Portrayals make ‘Wedding’ worth crashing

When Manoa Valley Theatre presented "Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding" in the summer of 1996, we described it as both "the ultimate wedding reception from Hell" and as a "one-joke comedy." Both quotes apply to MVT’s new staging of the environmental "you are there" production, but this one is better than its predecessor, as director Shannon Winpenny avoids the bad choices that marred the previous version.

"Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding" is at heart a merciless yet fond satire of lower-working-class social customs. The bridesmaids chew gum incessantly. The groomsmen make inappropriate comments. Alcohol is consumed at a reckless pace by almost everyone. The reception degenerates into an ad hoc program of unself-consciously bad speeches, ill-conceived toasts and "very special" performances by minimally talented well-wishers that seem to go on forever. Almost everyone has at least one confrontation with someone before it’s over.

MVT awkwardly localized the story in ’96 by changing the ethnicity of the bride’s family from Italian to Portuguese and larding on some stereotypical "local" characters and needless pidgin bits. Winpenny has eliminated almost all the local stuff and changed the ethnicity of the bride’s family back to the original Italian — they’re Vitale again instead of Velasco.

Winpenny’s approach is more about the characters as people — rough-edged, hard-drinking, working-class people — rather that about members of a particular ethnic group. Kevin Keaveney (Tony Nunzio Sr.) brings a bit of Tony Soprano ambience to his hearty portrayal of the groom’s outspoken father, but the others are simply mainstream Americans.

Virginia Jones (Josephina Vitale) reprises her portrayal of the bride’s fussbudget mother. Dusty Behner (Tina Vitale Nunzio) plays the hard-drinking bride with a deft blend of charm, brass and vulnerability. Stu Hirayama (Father Mark aka Father Happy Hour) has dramatic impact as the priest who stays at least one drink too long after the wedding ceremony. Garrett Hols (Michael Just) is the catalyst of several dramatic confrontations in the role of Tina’s hunky ex-boyfriend who was invited to the reception by her mother "so he can see what he lost."

Walt Gaines (Vinnie Black) commands attention as the loud-mouth caterer and lame emcee, Mike Dupre (Donny Dulce) is excellent as a generic wedding band singer and Polly Miao (Madeline Monroe) is an eye-catching splash of exotica as a dancer from Tony’s father’s strip club.

Be warned that the show moves at the glacial pace one often endures at wedding receptions. In that respect it might be almost too close to reality. On the other hand, wine can be purchased from the time the doors open, and there is plenty of opportunity to party with the cast — or, perhaps, sit back and yell things "Rocky Horror" style when the mood and the timing seem right.

This is interactive theater, after all, and we’re celebrating a wedding!