While I was in New York, I got to attend a taping of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” The new show has a different vibe than Conan O’Brien’s but it’s still filled with goofiness. At the Thursday show I attended, three audience members did air drumming and one won a real drum set. Pretty cool, huh? Fallon played beer pong with Ivanka Trump (she won) and joshed with Kiefer Sutherland.

Interestingly, Fallon sweats a lot. Between segments, makeup and hair people were patting him down. Meanwhile, a writer conferred over possible ad libs. Fallon didn’t talk with the audience during the show but at the end he raced through both sides, high-fiving as many aisle dwellers as he could reach. (Yup, he touched my hands. His are very soft. Moisturizer, no doubt.) He’s extremely thin, nice and well-groomed. He seemed a bit nervous but, hey, he’s new to the job.

The Roots, meanwhile, were incredible. They entertained  before the show (even dancing) and kept the mood up during commercial breaks. The tuba player was very good; the drummer seemed to have his own following

The stage is small. Really small. So tickets are at a premium. Someday, Fallon could be headed for an early timeslot. He’s got what it takes.

Bruce Miller previews the Disney Pixar animated adventure “Up” in this week’s Movies in a Minute.

Two of the most praised performers on Broadway this year have Siouxland ties.
Tanner Pflueger, a 14-year-old from Norfolk, Neb., is one of the boys playing the leading role in “Billy Elliot” and Saycon Sengbloh, a past winner of the Donna Reed festival, is one of the tribe in “Hair.”
Both are incredible performers. Both do us proud.
In “Billy Elliot” (a stage version of the hit movie; its music is by Elton John) Pflueger has to tap, perform ballet and hip-hop moves, sing, act AND fly. In short, he carries the show and, judging by the standing ovation he got the day I saw it, he’s doing quite well, thank you. Greg Jbara, the actor who plays his dad, says he’s one of the strongest Billys he has worked with. If there’s a “complete” package, it’s Tanner. Interestingly, he was in the show’s London cast, then got called to New York to fill in while a fourth Billy recuperates from surgery. The show is so grueling it needs more than one actor to handle eight performances a week. Thus the triple-casting.
At “Hair,” we saw Saycon sing the opening number, “Aquarius.” She did such a remarkable job star Will Swenson chided latecomers for missing it. “You should have been here earlier,” he told the folks as they were being seated. “She sang the hell out of that song.”
Like Tanner, she’s expected to do plenty. The cast even gets naked before the end of the first act. The lighting, though, is moody enough that it’s not the big reveal you’d think. More interesting? The cast spends a good deal of time in the audience, messing with theatergoers. Then, when they’re on stage, they sing like few others on Broadway.
A reason to cheer? We’ve got plenty. Tanner and Saycon make us proud to say they’ve got connections back home.

I was in New York over Memorial Day to see some Broadway shows and I’ve got plenty to tell you.

First, though, I gotta say it’s fun to watch stars mingle with the normal folk.

At “West Side Story,” Sean Penn arrived with his son and daughter and kept his head down before the curtain rose. A guy tried to talk to him but he begged off. The kids, meanwhile, went back to the lobby (to buy souvenirs? to go to the bathroom?), then joined dad for the show. Just before the end of the first act, the three left and never returned. Did they hate the show? Were the kids bored? Did they find something better to do? Who knows? But the kids were very well-behaved. And there was an empty seat between the Penn entourage and another theatergoer. (Was that Robin’s place? Just asking.)

Then, at “Billy Elliot,” Carrie Ann Inaba (as in “Dancing with the Stars”) arrived IN A FEDORA slung low so no one  could see her face. She had her parents in tow and as soon as she sat down, she took the hat off and started texting people. No one could interrupt her (but I’m thinking not too many even recognized her). She loved the show, however, (she was among the first to stand during the curtain call) and WAITED in the theater until it emptied out. Yup, she put the hat back on. And she was quite impressed with Tanny Pflueger, the Norfolk, Neb., native who’s now playing Billy on Broadway (he was in the London cast until recently).

At “Shrek,” a woman in sunglasses (no kidding) arrived after the curtain went up with a couple of kids. Then, before it went down at the end of Act One, she and the entourage scooted out. Second act? Repeat. I never did figure out who she was, but she must have thought she was really famous because she didn’t even wait to see the end of the show. How sad. Why even bother going if you’re so worried about being recognized? I know actors who would kill for the attention.

At “9 to 5,” Lainie Kazan visited with everyone. At “West Side Story,” Peter Berg was more than willing to talk with those around him.

Maybe that speaks volumes.

Bruce Miller previews “Night at the Museum II” and “Terminator – Salvation” in this week’s Movies in a Minute.

Say what? Kris Allen won “American Idol”?
That proves this is more a popularity competition than a singing contest. You could see the judges were pretty stunned, too, that Adam Lambert didn’t take it.
Could it have been because everyone expected Adam to win..,and didn’t? Or was it Kris’ all-American appeal?
Wednesday’s shocker was preceded by more filler than the Octomom’s hamburgers. A bunch of oldies (and we do mean oldies) sang with the contestants. In the end, Adam and Kris sang “We are the Champions” with what’s left of Queen.
Kara DioGuardi even warbled (and she was good) when Bikini Girl came out and nabbed one of the goofball trophies “AI” has taken to giving. Tara del Toro and Nick Mitchell got ‘em too, helping the show stretch past the two-hour mark.
Thankfully, the judges were pretty muzzled throughout. Paula Abdul stood repeatedly and Kara tried to look like she was just as hot as the contestants.
Among other observations:
1. Some contestants didn’t leave soon enough, judging from their performances. (Megan Joy, this means you.)
2. Michael Sarver hasn’t passed up many buffets since he was voted off.
3. Danny Gokey modeled four different pairs of glasses. The deal must be in place.
4. Kris is now the first married winner of “Idol.” Strangely, his wife was never interviewed.
5. When Adam sang with KISS it looked like he was wearing one of his leftover costumes from “Wicked.”
6. Bikini Girl got two big presents.
7. Remember…Jennifer Hudson didn’t win and got an Oscar.
8. Does anyone really want to buy Kris’ first single – particularly since it’s out of his range?
9. Justin Guarini was in the audience. Was he an usher? Or did they really want him there?
10. This had to be the longest “Idol” competition in history.
Seacrest out.

