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While Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding could be described as “Romeo & Juliet meets Saturday Night Fever,” I’d say it could just as easily be summed up as fun-meets-fabulous.

After one great evening with Rebecca, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to learn more about the show at last week’s open rehearsal.

It’s a near-unbelievable feat in the theatre world that a production that began as a student project in New York City over 22 years ago is still capturing theatre-loving hearts on all corners of the globe to this day. In fact, one doesn’t even have to enjoy conventional theatre to have a memorable experience with two of the most exuberant Italian families I’ve ever “met.”

For those that have never attended a production of TnT, or haven’t – ahem – read my previous blog post, the performance is an interactive comedy. It revolves around two rival Italian families who are forced to attempt to put their differences aside for a wedding on a grandeur scale between Tony Nunzio and Tina Vitale. As is anyone’s guess, those differences only seem to magnify rather than disappear – and with hilarious results.

Having been a theatre student in high school, watching the open rehearsal was much like a trip down memory lane of my own experiences. While I had expected to view a brief run-through of the play, what we as spectators were shown was much different. We saw the foundation and framework of the production.

After director Michael Fera ran through some of the history of the play and touched down on important aspects, the actors engaged in various theatre exercises – some of which involved the audience – as a way of essentially keeping things fresh. When a cast has worked together for quite literally years in some cases, it can be difficult to maintain a sense of unfamiliarity.

What I enjoyed most about the evening was the ability to not only interact, but also give feedback on the experience and on how we as an audience perceive things to be. What I imagine would be most difficult as a character in this play is having the constant ability to be on your toes. While there are certain points that need to be hit in order to tell this story, much of what happens on a nightly basis is entirely improvised.

Co-director Tanja Dixon-Warren has mixed feelings about the show coming to a close after 14 years. In some ways she feels “it’s time” to end things on a high note, but at other times it’s a difficult decision. While most local productions have a shelf life of four weeks, TnT has been going strong for well over a decade. The final performances are set to take place the weekend of May 29-30, 2009, closing with a gala-style production with the entire original Vancouver cast – black ties and tiaras are encouraged!

TnT runs weekly, Thursday through Saturday, at St. Andrews Wesley Church and The Other Space at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. For ticket information and pricing, please visit Hoarse Raven Theatre’s official TnT website.

The first time Tony and Tina got married in Vancouver, the production sprung out of Tanja Dixon-Warren and Michael Fera’s dream to bring the popular New York show to the West Coast. With $300 raised at a garage sale and negotiations between St. Andrews Wesley Church and Vancouver’s Chardonnay restaurant, Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding began. That was 14 years ago, and Tony and Tina have been getting married again and again every week since then.

Photo: Hoarse Raven Theatre

Truth be told, though I’d been hearing about Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding since the beginning, I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was an interactive production, but was in for a delightful surprise when I learned just how interactive the cast and audience really become! The evening began at St. Andrews Wesley Church where we were all witnesses to the nuptials. From moment one, the audience was drawn into the drama, excitement, laughter, family gossip and lovers’ quarrels as the Nunzio and Vitale families come together in holy matrimony.

By the time the entire wedding party and attendees (Rebecca and myself included) made the procession from the church to The Other Space at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for the reception dinner, it’s difficult not to feel like you’re attending a true Italian wedding. What happens next is anyone’s guess – and surprise! From a Las Vegas-style duo acting as emcees to Uncle Vinnie’s charismatic catering style (how would the Italians describe “je ne sais quoi“?) and Sal the photographer capturing every moment in between, laugh-out-loud fun is an inevitability. In fact, it took a solid hour after the lights went down before my cheeks stopped hurting.

Photo: Hoarse Raven Theatre

It’s almost time for the honeymoon to begin, as Tony and Tina will be walking down the aisle for the last time on May 30, 2009. Productions run Thursday through Saturday with church doors swinging open at 6:30 p.m. (beware of the groomsmen’s charms – they’re difficult to resist) each night. Tickets range from $70-85 and are available by calling (604) 665-2373, and include a full dinner buffet of Nona Nunzio’s best recipes. Visit the website for more information.

Join Tony, Tina and their families before the curtain falls for the final time. Eat, drink and be merry but, like any wild wedding, don’t be surprised if you still feel the buzz from Vinnie Black’s red wine the next morning.

Clearly I am not married, and therefore cannot have an experienced viewpoint on the subject, but I have a piece to say. It seems that every other Facebook friend I have has recently updated their status to something regarding their excitement over Madonna’s concert here in Vancouver tonight.

