Joey & Maria's 25th Anniversary Party
(The Sequel to Joey & Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding)

By Sandra Miller-Long

If you really want to know what a big Italian party is all about go directly to Joey & Maria's 25th Anniversary Party - do not pass go - but wear comfortable shoes, because you'll be hoofin' it all over the dance floor and busting a gut laughing at the same time.

Setting up shop in the Culy Theatre 340 Seventh Ave., Downtown. -- a venue that fits the show's intent to a T -- this dinner theater show has a simple but effective premise. It's the 25th wedding anniversary of Joey, the once reluctant not-so-bright groom, and the ever ditzy gal he married named Maria, with the real focus being an excuse to have a few laughs, a few more drinks and become part of the wild goings-on. And we are all their invited guests.

Plot's unimportant here. Joey & Maria's is all about outrageous people doing outrageous things, and you're welcome to participate. Standing outside the door, a personable yet non-nonsense mobster Frankie Fusili (Chris Limon) greeted the guests and double-checkes some invites to make sure "there ain't no freeloaders trying to sneak in."

The ensuing party -- which would have been bolstered by simply loading up the tables with carafes of wine instead of having to stand in line at the bar-- is where the audience truly gets involved. We boogied to retro '70s disco and joined the cast for both the tarantella (to "That's Amore") and the twist, before finding ourselves wending around the banquet room in a conga line, then singing "Que Sera, Sera" while waving our dinner napkins in the air.

Joey & Maria's friends and family make up a crazy cast of characters. You might even recognize some of the cast from your local karaoke show - including the ever talented and charismatic Joel Bush as the party's host and MC, Don Rocco. Joined by his fellow goombahs on a stage, tackily decorated with Italian flags and paper party decorations, Don Rocco really gets the party going and keeps it rolling all evening.

Played by yet another karaoke regular (Danette Cirello) Viola Vermicelli, the buxom bombshell, practically steals the show as "The Uninvited Guest". With a baudy laugh and a gritty sultry voice that carries across the room, it's hard to believe she's not really Joey's jealous, jilted girlfriend. she's so convincing.

Meanwhile the party continues, the cast doing a fine job integrating and ingratiating themselves with the strangers, working their way around the room to talk to the guests. I spoke to Frankie, Maria, Little Maria, Joey and several other characters at our table throughout the evening. As she plopped down at our table, Maria showed off for us a lovely framed picture of her late mother , "Did you know my mother," she inquired? "Never had a kind word to say about anyone....especially my Joey!" Then she trotted over to the next table with the picture and her no-so-beloved mother's ashes in a Tupperware container tucked neatly under her arm.

Ah, the wonders of interactive theater.

As a dinner theater, "Joey & Maria's" could use better food, but you won't go away
hungry, especially since it's a buffet. We dined on antipasto salad, lasagna and spaghetti.
It's good, nothing fancy, but it's definitely secondary to the show. The night we were there though, the packed house didn't seem to mind, jamming the dance floor and celebrating a fete that's hard to forget.

When you make your reservation, ask for a table in the middle. If you're on the periphery, you might miss some of the action.

And you won't want to miss a thing.

Reservation information is available by phoning the Culy Theatre: 1-800-944-Joey.