Jersey Shore's Vinny Guadagnino Bridges the Gap Between Club and Stage in That Bachelorette Show!

Vinny Guadagnino — or just plain "Vinny" as folks came to know him on the hit MTV reality show Jersey Shore — is taking his Seaside expertise to the world of off-Broadway in That Bachelorette Show! The immersive production at the Copacabana, where dating competition meets raucous bachelorette party, holds a much closer resemblance to a night at Club Karma than a night at the theater.

However, now several years removed from life at the Shore, the show marks Guadagnino's professional stage debut and a foot into an acting career his MTV fans may have never even known was on his radar. TheaterMania sat down with the Staten Island native to chat about his journey from the boardwalk to off-Broadway. He's set his sights on big things for the future, determined to prove the acting chops he's been honing since graduating from Jersey Shore. Fortunately for loyal Vinny fans, his next step in that direction will probably require some of his signature fist-pumping.

How did you get involved with That Bachelorette Show!?
My managers asked me if I wanted to do it, and they know I'm always interested in anything to do with acting. So I went to go see the show, and was like, "I want to do this. This is awesome." [It's] like a dance party. Our bachelorette is picking one guy out of a bunch of guys [and] I play her ex-boyfriend who comes back to try to vie for her love. But the guys are out there trying to win votes. It's a real competition show, so the guys are out there trying to dance with girls, flirt with them — you know just all of the things that come naturally to me. [laughs]

Are you, as the ex-boyfriend, in contention to win the competition?
Absolutely. But I don't think the guy ever wins — that's what I heard. Usually they don't let her go backwards in life, because we all have the ex that wants to keep coming back. But maybe I'll change that.

Have you always been an actor or did Jersey Shore get you started down this career path?
Actually I've been an actor my whole life. I used to do school plays. In high school I was the lead role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And when I got on Jersey Shore I got a bunch of acting roles from it. Like 90210, and guest starring on this other show The Hard Times of RJ Berger. That's my element. Now, after Jersey Shore, I'm just grinding. I hope to just get to a point soon where people see me doing an acting thing they're not like, "What is he doing?" and it's just a regular thing.

People know you from Jersey Shore as a "reality television star." Are you hoping to change that?

I wouldn't say "change." I'm grateful for every opportunity — and there are a lot of cool reality shows. So if someone gave me a reality show tomorrow that was awesome I would be like, "Yeah!" But for the last five years, I've been going to school at Upright Citizens Brigade. I do improv, I do sketch comedy, I do standup comedy — I do all those things. It's my passion, so I'm gonna keep doing it.

As a Staten Island native, did you grow up seeing shows in Manhattan?
I saw like Beauty and the Beast and Lion King — the usual Staten Island standard of shows. But nah, Broadway still amazes me. I go see a show and I feel like I'm watching basketball players play in the NBA. And then they just walk out of the theater like it's no big deal. But that's the charm of it. You're on that stage, you're a god, and then you walk out and everyone's equal. I'm a New Yorker, I love that.

What are you most excited/nervous about going into That Bachelorette Show!?
I'm always nervous — in a good way. I never want to be too comfortable. It keeps me on my toes. [But] I'm excited about, number one, getting something on the résumé to prove to people this is what I'm doing now. And also, it's fun to give my friends and family and people I know in the industry something to come see me in. If you're doing a play, you can always invite people. And this is at a nightclub. You go, you drink, you dance, it's fun! Who doesn't want to do that?

Is your grandmother getting an invite?
Yes! It's something I can invite my grandmother to — and also my little sister — and also my boys. It's perfect for anybody. Think about it, a grandmother normally might not go to a club. But now that she's seeing this off-Broadway show, grandma's in the club! My grandmother's the first person I'm inviting.