The "That Lady Wants To See My A**!!" Story

Sue spinning the big wheel after the show

It was an ordinary day.  Watching "The Price is Right" on TV and trying to see if I can find my friend Sue in the audience.  Sue works with my wife Carol at the Parish Resource Center in Lancaster and recently traveled to the west coast on vacation with her husband.  One of her stops was at CBS Television City in Los Angeles to see "The Price is Right."  The show has been on her bucket list for years and she finally had the chance to cross it off her list.  When I found out the date that the show she visited was going to be on TV, I had to tune it in.  For years I also have dreamed about being a contestant on the show.  I know I could win if they would call out "LDub, come on down!"  I have been memorizing prices of just about every item they have on theshow and since they use quite a few of the same items more than once, I know I could win.  Anyway, one of Sue's good friends has a daughter who started working at the studio right out of college and is allowed to invite guests to be part of the audience.  Since Sue and her husband had an employee's letter with them, they got to park where the employees park, enter through the VIP entrance, and had reserved seating at the show.  Only problem for Sue was that since they knew someone who  worked at the studio, she wasn't able to participate as a contestant.  Sue also told me a few other pretty neat things about the show such as: (1) Most of the audience had on some sort of clothing to draw attention; (2) The studio is about the size of a movie theatre with chairs like you would find in a theatre; (3) The show's atmosphere is as Sue says "Nuts!" People jumping up and down, doing anything they can to get attention; (4) Depending where you sit, the cameras can get in your field of vision, but they have plenty of monitors that you can watch; (5) Contestants are chosen from interviews that are conducted as the audience stands in line outside the studio.  People get name tags and have photos taken at the same time they are interviewed. Sue believes that folks that the staff think would make good contestants have their names put in a pot and are drawn during the show; (6) It's fascinating to watch the crew change the games during the commercials.  It's a beehive of activity for the 20 or so workers who move all the props; (7) Cell phones and cameras are a No-No and are confiscated before you are allowed into the theatre.  You must get them after the show; And, (8) there are lots of people on the stage waving their arms to encourage you to yell and make noise during the hour.  "Drew Carey was terrific," Sue told me. "He stayed on the stage during the entire show, was funny, engaging and has a very quick wit.  He used a teleprompter for some things, but mostly ad libbed his way through the show."  During the commercials, while the stage was being changed, Drew would interact with the audience, telling jokes, stories, and asking people in the audience questions. During one such break a girl in the row in front of Sue told Drew that it was her Aunt's birthday.  Drew asked the aged woman to stand and after she struggled to stand, Drew asked her if she had any questions for him.  She told him she wanted him to turn around.  Drew shouted, "This lady wants to see my a**."  He walked to the center of the stage, turned around, lifted his coattails and wiggled his butt. The sign reading "SCREAM" wasn't needed after that!  The girl who won the "Showcase Showdown" sat in Sue's row.  She also hit the $1.00 on the Big Wheel and then won an extra $10,000 on her bonus spin.  As for Sue, her favorite game is the "Showcase Showdown."  After the show she was lucky enough to get to go on stage and spin the big wheel.  Said it was extremely heavy and hard to spin.  And, she reported to my wife that she wore her name tag the rest of the day!  Wow, how neat an experience.  I'm envious, to say the least.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - a few more photos taken by Sue and her husband follow.

Sue took this photo when she was taken on a tour of the studio and set.

Photo of stage taken after the show

Photo of her name tag she wore during the show