Want to be a part of the Show? Open Auditions are Here!
OPEN CASTING CALL FORTONY N’ TINA’S WEDDING
NEW 25th ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OPENS OFF-BROADWAY IN MARCH
WHERE : St John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street, just west of Seventh Avenue South (where Tony N’ Tina’splayed for over 10 years)
WHEN: Tuesday January 21st from Noon to 3pm
WHO: Aspiring actors from across the nation, vying for a chance to appear in the new production of the beloved show
WHY: Because this wild and wacky show should generate some equally wild and wacky auditions, which make great news stories! Meet the director and producer and find out why Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding has been a beloved favorite of theater-goers around the world and is now set to return to its home town, NYC
DETAILS: Known as the “Granddaddy of Interactive Theater,” Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding set the gold standard for the genre with an all-inclusive two-part event where audience members take on the roles of family and friends of the bride and groom. Now beginning this spring, the celebration is coming back to the heart of Times Square. As with the original production, the show begins with a sidesplitting ceremony, which will now be held at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School at 120 West 46th Street (formerly the Performing Arts High School, the school on which the film and TV show Fame was based). Immediately following the ceremony, the bridal party will escort their family and friends through the heart of Times Square and Shubert Alley to Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar (220 West 44th Street)! Once at Guy’s American, guests will enjoy an Italian-style buffet dinner, as well as cocktails and dancing all night long to DJ Donny Dolce, NYC’s #1 wedding singer/DJ. Performances will begin Wednesday March.
Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding was conceived at Hofstra University where Mark Nasser and Nancy Cassaro (the original Tony and Tina) were undergraduates. Both in the drama department from 1977-1981 they made up these characters and would often improv with each other, acting out the roles of two Italian boyfriend-girlfriends, just for fun. As their professional relationship continued (after moving to New York City after graduating), their characters continued to develop. In 1985, the idea to present an interactive wedding, where the audience played the guests, was planned and three performances were done. Between 1985 and February 1987, two additional developmental productions were mounted. When People Magazineattended in 1987 and wrote a 3-page story declaring the show “A Hit,” it was clear to everyone that the show must continue. At that point, Joe Corcoran secured the worldwide rights to present the show in New York and elsewhere, and in February 1988 the first commercial production was mounted in Greenwich Village. The church ceremony took place at St. John’s Church on Christopher Street, and the reception above Gus’ Restaurant on Waverly and Waverly in Greenwich Village. As the audience attended the church service, then walked along with the cast, across 7th Avenue to Waverly Place, the show became a fixture of the Greenwich Village neighborhood, running at that location for the first 10 years, before moving to Times Square where it ran for another 10 years.