Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding is an interactive dinner theater presentation and the longest running presentation of its kind in the United States.
The show was written by the husband and wife team, Milt and Darlyne Franklin.
SW Florida has been fortunate to have the wedding presentation. It has been in Venice, Naples, Fort Myers and other areas as well. That fact is known as three local actors have been cast in the show.
The Fort Myers residents, and one from Cape Coral, who have been a part of the Wedding skit are Carrie Belluso, Al Quinn and Paul A. Rose. Belluso portrays the bride's gradmother, Nonna and Quinn as the groom's father.
The premise:
The wedding, performed by "St. Anthony's" parish priest Pastor Fazool, brings together the families of two young lovers, Joseph Anthony Gnocchi and Maria Angelina Cavatelli. The characters are named after Italian food.
Chaos ensues during the ceremony with the unexpected arrival of Joey's provocatively dressed ex-girlfriend, Viola Vermicelli. Viola, it seems, is still in love with Joey. Despite Joey's roving eye, he's very much in love with Maria and loudly protests Viola's arrival.
After the couple is joined, the cast leaves the room and are reintroduced one at a time by Carmine. A toast is raised by Joey's scatterbrained best man, Rocco Ravioli, and during the toast dinner is being served to the guests. Upon its completion, the cast moves about the tables, chatting and flirting with the guests and the fun begins!
Very few parts of Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding are scripted, with the momentum of the play maintained by ad-libbed slapstick humor.
Comments