Mamma Mia! Alum Tina Maddigan on Playing Rona Lisa Opposite Richard Karn in Kansas City's Spelling Bee

After originating the role of Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia!, hosting the Discovery Channel's Road Trip and appearing on Broadway in The Wedding Singer, Tina Maddigan settled down in Kansas City with her husband, a native midwesterner, and became the mom of son Riley James, now four, and daughter Sadie, now 18 months old. Not surprisingly, the lively theatrical community in K.C. quickly figured out they had a Broadway vet in their midst, and now Maddigan is currently playing Rona Lisa Peretti opposite Home Improvement's Richard Karn in the New Theatre production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

“Spelling Bee is a really cute show,” Maddigan told Broadway.com. “I am quirky. I’m a little over the top, and what’s wonderful is I get to use my improv skills. I studied at Upright Citizens Brigade under Amy Poehler, and it’s great to be spontaneous every night.” 

As Spelling Bee fans will recall, the deadpan Rona Lisa and Vice Principal Panch (Karn) engage in some unscripted banter with audience members who test their spelling skills at the top of the show. “Richard is an amazing actor,” Maddigan said. “If he wasn’t Al from Home Improvement, I would think he was just an awesome guy. He’s so sweet and so endearing, and he’s made everyone feel so welcome. I hope every theater that brings in a celebrity gets to feel that. I love him to death.”

Maddigan’s other current loves include teaching aspiring actors in Broadway Bound, a workshop that centers on vocal technique, audition preparation and stage presence. And she’s thrilled to be able to mix motherhood and musicals, confessing an ongoing dream of playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. “On stage, you are throwing yourself into the great abyss,” she reflects. “You never know what’s going to happen, and that’s exciting.”