With Price Live, Newton gives prizes, seeks out food gems
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WHAT: The Price Is Right Live
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22
WHERE: Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave. NW, Warren
HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $43 to $99.40 and are available through Ticketmaster.
No need to wear an eye-catching shirt or prepare for a pre-interview for those going to The Price Is Right Live next month at Packard Music Hall.
It won't get them any closer to spinning the big wheel, according to Todd Newton, who will be the host for the tour. The reason for that is Bob Barker, who hosted the long-running game show from 1972 until 2007 and died in 2023 at age 99.
"He felt that the people sitting in the back row should have the very same shot to come down to contestants’ row as the people in the front row," Newton said during a telephone interview. "I think that that is probably the most significant difference between the television show and the touring show. Everybody knows, or at least has an inclination, that there’s some pre-selection for the TV show or any game show, because you've got to make good TV to a certain extent. "But with our show, we have a very simple registration process where you simply scan a QR code on your way into your seat, and you are in the mix ...We call four new contestants down to contestants' row after every game we play. Once you scan that QR code and you know that your name is in our database, you are on the edge of your seat from the moment that curtain goes up to the moment it comes back down."
That also means Newton has to adjust what he does to what that show's audience presents him. Some audiences are more enthusiastic than others; some contestants are much more comfortable on stage in front of a thousand people or more.
Barker provided some sage advice in those cases as well.
"He said, 'I want you to play this game through the eyes of the contestant, and you’ll see it very, very differently.' And I really do that," Newton said. "That’s something that, it was a very conscious decision early on, but now it’s been so ingrained, and it’s just how I play the game. I really let them steer the ship."
Newton is in his 25th year as host of the touring version of "Price," but he will be familiar to TV viewers as well from doing red carpet interviews for E! cable network and hosting such game shows as "Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck,” “Monopoly Millionaires' Club" and "Family Game Night" (for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding game show host).
The tour draws upon the more than 100 different games of skill and chance that are in rotation on the television show, which airs at 11 a.m. weekdays on CBS and now is hosted by Drew Carey.
"I like to tell people it’s the greatest hits," Newton said. "Obviously, there are a few that we play every night because we know we’d get run right out of town if we didn’t. People are going to see Plinko, people are going to see Cliffhangers. The Big Wheel, of course. When those doors open or when the curtain rises and people see these games that they’ve been seeing on television, for some people for over half a century now, it’s a pretty exciting moment.
"Some of the games appear so much bigger than they do on TV. Others seem a little smaller than they do on TV. But that’s part of a live performance of any kind, being on the set yourself. But, yeah, we’ve added more games this tour, and they’re created and built by the same people that build the set pieces for the TV show too."
If the roles were reversed and Newton was the contestant, he knew just which game he'd want to play.
"Golden Road for sure. I would want Golden Road because that has some of the biggest payoffs, but it also lets you be up there for the longest. If I got up on stage, I’d be in no hurry to get off that stage. So yeah, give me Golden Road, let me win a couple of cars and get some good airtime and be a happy contestant."
Newton has found a way to pass the time when on the road with "Price." He goes in search of local eateries in every town he's in, posting videos of his experiences as "The Tattooed Traveler." Last year he published the book "CHUG & CHOW: The Tattooed Traveler's 50 Favorite Dive Bars & Food Joints Across America."
"I get to roll into these new towns and explore," Newton said. "I take a lot of pride in the fact that I haven’t been in a chain restaurant in many, many years. I’ve been given the great gift of being able to see America, and now all of Canada, pretty much on someone else’s dime. So I try to take advantage of that, and I find these character-filled spots and places the locals recommend.
"I always like to ask the stagehands at the theaters -- 'Where can I get a great slice of pizza?' 'What’s the best spot for a taco or a good late-night burger after the show?' And they’ve always got an opinion."