Edmonds woman lands role in ‘Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding’
Published 10:57 pm Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Kathy Roumeliotis is professionally trained — as a dental hygienist, not an actress.
No problem. When audiences get in on the act at “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” the off-Broadway comedy now at Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center, they’ll see Roumeliotis hamming it up with a troupe of New York actors.
The Edmonds woman plays Loretta. She puts on airs as the gracious but ditsy wife of Vinnie Black, a stand-up comic turned schmaltzy caterer who runs the wedding show. Playing Vinnie is Anthony Patellis, whose credits include movies and TV appearances on “The Sopranos” and “Law &Order.”
And Roumeliotis’s acting credits?
Well, in the past year she’s worked as a part-time cast member for the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train’s Murder Mystery. That came after she acted in one play with Theatre Puget Sound at Seattle Center. And then there was “Gone Tomorrow,” a play she did with her church youth group. That was 30-plus years ago, when she was at Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet High School.
“I played a little old Irish lady with an Irish brogue,” Roumeliotis, 51, said of that first time onstage. “I got best actress. I have this little Oscar in my living room, a reminder of what I always wanted to do.”
Between then and now came life, with all its responsibilities. The would-be actress married and made a home in the Picnic Point area. Working as a dental assistant, she raised two children. In her 40s, she went back to school, graduating in 2000 with dental hygiene credentials from Lake Washington Technical College. In 2001, she was divorced.
She’s approaching her newfound zeal for theater with the fearlessness she needed taking college science courses. “I feel I weathered a storm, going through a divorce, trying to juggle kids, work and school. Once I went through all that, I decided there’s nothing I can’t do,” Roumeliotis said.
She was introduced to the wedding comedy four years ago while in Las Vegas for a national dental hygienists’ meeting. “We wanted to go someplace as a group, so we went to ‘Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding.’ Afterwards, I thought, ‘Oh, I would love to do that.’ “
Her chance came when another dinner train actor told her about auditions for “Tony n’ Tina.” The production blends a core group of New York actors with about 20 local actors who quickly learn their roles in each city.
For her audition, in late July at the Everett arena, she was handed a sheet with lines to read and told to “do it with a New York accent.”
“It was the first audition I had ever been on, I’m a real newbie,” she said. Some competitors came with professional photographs and long theater resumes. “I walked out thinking, either I’ll get the part or I won’t.” Two days later, she was at work when she had a message on her cell phone from New York — she had the part.
“Loretta is a cross between June Cleaver and Loretta Young. She has a sparkly gown and comes gliding in. Vinnie is rough around the edges, but I, of course, am above that. And Tina is my goddaughter, so I’ve been waiting to do this wedding forever. It’s a really fun part,” Roumeliotis said.
The audience gets in on the fun. “You’re attending a wedding,” she said. “There’s dinner, they give you a glass of champagne, and you get up and dance the YMCA and the Macarena.”
Bitten hard by the theater bug, Roumeliotis doesn’t want to exit the stage. “This just jazzes me, this is so fun,” she said.
Roumeliotis still has educational ambitions. She’s been working on a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene through Eastern Washington University at Shoreline Community College. Close to completion, she said, “now I don’t fear school at all.”
“I may get a master’s degree, but my next education will be in theater,” she said. “This is something I’ve been wanting to do forever. It’s always been burning in there.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
‘Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding’ at arena in Everett
The off-Broadway comedy “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” runs tonight through Sunday in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave. Shows are at 7 nightly, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The interactive play includes dinner. Tickets, $66 and $71, available at www.comcastarenaeverett.com 866-332-8499. Rated PG-13; children under 4 not admitted.
