Conversations with Todd Vigiletti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Vigiletti.

Hi Todd, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up surrounded by music and dance. My mother was a world-renowned professional belly dancer, and my grandmother was originally an opera singer, so performing was very much a part of my world from an early age.

Like a lot of kids, I started performing in school, but I quickly became more and more involved in the arts. Although we traveled extensively during my early childhood, my family eventually settled in Rowland Heights, California, and that is when things really began to change for me.

I joined a performing group called “Karen’s Kids,” run by Karen Blackburn. We performed at shopping malls, holiday celebrations, senior events, and just about anywhere else there was an audience. After a few years, I became Karen’s “assistant director” and began helping teach music, put shows together, and work with the other performers. Looking back, that was probably my first real introduction to the other side of entertainment—not just performing in a show, but actually helping to create one. Several members of Karen’s Kids went on to do some pretty amazing things, most notably Stacy Ferguson, better known today as Fergie!

After graduating from high school, I was selected to become a member of the national performing group The Young Americans. We traveled throughout the country and around the world, performing at halftime shows, corporate events, telethons, and other major events. It was an amazing learning experience. In addition to extensive training in music and dance, we were exposed to audio, lighting, staging, and many of the technical elements that go into producing live theater. That experience gave me an appreciation for the entire production—not just what happens onstage, but everything that has to happen behind the scenes to make a show work.

After turning 21, I began working as a swing performer at the Young American Song and Dance Company and eventually moved on to TIBBIES Dinner Theatre. It was there that I met the person who would ultimately become both my business partner and my partner in life.

Jennifer came in to interview for a hostess position at the dinner theater while she was a theater major at UCI. We hired her as a hostess, but it didn’t take long before her talent became obvious and she quickly found her way into the cast.

A couple of years later, an unexpected opportunity came along for me to purchase the dinner theater and take over the business. I knew I needed a partner. I was comfortable with the music and business sides of things, but choreography and costuming were definitely not my strong suits! Jennifer, on the other hand, had exactly the talents I was missing.

There was just one small complication: she had planned to move to New York and take her shot at Broadway.

Instead, I asked her to become my business partner, and fortunately for me, she said yes. Two years later, our business partnership became a life partnership when we got married. This September, we are celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary, and it’s probably fair to say we’ve spent nearly every hour together since! We have built shows, businesses, events, and a life together, and I truly could not have done any of this without her.

Together, we eventually expanded the dinner theater business into multiple locations throughout Southern California, including Buena Park, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Fontana, and Long Beach. Over the years, we also grew beyond dinner theater into a full-service live entertainment and production company, creating custom entertainment and providing audio-visual, costume, décor, and production services for hotels, theme parks, corporate events, and conventions.

During my first 20 years operating the dinner theaters, I made nearly 6,000 appearances as a performer. Jennifer and I have written and produced more than 60 song-and-dance revue shows, produced nearly 30 scripted musicals, and managed more than 400 corporate events and conventions.

Along the way, I also had the honor of spending a brief period singing lead with The Diamonds, the legendary vocal group associated with the great doo-wop and early rock-and-roll era. It was truly a dream come true to travel and perform alongside the incredible talent in that group.

Today, we’ve found a pretty extraordinary place to call our professional home: the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach.

Our company provides audio-visual services and entertainment booking aboard the ship, and we create and perform musical murder mystery shows there as well. In partnership with the Queen Mary team, we help create many of the ship’s milestone celebrations and special events throughout the year, including New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July, Valentine’s Day, and more.

Jennifer and I also continue to do what started this entire journey in the first place—perform. Today, we take the stage aboard the Queen Mary in our “Saturday Night Supper Club,” performing with the Stargazer Orchestra and the Stardust Dancers.

And apparently, performing really does run in the family. Jennifer and I have a beautiful daughter, Paige, who is currently in her final year at San Diego State University. She is an amazingly gifted singer and performer in her own right, but what makes us proudest is the wonderful human being she has become.

When I look back, there really wasn’t one moment when I decided exactly what I wanted my career to become. One opportunity simply seemed to lead to another—from growing up surrounded by music, to performing as a kid, to learning how to put a show together, to becoming a professional performer, to building a business and a family with Jennifer, and eventually to producing entertainment and events on a much larger scale.

Through all of those changes, the common thread has always been the same: a love of live entertainment and the experience of bringing people together through music, theater, and events. And after all these years, I still get to do it alongside the person who took a job as a hostess all those years ago—and who, thankfully, never made it to New York.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When looking at our history at first glance it seems easy and smooth, but the reality is we have had some challenges for sure. In 2000 after about 6 years of being at our Newport Beach Location, we were forced to move out of our venue. We were determined not to let the venue die. We wanted to keep it open not only for our loyal guests, but also for the many many talented performers that worked with us over the years. We encountered that same type of situation another three times over the years. Each time the expense of moving and creating not only a great performance space, but a restaurant space became harder and harder to manage. Of course as everyone experienced the Pandemic, so did we. We had to go “virtual” for a full two years and the reopening process really changed our future plans.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What do I love to do? I spend much of my time now writing and creating new shows or theming events for our corporate clients and partners. I love taking someone’s idea for an event and turning it into reality. I guess you could say I specialize in creating customized moments including writing song parodies, scripts, and figuring out how to execute them. In my heart of hearts though, my favorite place is still the stage. There is nothing more special to me than being able to perform side by side with my wife Jennifer and make the audience laugh with our banter or perhaps shed a tear during a special moment in the show. I think what sets us apart is that we truly have spent our entire life together as entertainers. We have been so fortunate to be able to live each day knowing and believing that the next show is just around the corner and though we may not know where it is coming from or where it is going to take place, we are confident that it will come to fruition. We carry that belief with us in everything that we do and share that with our audiences , partners and clients.

What’s next?
Looking forward we are working on new performance opportunities at the Queen Mary. We are expanding our Murder Mystery Dinner show Series, and adding a Cabaret Series. For the immediate future we have two new things brewing. This October Jennifer and I will performing a new act at the Dark Harbor Halloween event adjacent to the Queen Mary. We will be performing as the SOS – DUO (Save Our Souls Duo) at the Lifeboat Stage every Friday and Saturday through Halloween. Additionally we are excited about a new partnership with the Long Beach Hilton and are proud to bringing our 32nd season of TIBBIES Holiday Follies ( Our Christmas Dinner and Show) to that location for two weeks this December. This is one of our most popular shows and features a cast of eight singer/dancers and a live band.

Pricing:

• Queen Mary Murder Mystery Dinner and Show $95
• Holiday Follies at the LB Hilton Dinner and Show $109
• Private Events are based upon client selections

Contact Info:

• Website: https://StargazerProductions.com
• Instagram: @stargazerproductionsandevents
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StargazerProductions/
• Other: https://www.QueenMary.com/WhatsOnDeck