Come on Down!
Columbus is the next contestant on The Price Is Right Live
By Frank Etheridge
Todd Newton feels like the timeless daytime game show “The Price Is Right” is “as American as apple.”
“My grandmother introduced me to The Price is Right,” explains Newton, the Emmy Award-winning host who was hand-picked by the late, great Bob Barker to conduct the game show’s touring production, which comes to the RiverCenter in Columbus for one spectacular night of guessing prices and spinning wheels on Sunday, October 20. “I watched the show in college and I watched it when my children were young. It’s like the ‘Rocky’ movies — it’s been there my whole life. Not many aspects of life stick with you through all its stages.”
Barker created the interactive stage-show version of The Price Is Right “to create little bit of Hollywood to take across America so the people who can’t fly to Los Angeles and stand in line for tickets have the opportunity to play the games and win the prizes,” according to Newton in a direct quote from Barker. With more than $75 million awarded in cash and prizes throughout his career as a game-show host, Newton — who’s hosted programs such as “Whammy: The All New Press Your Luck” and “Hollywood Showdown” as well as for the past 2 years his own Amazon / Roku show, “The Tattooed Traveler,” where he ventures out to dive-bars and funky local haunts — says Barker “changed the course of my life” when he was tapped to host the touring production.
“He taught me everything I Know,” Newton tells The LocaL in a Google Meet video interview. “He’s the king. He embodied not only what a great game-show host is but also what a true master of ceremonies is.”
“I knew this is what I wanted to do as soon as I hosted my first game-show in 1999,” says Newton, whose Entertainment Weekly description as ‘smooth and personable’ shines through in the 20-minute interview. “I love the live feel.I love that there’s no second take. And I especially love sharing a moment of winning with a complete stranger — I think that’s beautiful. I think the key to being a good game-show host is playing the game through the eyes of the contestants. To put yourself in their shoes and savor the moment with them. I root for them to win every single time.”
The live audience at the RiverCenter will have the chance to “come on down” and play the same games in the same format as they watch at home on TV. “This is not a knock-off,” Newton says of the touring version. “It was created by the same people. It’s produced by the same people. Authenticity is number 1 for us.”
Even better, the Price Is Right Live is not limited to one hour (minus commercial breaks). “That means more contestants, more prizes,” Newton says. “It’s a full night out. We give people their money’s worth. The audience plays the same games to win the same fabulous vacations, kitchen appliances, cars and cash as won on TV.”
The secret to the Price Is Right’s enduring popularity and special place in our culture?
“I think it’s that sense of comfort and familiarity it gives people,” answers Newton. “Plus, it combines so many games in one. So you never know which game it’s going to be; you never know what the prize is going to be. The suspense keeps you on the edge of your seats in the theater and the edge of your couch at home.”
The Price Is Right Live
6 p.m. Sunday, October 20
RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, 900 Broadway, Columbus, GA, 31901
Tickets start at $35-$55 and available at rivercenter.org