If you're a Price is Right fan, a game show fan, or just enjoy having an all-around good time (with the chance to win some prizes, of course), you owe it to yourself to go to The Price is Right Live.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE:
1. READ THE OFFICIAL RULES!!!!! I heard sooo many people while waiting in line having no idea how the show was going to work, and were constantly spouting off misinformation to others around them. If you read the rules, it tells you absolutely everything you need to know.
2. If you read the Rules, you'd know this, but the show has a SLIGHTLY different format (only 5 games, one Wheel spin, one Showcase) than the TV version and the prizes are not quite so luxurious as what you'd find on the TV show. Again, if you read the Rules you'd know this, but I figured I'd state it here just to be sure.
3. LINE UP EARLY! To have a chance to be a contestant, sign-ups start 3 hours before showtime until 15 minutes before the show begins. We arrived exactly when sign-ups were due to begin, and there were at least 300 people in line ahead of us. It was an hour and a half before we were through the line and registered, and the line was just as long then as it was when we got there. If you want to make sure you get a chance to play, get there nice and early!
And with that out of the way... the review! I'm going to assume that you know at least some basic knowledge about the Price is Right (i.e. have watched the show before). With that said, onwards!
The traveling version of the show we watched has 5 pricing games, one round of "The Big Wheel," and the Showcase round to end. "The Big Wheel" is played in-between the third and fourth pricing game, to emulate where it is played in the actual show. Each pricing game is preceded by an item up for bids, and every time they call down 4 new contestants. This means you get ONE chance up there... but you will get a nice T-shirt even if you don't win. The Big Wheel, unlike the TV show, calls up 3 more random contestants for a cash prize for coming closest to $1 without going over. Likewise, the Showcase is also 2 randomly chosen contestants... and they both bid on a single showcase. Like I said above, if you read the Rules, this will come as no surprise to you. The games they played were a nice "best of" selection... we had Punch-A-Bunch, Cliff Hangers, Any Number, Hole in One, and (of course) Plinko. In-between games, random audience members were awarded gift cards. In all, there were plenty of chances to win something that night!
But how (you may ask) was the show... did it feel like the Price is Right? YES... a million times yes! This was the best episode of the Price is Right that I've watched/been a part of since the days of Bob Barker... Todd Newton and crew did an absolutely AMAZING job. It doesn't matter that we were rooting for someone to win $2,500 instead of $50,000... the money doesn't matter, it's still the Price is Right. They had that certain something... a kind of vibe that you can't really put into words. That night, for two hours, we weren't just in a crowded, stuffy auditorium... we were the audience of the one and only Price is Right. It's an experience I won't soon forget, and I urge any and everyone who would take the time to read through all this to take a chance and go see the show. You won't be disappointed.
(Also, you can pay $20 after the show and get a T-shirt and go up and spin the Big Wheel. Can anyone say dream come true?)