Content area
Full Text
Raffaella Sevarino Tasca checked out 30 possible wedding sites, then she decided to marry at work. Not a bad choice, since she works at mid-Manhattan's historic Hudson Theatre.
She and her fiance, Nino Tasca, now 31, explored many locations for their Aug. 17, 2002, nuptials. But Raffaella Tasca, 32 - who is senior corporate sales manager at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Broadway Hotel - says, "Because I worked here, we wanted to give other sites a fair chance, but we just kept coming back."
Back to the main lobby with its original Tiffany mosaic ceiling, crystal chandeliers, gilded columns and Art Deco decor ( refurbished in 2005 for $1.2 million). Back to the theater with its gilded balcony boxes and the stage, used for dancing. (Dancing on a true Broadway stage was really memorable for her guests, many of whom traveled from outside New York City, as far away as Italy.)
"Our second choice was a Manhattan penthouse, but it didn't compare," Tasca said. With the tiered theater seating, she added, "everyone has a view." It was cocktails in the lobby, dinner in the theater.
Wedding as theater
The Hudson was built by producer Henry B. Harris, who perished aboard the Titanic, then managed by his widow, Irene, one of the first women to produce theater in New York City.
The Hudson opened in 1903 with "Cousin Kate," starring Ethel Barrymore. Barbara Stanwyck and Judith Anderson made their Broadway debuts at the theater. Louis Armstrong, Sir Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn played there. In the 1950s, the Hudson was home to "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen. Barbra Streisand later made her TV debut at the Hudson as a guest on "The Jack Paar Show."
Another plus for Tasca was the all-inclusive package for the theater, which runs about $175 a person for five hours. It includes an open bar, three-course meal and a wedding cake.
"I had helped plan many weddings," she said. "With the option to add onto the wedding package, it couldn't have been easier. We omitted places because so many things were additional. I didn't want to pick the chairs. I wanted to know what the chairs looked like but didn't want to have to order them."
Donna...