KUAF, NPR to Host Northwest Arkansas Live Screening of 'Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me'

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After spray-tanning away their Chicago winter complexions, the cast of National Public Radio’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is ready for its close-up with comedy’s “Wild and Crazy Guy.”

Comedian Steve Martin and musical guest Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will join host Peter Sagal and the official judge and scorekeeper, Carl Kasell, on Thursday, May 2, in the show’s big screen debut Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! – Live. The event, broadcast to select movie theaters across the country LIVE from New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, also features panelists Paula Poundstone, Mo Rocca and Tom Bodett in a larger-than-life version of its comic review of the week’s news.

It all happens live, locally, on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. at the Malco Razorback Cinema, 3956 N. Steele Blvd. in Fayetteville. For advance tickets, go to www.KUAF.com. KUAF is a proud broadcaster of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Saturdays at 9 a.m.

In this live special of the weekly radio show, Sagal and Kasell test the current events knowledge of Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! panelists and listener contestants. Multi-talented entertainer Steve Martin jumps down the “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” rabbit hole and plays “Not My Job,” the show’s segment where famous people are asked questions completely outside their purview. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings kick up the fun atmosphere with live jams between segments.

“We're incredibly excited to do a live broadcast from New York City with Steve Martin and a live band,” says Sagal. “It'll be just like 1978, except instead of sitting in my pajamas watching, I'll be on stage with everybody.”

In addition to a funky soundtrack and “Not My Job,” the live cinema event will include other favorite Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! segments, including "Who's Carl This Time?" where contestants guess what newsmakers Kasell is impersonating, and "Bluff the Listener," challenging players to select the one true story out of three unlikely tales from the panelists. All along, contestants vie for the most coveted prize in all of public radio: a custom-recorded voicemail greeting by Kasell.

A trailer starring Sagal and produced by NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! team is available online now.