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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Award-winning actor and writer Anthony J. Wilkinson is creating a new theatrical experience, “My Big Gay Italian Casino Adventure,” set for previews in the spring of 2025 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

Fresh off strong ticket sales for back-to-back performances of “My Big Gay Italian Funeral” at Hard Rock Atlantic City, Wilkinson has renewed his commitment for more shows in late 2024 and 2025 at Hard Rock’s Sound Waves theater.

Tickets are still available for Wilkinson’s “My Big Gay Italian Midlife Crisis,” set for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, at 8 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased at HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com, Ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000. All shows are subject to change.

Wilkinson also plans to announce December performances of “My Big Gay Italian Christmas,” the newest addition to the theatrical series. “My Big Gay Italian Christmas” made its debut in 2017.

‘MY BIG GAY ITALIAN CASINO ADVENTURE’

Wilkinson shared the developing story line for “My Big Gay Italian Casino Adventure,” in which his character, Anthony Pinnunziato, decides to open the first gay and lesbian casino in the United States.

Fictional characters like Aunt Toniann and Lucia Fuccio continue on their series journey, with the introduction of new fictional characters, like high rollers Gloria Elderberry and Pablo Picassataggi, infamous casino host Giorgio Fontaine and high-strung butler Rudolfo. The show is in development and casting calls are planned for late 2024.

“This will be our first time actually opening a new show outside of New York City,” said Wilkinson. “Given the nature and the content of the show and my most recent experiences, I thought having the previews and the officially opening in Atlantic City would be appropriate.”

Wilkinson adds, “Like the rest of the series, this chapter will represent another milestone that is mostly fiction with hints of reality spread throughout. I’ve had so many mentors over the years that have educated me a lot about the casino industry. A whole new cast of characters combined with the ones we already have will make for what is turning into a hilarious story. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point they really do a open a Gay Resort and Casino somewhere; the story is fiction but the concept is real.”

ITS ORIGINS

In 2003, Wilkinson’s original production of “My Big Gay Italian Wedding” opened off-Broadway at the Actor’s Playhouse and later moved to Theatre Four in the spring of 2004. The restaged production debuted in 2009 at the St. George Theatre, prompting a revival on Restaurant Row with an Equity cast in 2010. The run was expected to last six weeks but wound up extending 14 times in the same location.

Born and raised on Staten Island, Wilkinson began his career as an intern writer at ABC Daytime’s “One Life To Live,” and worked his way up to the position of associate director, for which he earned 11 nominations and three Daytime Emmy Awards and was a two-time recipient of the Directors Guild of America Award.

In 2017, Wilkinson was cast in the soap opera “Tainted Dreams,” which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Wilkinson is currently employed by Woodbridge Township, where he has served as the executive and artistic director of the Avenel Performing Arts Center for the last seven years.