Live updates from 'Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular'

11:20 p.m.: Show's over. Now it's time to go searching for that much-talked about Oprah afterparty or go home. I think I'll do the latter. Thanks for following along and thanks most of all to Angela, the staff member who let me borrow her phone charger as my blackberry's battery died. I couldn't have done this without her. Literally.

11:14 p.m.: The last surprise of the night is Usher. He sings "Oh Happy Day" with a gospel choir as the show's other guests take the stage for one of those group sing alongs. Afterward, all the celebs hug each other like they do at the end of "Saturday Night Live" every week.

10:56 p.m.: Get ready to Awww. It's Stedman's turn on stage. "Honey, you are so special," he said. "I'm so happy for your success and so proud of you. ... It amazes me that I get to be around a woman who changes people's lives everyday and I get to be around a woman who takes her own lunch to work every day. She says she takes her lunch to work because she wants to save money."

10:43 p.m.: Next up is Dr. Maya Angelou, who recites a poem about Oprah as Alicia Keyes plays the piano. At least I think it's a poem. It's always hard to tell with Angelou. She could be ordering a pizza and it would still probably sound like a poem.

10:24 p.m.: Winfrey begins to cry after a montage about her impact on education and really lets the waterworks go during Kristin Chenoworth's performance afterward, which includes students from Morehouse College. "If you're looking for a breakdown, that was it," Winfrey said. "Carry me on out of here."

10:15 p.m.: Maria Shriver comes out with Gayle King and, believe it or not, King is the one who has the awkward moment on stage. Her mic wasn't working and had to start her heartfelt speech over. Afterward, Shriver talks about Winfrey's impact and makes no mention of you know what.

10:05 p.m.: Simon Cowell introduces Rosie O'Donnell, who sings "You give me fever" with Oprah lyrics. The song features cameos from Dr. Phil,  Nate Berkus and Dr. Oz but no Rachel Ray. O'Donnell's new talk show will take over Harpo Studios when Oprah leaves.

9:51 p.m.: Jerry Seinfeld comes out in a tux to do a quick set. I can't tell if I'm not laughing because I'm tired or because he just did an entire set on marriage.

9:39 p.m.: Jamie Foxx and Stevie Wonder perform "Isn't She Lovely." The crowd digs it and claps along, which is good since it sounds like we have a while to go. Speaking of Wonder, I hear he was at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue today. 

Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

9:33 p.m.: Hall of Famer Michael Jordan came out to the "And now ..." Bulls theme. That song never gets old. Jordan says: "We came into Chicago at the same time ... You've done wonderfully. I know you've been fan of basketball. I've been fan of yours."

9:27 p.m.: And we're back -- the second show has started, and it appears Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have taken over the hosting duties from Tom Hanks.

9:26 p.m.: Got a better look at the crowd when the lights came on during intermission. The United Center is filled with women in pastel church dresses. This place looks like one big easter basket.

8:58 p.m.: Cruise and wife Holmes introduce a performance by Rascal Flatts. And that closes the taping of the first show. Rascal Flatts is performing "I Won't Let Go." Not sure why they went with a slow song. They have better songs. Like 20 of them. The crowd needs an energy boost (or more Beyonce). They're not as loud as they were before.

 
Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

8:47 p.m.: Halle Berry, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes have hit the stage. The three actresses go on and on (and on) about Winfrey's impact. If you need to go to the bathroom at some point when the show airs, this will be a good time.

 
Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

8:30 p.m.: Diane Sawyer greets the crowd and announces that 25,000 oak trees are being planted in Winfrey's honor. Incidentally, the Tribune is hearing from Oprah's PR team that 13,000 are in attendance.

8:25 p.m.: Winfrey to the crowd: "I'm so happy you are all here. How did you get tickets? You must know somebody."

8:13 p.m. Beyonce was so good, she's performing the same exact song again -- only this time without camera errors (I'm guessing that's what happened). The crowd is holding up blue lights for the performance. It reminds me of a Super Bowl halftime show.

 
Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

7:55 p.m. Beyonce has hit the stage. Loudest applause of the night, not counting Oprah. She's performing "Run the World (Girls)" in a tuxedo-like dress.

7:42 p.m. Madonna joins Tom Hanks and Oprah but it doesn't look like she's performing, which is disappointing. "Like a Prayer" is one of my favorite song ... I mean, uh, um, what's the score of the Mavs-Thunder game?

 
Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

7:39 p.m. Madonna's on stage.

7:34 p.m. Josh Groban hits the stage to sing "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow" and then Patti LaBelle comes out to finish the song. Impressive. Hopefully they do Freebird next.

7:27 p.m. Hanks introduces Tom Cruise by saying "some might say pulling off this party has been darn near a mission impossible."

7:23 p.m. Hanks: "Oprah Winfrey, today you are surrounded by nothing but love. Your studio wasn't big enough to hold it all, so here we are."

7:20 p.m. And the crowd goes wild. Oprah has hit the stage to the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling." She's joined onstage by Tom Hanks.

7:10 p.m. You know those bachelorette parties where the women dance to every song and use any excuse to scream? The atmosphere here is kind of like that -- only with 20,000 people.

7 p.m. Before the show, one guy proposed to his girlfriend on stage. This might be the only time a girl would ever want to get proposed to at the United Center.

 
Brian Cassella/Tribune photo

6:53 p.m. The announcer revealed Charles Barkley, Emmitt Smith and Dave Chappelle will be in the crowd. I hear Barkely was supposed to hit Chicago Cut Steakhouse tonight -- maybe afterward?

6:51 p.m. Apparently former mayor Richard Daley and the Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews are in the crowd. Mascots Benny the Bull and Tommy Hawk are also here.

6:17 p.m. The show hasn't started, but there are plenty of well-dressed adults dancing to the music. Even the 80-something by the stage is getting down. I feel like I'm at a Bar Mitzvah. For those of you wondering what the stage looks like, I'd say it has an "American Idol" feel to it. The United Center has also been decorated with sort of an Oprah Ring of Honor featuring photos from past episodes.

6:12 p.m. Bulls mascot Benny the Bull is working the crowd as it gets ready for showtime.

 
Mike Tercha/Tribune photo

5:42 p.m.  Beyonce is going through her soundcheck. She's performing "Girls Who Run the World."

5:33 p.m. I took my seat and there was a box of Kleenex waiting for me. There's a box in about every third seat. Seriously. Unless they plan on showing the ending of "Rudy," I probably won't use it.

 5:09 p.m. There are no signs of celebs by the United Center entrance yet (unless you count "106 and Park" co-host-turned "Access Hollywood" correspondent A.J. a celeb, which a lot of the women here do.) It appears the celebs will enter through the back entrance currently being guarded by suit-wearing security. Speaking of suits, that's what many of the men in line are wearing. Many of the women are wearing dresses (and are probably regretting it because of the cold).

4:49 p.m. Don't even bother trying to come to the United Center in hopes of scoring an extra ticket. All the "Have an extra ticket?" people I talked to said not one person has stopped to sell a ticket. 

 
Brian Cassella/Tribune photo

4:34 p.m. I've arrived at the United Center, where there is already a line down the block for the 7 pm show. Not suprisingly, just about every media outlet in Chicago is here interviewing the crowd. Even less suprising? There is 1 man to about every 10 woman outside the venue.

2:22 p.m. For those of you who didn't see it on my blog earlier this afternoon, Beyonce was rehearsing for her performance at tonight's show at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago on Monday and Tuesday. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson dined at Spiaggia on Monday. I assume he'll be taking part in the show as well?

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