The Newfoundland Herald - September 3, 2001
Broadway
Bound
Bright lights, big city beckon St. John's actress
Mark Dwyer
Jennifer Lopez, or J. Lo to the teeny bopper set, dropped by her dressing room to say hello.
So did Hugh Hefner, flanked by 13 busty bunnies and a muscle-bound bodyguard in a skin pinching T-shirt.
The Bandit, the hairy-chested Burt Reynolds himself, also paid a visit, as did other big-name celebs like Adam Sandler.
Not bad for a girl who, in 1999, desperately forked over $100 to skip the line at an audition for Les Miserables.
Impressive company, indeed, for a girl who was turned down for an usher's job at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre, where, only six months later, she graced the stage in triumph.
Tina Maddigan - the St. John's sweetie who shuns Chanél for a sou'wester - has made it.
The tenacious gal - who waited tables at a pasta joint in downtown Toronto to get by in the late 1990's - is headed for the Big Apple.
Maddigan,
who originated the role of daughter Sophie in the Toronto production of Mamma
Mia! will make her Broadway debut when the ABBA spectacular opens in New York
in mid-October.
"It's the job of a lifetime...I don't know what I could possibly do to top this," she says.
Offered the lead role by director Phyllida Lloyd, she moved into her Big Apple apartment earlier this week and began an intense seven-week rehearsal.
"Who would have thought I'd ever get this far?" she says, referring to the legendary street that hosts the planet's best theatricals.
When she stands alone on stage at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre on October 18 and begins the show by singing the words "I have a dream," it will be the realization of her own life-long ideal.
A dream that started, she says, in Grade 4 - the year she played Scrooge in Presentation Convent's annual Christmas play.
She remembers embracing the energy of the audience, seeing the sparkling lights, hearing the laughter.
The nine-year-old was hooked.
"I remember telling myself: 'This is what I want to do,'" she says, savouring the memory.
Independent child
"It
was a feeling that's hard to describe...I knew then, as a little girl, that I
wanted to entertain people."
Throughout grade school - at Mary Queen of Peace and Brother Rice High School - she achieved average performances in the classroom, but prospered in the music room.
"My mother (Patricia) spent many hours waitiing for me outside the music room...I was always the last to come out," she laughs, acknowledging the support of family.
Her passion for performance, though, was no joke.
While other grade-schoolers channeled their energy towards boys and lipstick, Maddigan fell in love with music, committing to the jazz choir, jazz ensemble, chamber choir, concert choir and drama program and anything else that nourished her artistic yearnings.
She also took private singing, dancing and piano lessons.
"It (performing) made me feel complete," she says.
Even as a youngster, Maddigan exuded independence. Trekking through the centre of St. John's, where she grew up, she earned pocket money through a paper route.
"She's worked for everything she ever got," says her mother, Particia. "When she sets her mind on something, she gives everything to achieve that goal."
It was an off-the-cuff conversation, though, with high school music teacher Jacinta Mackey-Graham in the early 1990s that changed her life.
"I remember her telling me I could do this (theater) for a living," recalls Maddigan.
In her senior year at Brother Rice High School, her msuical mentor gave her an application to apply foor Sheridan College Musical Theatre - the renowned program in Oakville, Ontario.
Following an audition, she was accepted, but opted to take a year off.
"I needed a year off to spend time with family...to mentally prepare for the program," she says, noting Sheridan is a grueling 24-hour, seven-day-a-week commitment.
The triple-threat program - singing/acting/dancing - is the only one of its kind in Canada.
For three challenging years, the St. John's native bounced from ballet classes to Shakespeare recitals from stage combat class to singing lessons.
Big break
"It
was the most challenging, rewarding, eye-opening experience," says Maddigan,
who graduated from Sheridan in 1998.
Armed with an arsenal of theatrical training and a certificate from the respected institution, Maddigan tirelessly, and unsuccessfully, audition for work.
Undaunted, the young performer kept trying to break ino the theatre, honing her craft in summer stock while auditioning for big-ticket shows like Rent.
"I was determined," she says, noting she made ends meet as a waitress at East Side Mario's in downtown Toronto. "There were times when I felt down, but quitting never crossed my mind."
In '99, though, she struck gold, landing a job with Mamma Mia!, earning rave reviews and performing in front of record-breaking audiences.
"All of a sudden, my life was turned upside down...here I was waitressing - just after being turned down for an usher's job - and I'm on the stage at the Royal Alexandra," she says, still amazed with the accomplishment. "everything I worked for had finally paid off."
SNL hopeful?
Since then, she's showcased her talents in front of record-breaking crowads in Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago - earning praise from Hollywood's créme de la créme, the likes of J-Lo.
"I'm amazed when stars stop to say Hi...it's almost surreal," she says, noting former Premier Brian Tobin recently treated her and her boyfriend to a steak dinner at the Harbour Front Steakhouse in Toronto.
"It's so rewarding when people compliment you on your work."
Maddigan is hoping the praise will keep flowing once Mamma Mia! opens on Broadway.
"My dream was to work in the theatre, but I've exceeded even my own expectations...I'm blessed and fortunate that things worked out this well," she says.
As for future goals, she hopes to audition for Saturday Night Live someday.
"That's my next goal...I love comedy and it would be a blast," she says, laughing.
Hometown shrine
A
die-hard Newfoundlander, she also plans to 'Screech-In' talk show host Rosie O'Donnell.
"It's fantastic what she's done for the theatre industry," says Maddigan, who frequently holds 'Screech-Ins' for cast members and friends (she even screeched-in Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus from ABBA).
When she's not getting others to kiss the cod, or puffin's arse, she's the province's most patriotic star.
Her dressing room wall is papered with pictures of home, scenic shots and photos of family and friends.
Even J-Lo noticed the shrine.
"She couldn't believe how beautiful Newfoundland is...She said she'd love to visit there," says Maddigan, who's belted out the national anthem at Toronto Blue Jays and toronto Maple Leafs games.
And although she's thousands of miles away, trying to take Manhattan, Maddigan remains at home.
Close to home
While Broadway's blue bloods dine on escargot and sip Chardonnay, Maddigan craves a bowl of Nan's pea soup.
"You can stick me in a fancy dress or put a fancy meal in front of me, but I'm still a good 'ole Newfie girl," she says. "Nothing compares to home."
Broadway is close, though, she admits with a smile.