by Steve Dacri

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I Do, I Do, and I Do Again...

Ah yes, the wedding business. Or I should say, the wedding SHOW business.

Show Review (recent production, FallsView Casino, Canada)

Let me explain.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I created an interactive wedding show called "Mario & Mary's Wedding", a take-off on the less funny, poorly executed yet successful show Tony and Tina's Wedding. The show opened in Boston and was an immediate hit. I wrote a second one, "Nathan & Nina's Jewish Italian Wedding" and it quickly surpassed the already growing and extremely popular "Mario and Mary's Wedding" as another hit interactive show, selling out rooms all over New England and Florida.

I added a third production, "All American High School Reunion" and the three of these interactive shows were playing at one time, from 1993 to 1999, selling out, gathering rave reviews and blazing a trail for a string of copycat shows that were amateur and boring.

After the markets became saturated with too many similar interactive shows, and right around the time I began what became a 6 year performing contract at Caesars Palace (performing my close-up magic act) we decided to stop doing ticketed shows. We began to concentrate on private events, conventions and company gatherings, where the show was sold for a fee and no tickets had to be sold.

We have been producing these shows ever since in this business model. The way it works - we get a call from a casino, an agency or company, they buy the show for a specific date, and then we assemble the cast of actors, some who have been with us for years, and others who have never done the shows before.

We fly them all to the show location a few days before the event, I show up (or one of my crack directors) and we rehearse the show and present it.

We figure we've presented about 3,500 wedding shows since we first began, and we now offer the Reunion, a Celebrity Roast Show and a behind the scenes circus extravaganza called "The Fettuccini Brothers Circus Mystery".

When I was contacted by Fallsview Casino in Canada about presenting Nathan & Nina's Wedding for their high rollers, I sensed that this one was going to be different than all the others. It was.

It was like "Nathan & Nina's Wedding" on Steroids!

The casino provided us with a team of technicians, sound and lights guys that rivaled any Vegas Strip show or Broadway production. A live band, hair and make-up, $100,000 set design for the gorgeous ballroom and a week to rehearse, with rooms and food and transportation provided.

I kept a diary of this one from the beginning, which will provide you with a fascinating behind the scenes look at the making of a fake wedding.

June 2008 -

First contacted by the Fallsview Casino, and my agent, Howie Turner, said they were looking for a proposal to do this special Valentine's Day weekend event for 400 of their top high rollers. I prepared a 30 page proposal and budget for this major undertaking (hiring 18 actors, tech crew, live band, costuming, props, and so forth) and sent it off.

After many weeks of phone calls and discussions, they finally agreed to the terms of my proposal and contracts were drawn up.

The weekend events would include two (fake) Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties on the night before the wedding (where the guests first meet the cast members), and then the big wedding and reception on Valentine's Day.

December 2008 -

Contracts finally signed and we begin the process of assembling the cast. This involves casting sessions in Boston, Buffalo and here in Vegas. I personally handle all auditions, so off we went to the East Coast in the middle of the worst winter weather possible. After a week in Boston and Buffalo, I have most of the cast nailed down, including 4 actors from my original casts.

Our casting sessions and interviews in Boston were a bit out of the ordinary. Susan from Exxcel Agency loaned us the use of her offices in Boston, and we saw many actors there.

But most of our interviews and meetings with prospective actors were in my East Coast Office, located in the back room of Santarpio's Pizza in East Boston. For several days we held court there, with a steady stream of goombahs and bombshells coming by the joint to share a slice and show us their goods. One of the new actors we meet is David Fioravanti, the winner from NBC's "Biggest Loser".

The Godfather, with his bodyguard (Vinny) on
the left and his "son" Joey on his right.

The minute I met him, I knew I wanted him in the show. Great personality, looks like a mafia Don and he had all the skills to keep up with our original cast members who were there to drill him.

Off to Buffalo, feeling really good about finding a fabulous group, including the Bride and Groom, a bodyguard, the Father of the Bride and several original cast members. The energy level seemed really high, and I could tell we had the makings of a really strong cast.