Iowan Shawn Johnson is still America’s golden girl.
Tuesday night the gymnast became the third Olympian to win the mirrored-ball trophy on “Dancing with the Stars.” Her partner, Mark Ballas, became a two-time winner (having previously won with Kristi Yamaguchi).
They bested Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke, who came in second, and Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani who came in third.
Truly? Gilles and Cheryl should have won. The two were exquisite throughout the series and had the moves that define ballroom dancers. Shawn’s edge? There’s a popular vote that factors in and could give a dark horse the edge. Remember Kelly Monaco? Remember Emmitt Smith? John O’Hurley and Joey Lawrence were considered locks. They didn’t win. Neither did Stacy Keibler, Mario Lopez, Joey Fatone or Mel B.
Athletes, though, do have someting special. They know pressure. Apolo Anton Ohno, Helio Castroneves and Smith came from the ranks.
Tuesday, Johnson looked great. She performed wonderfully and removed the doubts anyone might have had.
Still, Gilles was consistently the best and should have won.
What does this mean? Gilles will get an acting gig. Shawn will become the darling of Disney (which owns ABC, by the way). Melissa doesn’t have to go back to “The Bachelor.”
A good choice? Sure. Shawn’s from Iowa and she does the state proud. Even better? She shows there is life after the Olympics.
Golden? Of course.
But Gilles will still be the king of the Argentine tango. And, as Shawn would tell him, silver ain’t half bad, either.

If Adam Lambert isn’t named the next “American Idol,” there are other factors at play. Clearly, he was the best after three songs Tuesday night.

While his costumes ran the gamut (his first looked like something from “Twilight”), his vocals were spot-on.

Not so, Kris Allen’s. He was great with his first number, pretty good with his second and a wreck on his third.

That third, by the way, was co-written by Kara and is expected to be the first single from the winner. Adam didn’t do well with it, either (called “No Boundaries” it references everything but the kitchen sink), but at least he was  in the right key.

The best face-off: The middle songs. While Adam got a civil rights number (Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”), Kris got a peace lament (Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”). Both were good, but they pointed up how truly different the two singers are. Adam is theatrical. Kris is acoustic. One’s Liza Minnelli. The other’s John Mayer.

Both had ample opportunity to make a last bid for votes. In my mind (and the judges’), Adam clearly won.

That’s not a surprise, particularly since he has led the competition throughout. The others are just pretenders. Kris is merely another option.

The judges, meanwhile, still need work.

Paula has positioned herself as the oracle (”I know with every fiber in my body you are going to be iconic”); Kara is the mouthy girl you never liked in high school; Randy is the old guy trying to use slang so he sounds relevant and Simon is the naysayer, able to find fault with just about anything (and, sometimes, deservedly so).

Interestingly, I had the distinct impression there was some lip-synching going on Tuesday. Several times when Adam was shown in closeup, the music didn’t match the lips. Still, he has the look of a winner.

Get ready for the coronation.

There was more than a little hip hop on display during the finals of “Dancing with the Stars.” (Gee, we thought it was a ballroom dancing competition.)

After doing an obligatory paso, the three finalists broke out the Spandex and twisted, turned, tumbled and tromped. But they didn’t really dance.

Shawn Johnson did the best in the individual round (cutting back her usual gymnastics moves for some high steppin’). Melissa the Dumped Bachelorette was worst. And Gilles Marini fell in the middle. When their scores were combined, Shawn and Gilles were tied at 58; Melissa had 56. That suggests Melissa goes first tomorrow, then it’s just a matter of seeing who has the bigger fan base.

Gilles, though, deserves the title. He was consistently good throughout the season. Shawn had her moments (and she already has a gold medal from the Olympics and the Sullivan Trophy…does she really want that tacky mirror ball in the same display case?).

The fates, though, are in her favor. The other Olympians who made the finals won. She’s working with a past champion and she’s one of those TV darlings they love to anoint.

Gilles has the winningest partner/coach (Cheryl Burke) and he looks so natural on the dance floor you can’t tell who’s the pro and who’s the amateur.

I’m guessin’ Gilles will still get it. Shawn will just have to  be satisfied with a dozen endorsement deals, a handful of medals, a shot at a Disney television series and extremely high expectations for next year’s prom.

If he doesn’t win, Gilles just has a cameo in the “Sex and the City” sequel to look forward to.

How hot is country newcomer Jake Owen?

Well, the smoke alarm went off twice during his performance at WinnaVegas Friday night. During his cover of “Fire and Rain,” he even made up lyrics to match the moment. It was great.

Owen was, too. Filling more than 90 minutes with his hits (including the chart-topping “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You”) and others (he did “Slow Hand” incredibly well), the Academy of Country Music’s top new male vocalist demonstrated why he’s such a bright new light.

The guy was pretty personable, too. He stuck around after the concert, signed autographs and admitted some folks in the casino didn’t  know who he was.

At the concert, he said the casino was meant for making money but the show room was designed for making memories.

Look for him to move into the top ranks very soon. He’s just that good.