Nations #1 Interactive Dinner Show

review

February 27, 2009 Italian wedding comedy in town By CHARLES RUNNELLS crunnells@news-press.com The priest is drunk. Grandma fakes a heart attack. The groom makes a break for the door. It's a wedding planner's nightmare.But for Darlyne Franklin, it's comedy gold. Franklin created "Joey and Maria's Comedy Wedding" in 1992, and since then the interactive dinner-theater show has become a national hit. Now she's bringing the show to Southwest Florida."Joey and Maria" plays tonight in Naples and Saturday in Fort Myers.Franklin says she came up with the concept after seeing the Mafia-themed stage comedy "Breaking Legs." The show made her recall her own Italian-American heritage growing up in east Boston. "I thought, 'I know this stuff,'" says Franklin, 51, who moved to Naples in December 2008. "I grew up around all that. I can write this.'" And so she did, pouring exaggerated Italian-American culture into a show that turns audience members into friends and family at one of the kookiest weddings ever. You get gum-smacking bridesmaids. You get lots of tacky suits and dresses. You get an appearance by the Godfather, himself, and - if you want, you even get to kiss his ring.  Sure, it sounds like a winning concept - in hindsight. But Franklin says she wasn't met by much enthusiasm when she first pitched the idea.  Actually, no one thought the show would work at all. "People told me I was going to go broke," Franklin says and pauses for dramatic effect. "And I didn't." Far from it. She says the show makes more than $40 million a year in cities ranging from Las Vegas, Boston, Los Angeles and New Jersey. But don't confuse "Joey and Maria" with the similarly successful, similarly Italian audience-participation hit "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding." Franklin says she developed her show without even knowing about "Tony 'n' Tina."  "I had no idea there was such a thing," she says. "It happens like that. Like in the movies. Sometimes two different people will come up with the same idea at the same time." In 2001, Franklin sold "Joey and Maria" to Dillstar Productions, but she still gets royalties and she retained Florida rights to stage the show. Southwest Florida - with its retirees and dinner-theater crowds - seemed the perfect spot to relaunch the show that made her rich. So far, Franklin has staged only a handful of shows in Fort Myers and Naples. But word of mouth is spreading, she says. Most shows have been sold out. Franklin directs the shows and serves as DJ, and she's hired a cast of local performers to play the bride (Stephanie Romano), the groom (Bill Maughan) and the rest of the family. The cast members wander the crowd and talk to the guests - sometimes grabbing people and taking them out on the dance floor. Audiences really get into the show, Romano says. Some even bring envelopes and gifts (they're usually empty, though). "People come up to you and wish you the best of luck," says Romano, 24, of Naples. "They get so involved in it. It makes you feel like you really did just get marrie