellen Show” definitely has something in the works at the Jackson Ave. Walgreens tonight.
Update - 11:12 p.m.
For those of you who did not trek to Jackson Ave tonight, rest assured. While the toy-bearing masses gathered at Walgreens, Ellen Degeneres was resting comfortably in her studio in warm Burbank, Calif.
Upon arriving, people had to wait in a long line before presenting their toy in exchange for a raffle ticket. They were then instructed to wait in yet another long line to get a spot in a taped-off area in front of a television screen and looming camera lights.
Jeannie Klisiewicz, Ellen’s production assistant, announced over a megaphone that the screen would show a live broadcast of the taping of tomorrow’s episode of “The Ellen Show” starting at 9:00 p.m. A crew member explained that about 15 minutes into the show, the camera in Ann Arbor would go live and broadcast Jeannie walking through the crowd.
Some people had been waiting at Walgreens since as early as 4 p.m., and even though most of them had figured out by this point that Ellen herself was not coming, they were excited at the prospect of being on the show, so they decided to brave the bitter cold.
Ellen’s tweets throughout the day had instructed people to show up in holiday costumes, and most obeyed, donning light-up Santa hats, ugly Christmas sweaters and reindeer antlers. Some got a bit more creative, like LSA sophomore Sophie Boudreau, who dressed as a lump of coal with her two friends.
“I skipped class and work just to come,” Boudreau said. “I thought she was going to be here in person, I kind of had my hopes up, but I’ll settle for the screen if that’s what we get.”
The University’s women’s ice hockey club team came straight from practice, stopping on the way to pick up toys to donate. Still wearing their uniforms and helmets, they made their way to the center of the crowd.
“We love Ellen,” said LSA senior Jennifer Chronis, the club’s president. “We watch the show all the time.”
A four-person ultra-hipster band (complete with an accordion) played Christmas carols as crowd members danced around them to keep warm. People waved around pictures of Ellen’s face and students held signs that said things like: “#ForgetFinals @TheEllenShow IS HERE!”
When Ellen finally came on screen and introduced the Ann Arbor crowd, everyone cheered, screamed and searched frantically for the camera. Klisiewicz walked down a narrow aisle between the sea of people and everyone tried to get into the camera’s view, flashing their smiles, showing off their costumes and shouting their love for Ellen.
The Walgreens gang watched the screen as Ellen thanked everyone for supporting Toys for Tots and announced that one lucky person would be winning a $5000 gift card to Walgreens.
“I love Ann Arbor, I do,” Ellen said, eliciting plenty of cheering from the energized horde of fans. If people were angry at the fact that she had teased us into thinking she would be coming to town, they weren’t showing it — they were simply enjoying being a part of “The Ellen Show.”