While I consider myself to be a lifelong fan and normally would do almost anything to attend, I’m not at all envious of those that are going. Though I can admit a daily addiction to People’s website, I’m not normally one to take an interest in celebrity gossip. However, the way in which Madonna’s purportedly handled the fallout of her marriage to Guy Ritchie has caused me to lose a great deal of respect for the Material Girl. I’m on Team Guy in this battle.

Original Photo: grittycitygirl on Flickr

To publicly slag her soon-to-be ex is completely unnecessary and undoubtedly inappropriate. There are three children between Guy and Madonna, and protecting them should be most important. Adults would have to be completely daft to assume that kids aren’t intuitive enough to pick up on what’s really going on. Putting children in the middle ground position is simply unfair.

And while I’m on the topic of marriage and divorce, it bothers me to no end to hear that a Hollywood couple is divorcing because their careers kept them apart all the time. Call a spade a spade and stop hiding behind that facade because it’s no excuse. The day you commit yourself to one person is the day you forsake everything else. That multiplies ten-fold when children come into the picture. And if career ambitions are at a person’s forefront, it’s my opinion that he or she has no business committing to a marriage. It’s a lifelong covenant, one to which everything else is penultimate.

What I am: I am the traditional girl-next-door at heart. Though I really have no idea how many different people read my blog and which walks of life they come from, it’s probably safe to say that there are more than a handful of opinions about me tossed around out there based on the content of my blog. That being said, who I really am is a girl with old-fashioned values. I know that when the time is right in my life, I want a home and a husband that loves me and can’t wait to be with me at the end of the day and one or two beautiful children that I can raise and bake cookies for and take to soccer practice. However, let me declare right now that I will never be caught dead in the dreaded “mom jeans.”

We live in a world where, all too often, a person’s value system is greatly influenced and often dictated by what they’re exposed to. The definition of “family” has come a very long way over the past few decades, and I say that it’s all for the better. Family has little to do with mom, dad, kids and the dog, but more to do with the people that you love and care for and surround yourself with. The terms on which a marriage is based have also been undergoing some major facelifts.

I’m not normally one to watch talk shows – ever – but today upon arriving home from work, I happened to stumble upon one of the more popular of the afternoon set. Topic du jour: open marriages. As someone who holds strong beliefs to the protected sanctity of a marriage, the topic intrigued me and I wanted to know what the show’s guests had to say.

Photo courtesy of not.2touch on Flickr

A panel of therapists and psychologists sat on the sidelines, ready to jump in with sage words and commentary. The program threw the spotlight on a man and wife who, after meeting at a summer camp as counselors, got married and have been so for 12 years. The wife, Hollie, has a boyfriend. She claims that her husband gives her everything she needs, that she is lacking in nothing, but that having a boyfriend outside of her marriage just “opens her life up to more love.”

I was stunned.

I’m not married, nor have I ever been, but for the life of me I simply cannot imagine ever being okay with sharing my spouse with another person. However, this trend is apparently gaining in popularity among North America’s married set and at a rather rapid pace. Marriages are being thought of as a rubber band, rather than a ball and chain, with room to stretch. So-called rules are being established:

“Extramarital sex is okay as long as it’s with strangers”

“Everything above the waist is fair game”

“Any out-of-town experiences don’t count”

The list goes on and on…

I’ve always considered myself to be a very open-minded person, and I wouldn’t judge anyone for governing their life in such a way, but I’m having a very difficult time wrapping my blonde head around this concept. If someone, such as Hollie, says that their marriage is entirely fulfilling, then why the need to seek pleasure from another? And on the other hand, if the desire to be with various other people never goes away, why stand in front of a group of people and commit yourself to one person? Either/or seems rather self-seeking in my own mind.

As I said, I know full well that this is not a lifestyle choice I will ever choose for myself. I don’t believe in the fundamentals behind it for my own reasons, and I know it’s not something I’d be capable of.

“Monogamy is not hardwired, monogamy is a choice,” says Dr. Gail Saltz, psychiatrist. “But that being said, what is hardwired is jealousy and envy and competition. These are normal human emotions and they’re difficult to control.“

I would believe that the number of people truly capable and in all honesty of sharing their spouse with another is a very limited tally. However, many men (and women) purport to believe that monogamy is an impossibility. I’d like to believe that that’s not the truth for everyone and that there are still many that believe in it and are capable of it. I’m not jaded and all hope’s not lost, but I am curious to know what you think about this forward-moving trend in today’s society. Is a monogamous and fulfilling marriage possible in the 21st century?

Photo courtesy of gruntusk on Flickr

If you do choose to respond to this post, or to comments that others leave, please do so in a respectful manner. Everyone’s opinion counts and is entirely valid as that’s all they are – opinions.