And the number one reason to watch The Late Show with David Letterman on May 21 is to see over 50 Tufts students in the audience (and maybe even a cameo appearance by Jumbo.)
The Late Show will fly in an entire audience of 451 people from Boston on May 20 to tape the last of its four city-specific episodes. The three previous installments of the series featured audiences from Miami, Philadelphia, and Nashville.
According to Rob Burnett, Letterman's executive producer and a graduate of Tufts' Class of '84, the show will be tailored to the Boston audience with a special Top Ten List and numerous Beantown references. He added that there will be "a lot of surprises, which is another way of saying that there will be even more ways to get Boston involved that we haven't even thought about yet."
Tufts' public relations office received a phone call from the show three weeks ago, and assumed the task of picking the volunteers from the student body. Some of the lucky students include TCU President Larry Harris, former Daily Editor-in-Chief Pete Sanborn, and the Student Alumni Relations Committee chair Scott Nussbaum.
Also heading to New York for the taping will be the Tufts Beelzebubs. Even though they are not scheduled to perform, the singers are hoping that they can seize this opportunity for exposure. "It would be awesome if during a commercial we could break out into a tune to get noticed," said Jeremy Cramer, the group's president. "It would be great if we could get permission for that. We'll figure something out, but it'll be a fun surprise for all of us."
Nussbaum and Sanborn, who work for Cindy Pollard in the Public Relations Office, essentially served as the coordinators for this event and took the responsibility of finding the students over a two-day period.
"It's really cool," Sanborn said. "It's great to have an opportunity to do this. Seeing Tufts in the audience is a great way to gain visibility, but it's even more fun that we get the chance. It definitely means a lot that [the producers] chose us too."
Sanborn added that the Tufts contingent would be doing a lot to be conspicuous. "We've been figuring out ways to make ourselves visible. We're bringing down the Jumbo suit, and are making sure that everyone has Tufts clothing on."
Other guests on the show include Natalie Portman, who stars in the new Star Wars movie, and Boston native and actor Tom Everett Scott. While Burnett would not confirm this, the Boston Globe reported that Red Sox All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and future Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk would also appear on the show.
"It's a unique opportunity," Nussbaum said. "We are really fortunate to be able to take advantage of it."