(At right: The happy director with his star, Kate Galluzzo, who plays Nina)

December 12, 2008

In Buffalo, we found most of the other cast members, filling almost all of the spots. Still did not have a Rabbi (Manny Shevitz), a Grandmother (Irma Neiman Marcus), or a Jewish Best Man (Sheldon Porkowitz). Or a Jewish Mother, Nathan's mother, who, like all the Jewish part, had to be Jewish. One night we were having dinner and I said to my beautiful wife, Jan, "hey, you are a Jewish mother, your son is getting married in June, you could play this role of Nathan's mother as a rehearsal for your real wedding in June. She laughed, until she realized I was serious, then she said no.

The next day Jan was speaking for a big group here in Vegas (she's a published author and the top memory expert and popular motivational speaker), and she ended with a standing ovation. She was hilarious, the crowd loved her (they always do). Later that night, I brought it up again, and I told her I really believed she could pull this part off, and she agreed to do it. For a big fat fee, of course.

At left, Jan Dacri morphed into the mother of Nathan

December 2, 2008

Found the missing pieces and the final cast was complete, and from the looks of them, I think we have one of the strongest line-ups we have ever had. One actor I was hoping to use for the priest was not available, so I decided to play that part myself. After all, I was going to be there to direct the show, and I wrote the lines, and I had played that role before, albeit years ago, so it seemed natural to do it.

January 6, 2009

The logistics for this show took weeks to sort out. It was like planning an invasion, we had to get all 18 cast members to Buffalo from different parts of the US as close to the same time as possible, arrange for Immigration details, work permits, hotel and limo pick-ups, the works.

February 10, 2009 (Tuesday)

The day all were supposed to arrive in Fallsview Casino. The night before, I spoke to one of the cast members who informed me she would have to miss one of the rehearsals and maybe two, but not to worry, she would be there for the show and she was really excited to be a part of this thing.

I fired her immediately. She never saw the casino. One down.

All other cast members arrive without incident. First to hit town, I arrive early in the afternoon along with our "Biggest Loser" David Fioravanti and my supreme cast member, the first one hired, Kevin Lowry, who plays the wedding planner (Mister Dudley). He originated the role in 1994, and here he was, still in top form and completely over the top. (And voted Most Valuable Player for this show).

Above, Kevin Lowry stars as "Mister Dudley".

We crossed the border together in a limo, then enjoyed a fantastic dinner and Cuban cigars and some fine scotch to kick off the week.

February 11, 2009 (Wednesday)

The entire cast meets for the first time, and its a sight to behold. I sense an energy that is amazing.

We start the day with rehearsals and blocking, a table read of the script (which was awful) and photo sessions with everyone in costume.

The first rehearsal was cut short when the photos took a lot longer than we had planned, and the rehearsal was one of the worst run-throughs in the history of the world.

After we all had dinner together, there was a lot of heavy drinking and I considered another line of work.

February 12, 2009 (Thursday)

After a morning rehearsal and table reading, things began to smooth themselves out, although I sensed some tension among some cast members. As often happens, some actors have ego issues, as in TOO MUCH ME ME ME, and that never goes down well in a large group. An ensemble needs team players and a couple of these actors thought the show revolved around them. I spent a lot of time getting everyone to play nice and recognize the need to work together to pull this off.

One actor was getting worse as the rehearsals continued. She revealed herself to me as a novice, someone who had very little acting experience, despite being represented by a formidable agent. I decided, after the afternoon's dress rehearsal that if she didn't improve significantly, I might have to delete her part, something I hated to do.

When the dress rehearsal ended, it was clear to all of the other actors that the girl playing the part of Nathan's ex-girlfriend, (Bambi Ginsberg) was not on the same page and something had to be done.

The last straw for me was during a rehearsal for the Bachelorette Party, when she became "injured" while staging a fight with the Maid of Honor, who happens to be one tough broad (from the original cast, a big haired, gum chewing f-bomb hottie who plays herself and kills the audience).

