“Just like a real wedding… only funnier.”
–Chicago Tribune
The performance of “Tony and Tina’s Wedding” will be BSCT’s first foray into “dinner theater,” an interactive evening with the audience participating as wedding guests. With the support of the Big Sky School District Lunch Ladies, the crew is delighted to bring “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” a production that has been performed in more than 100 cities worldwide since its opening in 1988, to the WMPAC on Nov. 8.
Actor John Hannahs—Lone Peak High School teacher and athletic director—leads the diverse group at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center, some business owners, some bartenders, others ski patrollers and retirees, in a pumped-up cheer. While the countdown ensues, actors employ various methods of managing their nerves. Some do push-ups, others rehearse their lines facing a wall, some chat excitedly, while others are focused and quiet.
Big Sky Community Theater has been gathering locals to the stage yearly since 2013 with the purpose of entertaining, inspiring and enlightening audiences. Funded through Big Sky School District’s Adult Education Program, the theater group comprises volunteer community members of all backgrounds and levels of stage experience. Maggie Luchini, who has been in multiple productions, finds BSCT a welcome setting for Big Sky community members.
The History of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding: New Yorkers Nancy Cassaro and Mark Nassar invented the characters of Tony and Tina while studying drama at Hofstra University in the 1980s. As the idea grew, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding landed to a scrappy downtown Manhattan location in 1985. Becoming a commercial success, it moved off-Broadway, produced by another Hofstra alumnus, Joe Corcoran. It ran for over 20 years to rave reviews, and eventually turned into a worldwide phenomenon, presented at over 150 cities worldwide – including numerous cities in the USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia.