Tina Maddigan: Lady in Waiting
When Broadway.com asked Tina Maddigan of The Wedding Singer to share the backstage routine of a Broadway standby, we—and she—had no idea that she would soon be playing the leading role of Julia. Because of ongoing vocal problems, Laura Benanti took an extended leave in the month of August and Maddigan, a veteran of Mamma Mia! and host of Road Trip on the Travel Channel, stepped in to appear opposite Stephen Lynch. As you'll see from her account of a typical night backstage, the Canadian-born Maddigan is a bubbly, upbeat presence, visiting with castmates and creating professional-quality beaded jewelry such as the necklace she's modeling here in her spare time.
My name is Tina Maddigan, and this is my diary of a Broadway standby. It's a very hot Thursday in late July, and I am sitting in my little dressing room on the sixth floor of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on West 45th Street waiting for the air-conditioning to kick in. As I wipe my brow, I ponder what I might do tonight to keep myself busy. When I'm not going on in the role of Julia, I begin the evening by making my rounds—a routine that's a must for me and for those I drop in to see!
First stop: the men's ensemble room. Peter Kapetan and Matt Allen are ready to go at 7:30 pm. The rest of the boys are goofing around as we listen to David Josefsberg improv a song about drinking his wife's breast milk. After I'm done laughing at his hilarious rap, I head down to the ladies' room.
"Waz up, Tiny?" she calls out, using a nickname she and Laura Benanti gave me back in Seattle during the show's pre-Broadway run. I tell Amy about how I may have misplaced my green card. With a big grin she says, "Well, Tiny, it might be with the passport, watch and two cameras you've lost since Seattle." For the record, I would lose my head if it were not attached to my body. We giggle, give hugs and off I go again.
Last stop: Stephen Lynch's room. I could lie and say that Stephen and I have deep, intellectual conversations about the meaning of life. In fact, he finds a way to make fun of something I've just said, and I take the abuse so I can steal a mini Snickers from his candy jar. Yummy! Now I have about 10 more minutes to kill, so I continue puttering around. From wigs to wardrobe, sound to our stellar crew, the musicians to our amazing stage management, there are so many people I can irritate—and so little time. Over the theater intercom I hear, "This is your five-minute call. Five minutes to the top of Act One."
The cast heads to the stage and we circle up with a little gospel clap. With hands piled on top of one another, Matt Stocke gives us the cast news update and counts down to show time with a "1, 2, 3, Wedding Singer!" The overture begins, then "It's Your Wedding Day" and the curtain goes up. Stage left, I do the running step along with the cast and then head out front to catch the rest of the number. As I sit in the back of the house, I smile proudly as I watch my buds dancing and singing their faces off. I am so honored to be a part of such a talented group of people.
My size eights take me back up what feels like 843 steps to the sixth floor. Sometimes to keep myself busy I do a little writing, read a little Shakespeare by Shakespeare I mean the Enquirer or maybe play guitar. But tonight I have to work on bridal jewelry for Ashley Amber's upcoming wedding.
I began making beaded earrings when I said "I do" in 2005 and wanted to give my bridesmaids a unique gift that had meaning. I loved designing something original for them, and my gifts soon became a full-time hobby. I've now designed and made specialty pieces for five bridal parties. It's a great feeling to know that a bride, on her special day, is going to wear something that I created just for her. [Editor's note: Maddigan is too modest to mention that the striking beaded necklace she made for Haase was plainly visible in a photo accompanying the Sunday New York Times "Vows" article on the actress's wedding.]
"I'm just getting the scores to the ballgame, Maddigan, I'll be up in a minute," he replies. Before I know it, I have finished one necklace for Ashley Amber's wedding and Kevin and I have laughed the night away to Molly Shannon as Mary Catherine Gallagher part of my extensive backstage DVD collection while The Wedding Singer rocks on in the background.
Just before the final bows, I toss my bag over my shoulder as I head downstairs to meet the girls for a late dinner and more lively conversation. It's just another typical night here at The Wedding Singer…just another night on Broadway!