Growing up my family were game show enthusiasts. The daytime
TV of my childhood was riddled with shows, Password, Match Game, Let’s Make a Deal, The
Price is Right and more. We played along dreaming of winning the big prize. The CLO premier show, Game On captures the spirit of the game
in a musical comedy where you are the
studio audience and maybe the next contestant.
Game On seizes all the excitement of a game show by mixing Deal or No Deal (a show where
contestants pick a briefcase hoping that it holds a million dollars and the banker tries to buy
your case) and Family Feud (a show where contestants guess the most popular answer to a survey question).
The audience is part of the “live” taping of Game On.
A smiling and spunky host, Monty Price (Jason Shavers) assisted by his sparkly “Vanna White like” assistant, Gillian Van Ness (Marissa Buchheit) entered the audience to obtain responses to the question, “Name something that you can’t
hold on to.” When Monty held the microphone in front me, I guessed “boyfriend?”
My answer, being one of the top four, prompted Gillian to escort me- yes me, the me who did not
even have a glass of wine that night- to the stage. I shared the spotlight with CLO players, exes Debra (Marissa
Buchheit) and Felix (Connor McCanlus) and sweet retired Grace (Christina Laitta). I walked like a deer in the headlights to my contestant podium. My resounding thought was,“I should have said SOAP not BOYFRIEND.
The answer SOAP would have kept me safe in my seat.”
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| As the contestant from my vantage on stage, I saw a smile filled audience |
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| Jason Shavers(Monty Price and Christine Laitta (Grace) |
My shock must have added to the humor since from
the vantage of the stage, I saw a smile filled audience and heard the continual hum of laughter. My fifteen minutes of fame ended when one of my answers did
not make the survey and I willingly scurried back to my audience seat.
The three remaining contestants played on singing “I Want
It.” Who would not want 10 million dollars? The dream of a life changing win draws us to play and watch a game show.
As the game continued, Debra and Flex gained more than money. Grace, whose past was devoted to her
family, contemplated the next chapter in her life as the company
sang “What Does She Want?” They all danced with high octane down the center stage to “Gotta Play the Game” as they all played both the game of chance and the game of life.
(Game On runs until January 27, 2019 at the Greer Cabaret Theater. For tickets go to pittsburghclo.org.)
Other Sources
pittsburghclo.org
Trustarts.org