Tony n' Tina's Wedding

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Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding is one of the longest-running comedies in American theatrical history.^[1] Credited as the originator of the “environmental theatre” craze, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding stages a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception with the stereotypes pushed to the limit. Audience members are treated as guests at the wedding by the interactive, improvisational comedy cast.

Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding opened February 14, 1988 in New York City and has expanded its run to over 100 sites worldwide, including cities in Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia.

1 History
2 Film
- 2.1 Primary cast
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] History

The interactive, environmental comedy Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding was the creation of the Artificial Intelligence comedy troupe. Thirteen members share copyrighted authorship: Thomas Michael Allen, James Altuner, Mark Campbell, Nancy Cassaro, Patricia Cregan, Elizabeth Dennehy, Chris Fracchiolla, Jack Fris, Kevin Alexander Leonidas, Mark Nassar, Larry Pellegrini, Sue Varon and Moira Wilson.

Nancy Cassaro and Mark Campbell conceived the original concept for the show along with the original company contributions of Elizabeth Herring, Jay Herron, Denise Moses, Eli Ganias, Joanna Cocca, Michael Winther, Jennifer Heftler, Judy Sheehan, Caroline Scott, Tony Dowdy, Leila Kenzle, Vincent Floriani, Phil Rosenthal, Randall Thropp and Juan DeArmas.

The original production was produced by Joe and Dan Corcoran and enjoyed steady word of mouth growth, spawning a handful of productions in other cities. The improvisational nature of the show proved to be adaptable to the addition of celebrities such as Rikki Lee Travolta,^[1] Frankie Avalon,^[2] soap opera actor Jeff Trachta, Rosa Blasi, radio host Scott Nevins,^[3] Stuttering John (of the Howard Stern Show radio show, and New York Mets player Lee Mazzilli.

Cities hosting permanent productions of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding have included:

The success of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding has spawned numerous new generations of environmental theater works including Flanagan's Wake, Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral, Bernie’s Bar Mitzvah, Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding, Rick and Mary’s Wedding, The Awesome 80s Prom, and Finnegan's Farewell.

[edit] Film

Writer-director Roger Paradiso adapted Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding into Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding,^[4] an independent film starring former New Kids on the Block performer Joe McIntyre, former Emmanuelle in Space and Baywatch star Krista Allen, Mila Kunis, Daisy Eagan, Adrian Grenier, John Fiore, and former wrestling promoter Paul Heyman.^[5] The film screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival and received praise from Variety and high marks from The New York Times. However, as of 2006, it has not found a film distributor.