Oprah's 'Farewell Spectacular' Lives Up to its Name

A day after attending the taping of Oprah’s giant sendoff, the surrealism of so many stars all in one place still had Elmhurst resident Danny Rhodes shaking his head in disbelief.

The taping was for two shows, scheduled to air May 23 and 24.

“At one point, everyone from both shows was on stage,” he said. “That was crazy to see the camera pan and see Madonna, Queen Latifah, Rosie O’Donnell, Dakota Fanning and all of these people dancing onstage to Rascal Flatts. It was just like a fever dream.”

Rhodes, an actor, attended “Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular” at the United Center with friend Debbie Maclean of Lombard. Maclean's mother obtained the free tickets through an online lottery system. 

The pair got to the arena in plenty of time, expecting beefed up security. 

“When we walked in, security was nil,” Rhodes said. “They barely checked the women’s bags. I didn’t even get zapped or patted down or anything. I was a little surprised. I would’ve been fine waiting in line another half hour if they were doing that.”

Once in their seats, Rhodes and Maclean never got up during the four-hour taping.

“They discouraged you from getting up from your seats because of the cameras,” Rhodes said. “[Debbie] and I, we never even went to the bathroom. We didn’t want to.”

The taping, which started at 6 p.m., was a non-stop parade of A-listers, including Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, who hosted the first show, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, who hosted the second show. Other celebs included Michael Jordon, Halle Berry, Diane Sawyer and Katie Holmes.

Jerry Seinfeld did some stand-up comedy. And, in the “Best Friends” segment, Maria Shriver, who recently has dominated headlines with her high-profile separation from Arnold Schwartzenegger, shared the stage with Gayle King, Oprah’s celebrated bestie. 

Maya Angelou, accompanied by Alicia Keyes on piano, read a poem written for Oprah. And musical guests included Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Usher and Jamie Foxx, who serenaded Oprah with “Isn’t She Lovely.” Rosie O’Donnell sang an altered version of “Fever” and was later joined by Oprah protégés Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Phil McGraw and Nate Berkus.

According to Rhodes, the title “Surprise Oprah” lived up to its name. 

“She was just constantly being surprised,” said Rhodes.

Each guest was brought out in a clever way, such as Madonna, who Rhodes said was introduced as a “hard-working single mother of four from New York."

When Kristin Chenoweth took the stage to sing “For Good” from Broadway’s "Wicked," Oprah at first didn’t see the hundreds of men walking in. The men, because of generous scholarships from Oprah, had graduated from Morehouse College.

“She thought Kristin Chenoweth was kind of serenading her, then all these guys with lights are all standing right behind her,” Rhodes said. “That was really moving. Oprah was a mess after that.”

Rhodes admits to tearing up a few times during the show, too.

“You couldn’t help it,” he said. “It was so good.”

“It just made you see how much Oprah’s done—for the world, really,” Rhodes said. “For that many people to come out for you on a Tuesday to surprise you, I don’t think anyone in Hollywood would get that kind of response.”

Even the NBA came through for Oprah. Because of the taping at the United Center, game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Bulls vs. Miami Heat) was postponed a day.

“It really showed you how you just say ‘Oprah’ in Chicago, and everyone just says, ‘Yes.’ ”