Auditions for the show are under way

With opening night only two months away, we are now in the midst of the most hectic time….. making final preparations for our new production of Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding. In fact, it’s just like planning a real wedding, where there are thousands of details to attend to. In addition to securing a hall, picking the dresses and all that’s required for a real wedding, we also have to deal with a few additional theatrical considerations, such as box office management, promotions, etc. But most important of all is picking the new cast. The average size cast for an off Broadway production is usually around 4 characters. Tony n’ Tina is unique in that our cast is equivalent in size to the biggest Broadway productions with 10 times the amount of seats. So what we may lack in production value, like big sets and lighting, is made up in the fact that our room is intimate in comparison. You can interact, eat, drink and dance, getting up close and personal with our 25 characters…… which not only include the bride and groom, but their immediate families, the wedding party, as well as the caterer and his family …….all in a room that can accommodate just 199 guests.

In order to fill out this special collection of unique characters, there is an intensive audition process to determine the very best improvisers and collaborators. Our benchmark is to choose those who are witty, who work well with others, those who make positive choices and those that are comfortable speaking to strangers. The goal being, that by the end of the night, audience members truly feel like “La familia”.

Having already seen hundreds of potential cast members, through agents and managers’ submissions since mid-December, there is one more open call scheduled for Monday January 6th and final call backs scheduled for January 8-9th. If necessary, one more open call will be scheduled. Either way, by January 15th final decisions will be made and the cast will be in place.

So as I said at the outset — producing this show is a lot like planning a real wedding. And to ensure the best experience for our guests ultimately depends on the initial casting decisions. If we succeed in finding the right cast –then everything else will be a piece of cake.

(Pun intended)