LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Many contestants have appeared on “The Price Is Right” over the years, but on April 8 there will be some familiar faces on the game show, especially to those in North Webster. And the show could be very exciting. Alan and Diana Kado, part-time North Webster residents, went to Los Angeles for vacation in February to visit their son, Brent Kado, and his wife, Jessica Hardy. Hardy taught improvisational comedy at the North Webster Community Center over the last few years, and Kado has made a few movies in Kosciusko County. As part of their vacation plans, the Kados ordered four tickets to see a taping of “The Price Is Right” while they were in California. The taping of the show was Feb. 10. The Kado family sat off to the right side of the theater, three rows back, Hardy said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. In the first round, four people were called up to the stage to be contestants. After the first game, host Drew Carey had the next contestant called up to the stage. Hardy’s name was announced. “When you’re in the studio, it’s really hard to hear your name,” she recalled, even though it may be clear to the at-home viewer. Hardy wasn’t paying attention and didn’t realize she had been called up until Brent nudged her. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ People will just have to watch it and see my reaction,” she said. “You’re really shocked and thinking you have no idea how much things cost in America. If you’d only spent a weekend at Sears, you’d be so much more confident.” She said the whole experience was really fun and she encouraged everyone to watch “The Price Is Right” at 11 a.m. April 8 on CBS, which is broadcast channel 22 locally. The whole process for the one-hour show took four to five hours, Hardy said. Hardy signed an agreement that prohibits her from talking too much about what happened or whether or not she won anything. However, she did say, “At a certain point of the process, I couldn’t stop dancing.” As for Carey, Hardy said he spoke to all the contestants. During commercial breaks, he would do stand-up bits. “He was super, super nice. The whole crew was really nice,” she said. “With (Carey), I feel he’s, ‘what you see is what you get.’” The studio was not hot, but Hardy found herself sweating because of all the adrenaline pumping. “I never felt that way before,” she said. At one point, she recalled, she turned to a model and told her she was sweating. “I don’t think she knew what to say to me,” Hardy said, laughing. The Kados will be having a little viewing party at the Concord Mall, Dunlap, starting at 10:30 a.m. April 8, Alan said. They’ve invited friends and family to view the episode with them in the mall’s food court next to Subway. “It was quite an experience for us Midwesterners,” Alan said. Additionally, Main on Main Improv Troupe, Syracuse, will perform in Comedy Criminals, Elkhart Civic Theater’s first improv competition, Saturday. Hardy will judge the final round of the competition April 5 with local celebrity judges Marshall King, of The Elkhart Truth, and Gordy Young, of WNIT. Tickets are $12 and information can be found at elkhartcivictheatre.org
