HALEY LUPINSKI, 25, OF CRESWELL, IS SEEN WITH ”THE PRICE IS RIGHT” HOST DREW CAREY. HER PERFORMANCE ON THE SHOW WILL AIR AT 10 A.M. ON CBS FRIDAY, DEC. 14. PHOTOS PROVIDED/HAILEY MILMAN/BWR PUBLIC RELATIONS
A Creswell woman will be a contestant on the longest-running game show of all time, ”The Price is Right,” on Friday, Dec. 14.
Tune in to CBS at 10 a.m. to watch Haley Lupinski, 25, of Creswell, ”come on down,” as she and other contestants compete to win cash and prizes by guessing the retail price of merchandise. The contestant who guesses the closest amount to the actual retail price of the prize without going over wins; will it be Lupinski?
Only time will tell, because Lupinski isn’t allowed to say. But whatever the outcome, Lupinski said it was one of the best experiences she’s ever had.
Like many people spanning several decades, ”The Price is Right” was a childhood staple for her family.
The show has been around since 1956. It premiered in black and white on NBC with Bill Cullen as host. That show was cancelled in 1965, but was revived in 1972 at CBS, then hosted by the iconic Bob Barker.
Lupinski has been fan of the show since the ”Bob Barker days,” and has remained a steadfast fan after Barker’s 2007 retirement after hosing for 35 years. Shortly thereafter, comedian Drew Carey became host. You may remember Carey from his creative and comedic antics from shows, ”The Drew Carey Show,” and ”Whose Line Is It Anyway?.”
But how does a woman from Creswell even get to be on the show?
Lupinski explained that the process wasn’t difficult, despite a consistently high demand for studio audience tickets. All she did was fill out the ”get tickets” form on the show’s website. The tickets are first-come-first-serve and are generally released six weeks in advance.
So you have to be okay with traveling on relatively short notice, Lupinski said, though for her it wasn’t a problem. You also have to pay for your own expenses, including travel expenses and lodging, but Lupinski said the experience is worth it.
One day in late October, she arrived to CBS Television City in Hollywood, Calif., where the show has been filmed in Studio 33 for its entire run (except for one anniversary episode), her excitement began to build.
On the day of taping, audience members are assigned price tag-shaped name tags, which Lupinski donned proudly during The Chronicle interview.
Lupinski was then brought into the studio, where the production staff interviewed her and a group 30 other contestants in a rapid-fire format for about 10 minutes, Lupinski said. This is done so that staff can eye the interesting, enthusiastic people to ”come on down” and play.
Those selected to play the game are noted and sit with the rest of the audience to wait for their names to be called. Nine contestants are picked from the 300-plus audience members for each episode, and of these nine contestants, six will make it past Contestant’s Row and get to play the game.
Lupinski considers herself lucky to be called to ”come on down,” though with her energetic and smiley demeanor, it’s no surprise to see why she was picked.
She said she tried to do some prep price-guessing work before flying down to California, but after a few days decided to ”just wing it” and see how it goes. She went with her mom, Kimberly Evans, of Creswell, and two other friends. The crew came wearing their ”Keep Calm and Carey On” light blue t-shirts, which they made special for the show.
What comes next is a secret until the show airs next week, but Lupinski said the show was buzzing from high energy, loud music and lots of laughs the entire production. During commercials, she said Carey would perform stand-up comedy and chat with the audience.
”There were no low moments at all,” she said.
She said Carey is, ”Super nice and funny, and is really good at what he does on the show.” When all was said and done, Lupinski said it was a great time that she’s still reeling from, and she hopes to make it a yearly tradition to go on a ”girls’ trip to ‘The Price is Right.’”
Be sure to tune in to watch one of Creswell’s on play on ”The Price is Right,” on Friday, Dec. 14 on CBS at 10 a.m.
