1,500 shows but never a dull moment

Monday, Nov. 27, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

What: The 1,500th performance of "Mamma Mia!"

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Mandalay Bay

Tickets: $82.50 and up; 632-7777

The Las Vegas production company of "Mamma Mia!" will celebrate its 1,500th performance on Wednesday.

That's an eternity for a Las Vegas musical, where longevity is barely in the script - think "Hairspray" and "Avenue Q."

But the kitschy musical based on the songs of the Swedish rock group Abba seems to have bottomless popularity. It opened in London in 1999, has run for five years on Broadway and has spawned 20 current productions around the globe, including versions in Madrid, Moscow, Copenhagen, Osaka and a North American touring company.

In Las Vegas, Tim Tucker has performed in more than 1,400 of the shows. He started when it premiered at Mandalay Bay in February 2003 and has lasted longer than any other cast member.

"Some jobs just become jobs," said Tucker, "but the thing with this show, I'm really not bored - not bored with singing or the material or hearing the material."

Tucker plays Father Alexandrios, a relatively minor role, but is still considered part of the cast, not the ensemble. He's also an understudy for several roles, which helps keep him from getting bored.

Three ensemble players - Ian Cullity, Rick Pessagno and Brad Gray - also have been with the show since Day 1, and some members of the stage management staff have been there since the first curtain went up.

But none of the original major cast members is still with the show. Most of the parts have been played by several actors over the years.

It's Tucker audiences have seen day in, day out - six days a week for almost four years. He has taken only a few weeks off for vacation, illness or personal time.

"We don't get a full weekend like the rest of the world does," Tucker said. "But it's a trade-off. Our schedule itself is easy as far as the amount of hours we put in. But when we're there, we work hard."

In his off-time, the 43-year-old Tucker is an antiques dealer.

Growing up in New York, he dreamed of being a concert pianist.

"In high school I started accompanying people (on the piano) who were taking voice lessons," Tucker recalled. "So I started to learn about singing and productions, and then I started playing for concert choruses and eventually starting singing myself."

After majoring in theater and speech pathology in college, he went to New York City to become an actor.

"Most of my career has been traveling," he said. "You move to New York to be an actor, but then you usually end up on the road or in regional theater or on international tours or something like that."

He wound up in Minneapolis, which has a vibrant theater scene, before coming to Las Vegas.

Landing the role in "Mamma Mia!" was pure luck. He happened to be in Las Vegas on other business when he picked up a trade paper and noticed auditions were being held for the local production company.

"I never travel without a head shot," Tucker said. "I got the picture and ran to the audition. I happened to know the casting director from New York.

"So I sang for them, had a couple of callbacks during the week that I was here, and then I went back to Minnesota to finish out some things and three months later was called and told that I had been cast in the show."

Tucker had never seen "Mamma Mia!" before he was hired.

"I just went in and did my thing," he said.

He moved to Las Vegas and has been working steadily ever since, more than the average actor can say.

"Once I re-established my life here, it was great," Tucker said. "In the beginning I wasn't too fond of Vegas, but now it's grown on me a little bit."

And he says the show is a great gig.

"It's a good show, the material is good and the people I work with are fantastic," Tucker said.

He doesn't know whether he will be around for the production's final performance, however far in the future it might be.

"I stopped making predictions on that a long time ago," Tucker said. "I thought I would do a year and be done, and now I just kind of take it as it comes.

"When the correct opportunity presents itself, I'll know. If it doesn't, then I'm perfectly fine with being the one person who opens and closes the show."