I decided the ex-girlfriend was never going to improve, that she was in over her head, and fired her, sending a chill through the rest of the cast.

Two down and one day until show time.

February 13, 2009 - (Friday)

We rehearsed again, this time things were running like clockwork, the crew were laughing at the jokes, even though they'd heard them all a few times already. A very good sign.

The two evening events, the bachelorette and bachelor parties were presented simultaneously, and we were told not to expect much interest from the guests, who would most likely leave after the first hour, as their interests were really elsewhere, namely the casino.

Well, 90 minutes after the two events started, the rooms were still overflowing with happy people.

They were meeting the cast members for the first time, they were bonding, making friends, hitting on the girls, and the ladies were hitting on the guys.

At left, the required stripper who popped out of a giant gift box, seen here with the bride's brother and Pasta Al Dente.

As a matter of fact, we finally had to pull all of the actors out of the events and hide them in the dressing rooms in order to clear the rooms out.

At right, Nina and her girls Ann Chovy (Lisa Del Vecchio)
and Lynn Guinni (Debra Messana).

An unqualified success on all levels. We had now set the stage for the main event, the Saturday night Valentine's Day wedding. I was supercharged with excitement. This was the culmination of a long road, a lot of hoops were jumped through and we were finally about to do it.

February 14, 2009 - (Saturday) WEDDING DAY

A final day rehearsal proves disastrous. But in show business, there is an unwritten rule; great rehearsal, bad show...bad rehearsal, great show. So when it ended, with sound and lights crew scratching their heads and my client wondering why they signed that contract, the professional actors were all relieved and happy.

I was, too. I fully expected the show to be one for the record books from the day I signed the contract, and I never lost sight of that as the only outcome. The terrible rehearsal jumps solidified that feeling for me. I was on cloud 8.

We all had lunch together, the energy was bouncing off the walls. I nearly fired another cast member when he decided to mouth off to the client, MY client. Not wanting to upset the cast with yet another last minute change, I let him stay, but he certainly earned a spot on my "Never Hire Again" list. Oh, he had a really good excuse for why he acted rude to them, but excuses are like rectal passages. Everyone has one and they all stink. I guess he forgot that I was once trained as an actor, too, and so therefore I was very familiar with the Actor's Book of Excuses, which was required reading for all actors. Whenever I hear something that came from that book, I turn it off and then question why I made the decision to hire someone who has studied that book in the first place.

When hair and make-up team arrived in the afternoon, it all went into another level of pre-show excitement. Actors were lounging around, clowning around, staying loose, and enjoying each other. Actually there were 2 actors who preferred to be by themselves, which I found odd in an ensemble cast, but so be it.

At left, our professional hair and make-up team made everyone look good (translation: cheap, slutty and tacky).

At 6 pm, the cast were all in costume and make-up and we all headed to the backstage area to be fitted with our wireless microphones, then we all walked trough the gorgeous ballroom we had been rehearsing in all week, some snapping photos of the soon to be not-empty place and of each other.

6:30 pm

Assembled in the dressing room (they gave us two large dressing rooms, one the for the guys and one for the ladies, each complete with refreshments, mirrors, dressing rooms, wardrobe racks, etc.) It only took us a few minutes to decide we wanted to all be in the same dressing room, the way a real show usually is, and we had the divider wall ripped open so we could all be together. Much better for cast bonding, as well as the requisite flirting.

6:45 pm

THE CIRCLE. A custom of all of my shows, the cast gathers alone, either backstage or in the dressing room, and holds hands, we share a silent moment, then I speak and then one of the cast members says something, sometimes it's spiritual, sometimes a bit religious, but always from the heart and we could not do the show without going through this ritual. When we break the circle, it's on with the show.

7:00 pm

The audience is let into the room, which quickly fills up as various cast members wander through the crowd, welcoming them, complaining, and spreading nasty rumors about other cast members. We never break character, no matter what the audience members attempt, and attempt they do.

7:30 pm

Finally, it's here...Sound and lights and all tech crew members in place, the show is about to start. I was calm and ready. Most of the cast were nervous and sweating. Again, that's a good thing.

