Wait, Wait...

9-14-19 SHORT HILLS: Thursday night we were at NJPAC in Newark for the recording of this week’s episode of Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me! The hall was packed, and late ticket buyers, like us, were in the second tier, far, far from the action. It took longer than the usual version that’s aired, many lines are repeated for better effect, lots of stuff didn’t make the cut, and Peter Sagal promised no more NJ jokes after tonight.

The panelists, Adam Felber, Helen Hong, and Peter Grosz introduced themselves and spoke about themselves at greater length than on the radio presentation. Bill Kurtis moderated as usual. After the sign off, a lot of the audience stayed while they repeated many of the lines for better emphasis and removed hesitations and delays.

The celebrity guest was Tina Charles, a star for the NY Liberty of the WNBA. She won her quiz game with audience help. She seems lovely.

I listened to the show this morning, and the editing and rehearsing were an improvement. We’ll see about those NJ jokes.


Before the show starts, Peter Sagal warms up the audience. He promised no more Jersey jokes after tonight. The seven people in the back are staff and tech support.

The celebrity guest, WNBA star Tina Charles, playing and winning 'Not My Job'.