Panel Announced For WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME At Blossom Music Center

The Cleveland Orchestra, 90.3 WCPN ideastream, and 89.7 WKSU have announced that a live taping of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! will be presented at Blossom Music Center this summer on July 18, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is National Public Radio (NPR)'s Peabody Award-winning comedy news quiz show. Host Peter Sagal leads a rotating panel of comedians, writers, listener contestants, and celebrity guests through a rollicking review of the week's news. Contestants vie for the most coveted prize in all of public radio: a custom-recorded greeting by any of its cast members for their voicemail.

A panel of celebrity guests will join host Peter Sagal and announcer Bill Kurtis onstage at Blossom Music Center. The panel includes:

· Actor and writer Peter Grosz, known for TV credits such as Key and Peele, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Inside Amy Schumer, Vinyl, and a recurring role on Veep.

· Maeve Higgins, contributing writer for The New York Times and host of the podcast (and author of the book of the same name) Maeve in America.

· Journalist, humorist, and actor Mo Rocca, correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and former correspondent for The Daily Show.

For more information about the panelists, visit https://www.npr.org/2010/12/07/110997511/about-the-panelists.

Image Magnification (IMAG) displaying live footage of the action on stage will be presented on LED screens in the Pavilion of Blossom Music Center. The Orchestra partners with ideastream - the non-profit multiple media public service organization that operates WVIZ/PBS, 90.3 WCPN, and WCLV 104.9 - to produce the IMAG feed. For more information about ideastream, visit ideastream.org.

Panelists and celebrity guests will be announced by NPR at a later date. The show will be broadcast locally on 90.3 WCPN ideastream and 89.7 WKSU - and nationally on NPR affiliates - beginning on July 20, 2019.

Tickets for this special Blossom presentation are on sale now. Guests can purchase tickets through the Severance Hall Ticket Office, by calling 216-231-1111, or online at clevelandorchestra.com. Lawn tickets are $29, and Pavilion tickets start at $39.

This special Blossom presentation is not included as part of subscriptions, lawn ticket book packages, or the Under 18's Free program for the 2019 Blossom Music Festival Season. Paid parking in paved lots is available by advance purchase: $40 for premium parking in Lot A and $20 for Lots C/D/E. Parking in grass lots is free.

Special front-row seating will be offered for this event. A seat in the $129 Premium Section (seats in the first three rows) comes with an exclusive Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me gift bag, which includes a selection of special merchandise.

A select number of tickets can be secured as a Thank You Gift to those who pledge to 90.3 WCPN ideastream or to 89.7 WKSU. Some Thank You Gifts include VIP packages, with Pavilion tickets, parking, and a special meet-and-greet reception following the performance with some of the Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! personalities. Details of these special packages can be found on ideastream.org and wksu.org.