As the priest, I am introduced first and get to speak first. I had two jokes. When the first one hit, I felt this huge wave of laughter. The crowd was HOT. I ad-libbed another joke, same reaction. I was feeling pretty wonderful, as I could see we had the ultimate audience, poised and ready to laugh.

I remember standing on the stage during the ceremony, about 10 minutes into the show, looking out at the crowd and smiling inside, such a great feeling, hearing my words spoken and then hearing the laughs.

And laugh they did. We were hitting home runs. Every one of them out of the park. They laughed at every joke, many times a lot harder than I can remember. A couple jokes were not delivered properly, wrong timing, wrong word, whatever, and those got nothing. I tried not to focus on that, as the audience has no clue what they may have missed. Just go forward and never lose sight of the goal, the great experience for the audience to take away.

The ceremony lasted at least 10 minutes longer than usual due to all the prolonged fits of laughter. We were a hit. The crowd was eating up every word, every gesture, every funny bit.

10:00 pm

After the ceremony the food began, and the actors continued with their improvisation as planned, circulating throughout the room, bringing people up on the dance floor, engaging in serious rumor spreading and arguments between the two families erupting all over the place...it was wild. As it should be. And the night just seemed to fly by, with highlight moments throughout, one right after the other. I made sure I got a chance to sit in with the band and play drums to a Beatles tune. And Sheldon Porkowitz (Doug Shapiro) rocked the joint when he joined the band to sing "Rockin Robin".

I was told that after the crowd ate, by 9 or 9:30 pm, they expected the place would be deserted.

At 10 pm, not one person had left yet, and by 10:20 pm, the dance floor was still packed and the room was over 80% full.

What a great feeling. At one point I stood in the back, watching everything by myself, and I got choked up, it was an emotional moment to see the joy on all these people's faces, and watch them all having such a good time.

I suspect it also was a sort of release for me, the culmination of a long process to put this elaborate production together and the pressure that led up to the actual event I was standing there watching. I was so very proud of my cast. It would never have happened without them (although I realized I made a few choices I would never make again, just the same, the audience was loving it all, and that was all that mattered).

I must admit, this was a whole lot more elaborate and detailed than most of the weddings we produce. We were so lucky to be working with an unbelievably professional team to support the production, thanks to Fallsview Casino.

10:30 pm

The band played the final song (they were fabulous all night long keeping the place jumping and the dance floor filled), we led a congo line around the room and then settled at the entrance in a receiving line as the guests began to leave. It was amazing, the response was incredible, most of the people wanted to hug and kiss the cast members, like they were really a part of the family. Listening to the comments was heart warming. It was better than I imagined.

I noticed that the entire cast was at the exit greeting people, except for one. When we sent someone to get him, he told me he was sorry and then launched into one of the excuses from that book I mentioned before. You can guess what my response to him was. Turned out, he was also the only cast member who broke character during the show, the only cast member who used the word "Schmuck" in the show and the only cast member who screwed up lines, missing 2 whole pages of dialog in the ceremony (even though he was the only cast member who had a SCRIPT in his hand).

Aside from that, we were blessed with a very talented cast, an absolutely near-perfect production and a happy client. I suspect many of the cast floated home. I know I did. It was, for some of them, the biggest production they had ever been in, and within 24 hours, most of them contacted me to say things to that effect, and to thank me for believing in them and for giving them this opportunity.

February 16, 2009

I was home in Vegas in time to see the end of the rain-shortened Daytona 500, and already we are fielding offers to bring this same production to Las Vegas and other gambling towns for the high rollers of other casinos. And we are looking forward to working with Fallsview Casino again for other productions. It was such a pleasure working with them, real pro's in every aspect of the show. I am spoiled now. It will be hard to top this wedding show.

But we will.

Show Review (recent production, FallsView Casino, Canada)

Check out some cool show photos in our column, Picture This

For more of Jan's photos from this gala weekend (and band leader Trent Richer's fab shots as well) , go HERE.

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