When WAMC began airing the NPR quiz show Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! a few years ago, Kathy Jarvis was an instant fan.
But Jarvis, the director of marketing for Proctors, didn’t know the show occasionally went on the road to tape episodes. She assumed it was produced exclusively in its home base of Chicago.
Then one day, she heard an episode of `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!` that had been taped in Florida. Jarvis excitedly told Proctors CEO Phillip Morris that it would be great to bring the show to town. So they worked with WAMC, and on Thursday, May 8, Proctors will hold a live taping of `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!` at 8 p.m. Anyone who can’t make it can still catch the show on WAMC when it airs two days later on Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m.
For the uninitiated, `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!` is an hour-long quiz show. Hosted by Peter Segal with Carl Kasell as the judge and scorekeeper, the show features a panel of celebrity guests who answer questions about current events. There’s plenty of humor thrown in, and one listener wins a personalized answering machine message recorded by Kasell.
`It’s a bit off-beat,` said David Galletly, WAMC’s senior vice president for operations.
`Price is Right` host Drew Carey was one of the celebrity panelists on the April 26 version of `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!` He took part in a game called `Bluff the Listener` in which someone called in and tried to guess which story about a family restaurant chain was true. Carey’s version had the Long John Silver’s seafood restaurant chain deciding to sponsor a bass fishing tournament, with the winning fish being served to a lucky Long John Silver’s diner along with $10,000.
A second story involved a British restaurant firm bringing a restaurant called Pharm Fresh to the United States. The eatery would serve only bio-engineered food like baked potatoes that are big enough to serve four people.
In the last story, Playboy magazine planned to introduce a feature called `The girls of Olive Garden.` That turned out to be true, although the caller guessed Carey’s story was the one rooted in reality.
`It’s very funny,` Jarvis said. `I love it.`
She isn’t alone. Galletly said `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!` has a devoted local following.
`People have really gotten into it,` he said. `It is a very popular program. We hear an awful lot about the show.`
For the Schenectady taping, the celebrity panel will feature Amy Dickinson, who writes the syndicated advice column `Ask Amy` for The Chicago Tribune; Charles Pierce, a writer for The Boston Globe; and Mo Rocca, who contributes to both `CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood` and `The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.` Another guest will be on hand or call in and has not yet been revealed.
The show, which is already sold out, had tickets priced at $33, $30, $27, and $20. At 6:30, Proctors will host a free `theater talk` for ticket holders, who are encouraged to ask questions about the artists and the performance.
In addition to being heard on WAMC on Saturday, the show will be archived on NPR’s Web site at www.npr.org. Jarvis encouraged people to check it out.
`It’s good for anyone that listens to radio,` she said.“
