The Wedding Singer

Although ‘The Wedding Singer’ has a fairly thin storyline it is such a fun show packed with lively musical numbers and a show which this cast obviously enjoyed. A romantic comedy, the story follows the life of the much loved wedding singer Robbie Hart who, along with his other two band members. brings joy to weddings, that is until he himself is jilted at the alter and then falls for the waitress Julia who is about to be married to Glen.

From start to finish, this entire cast oozed high energy and enthusiasm and looked brilliant in their 80’s costumes, wigs and make up. Strong chorus singing and Intricate choreography and dance routines involving all of the cast were slick and punchy and appeared effortless to all bringing life and vitalty to the stage. ‘Saturday Night in the City’ and ‘All About the Green’ were just two of the stand out numbers.

There were some excellent individual characters in this musical. Fraser Jamieson, Robbie Hart the wedding singer, gave a most natural performance. A loveable character, he appeared totally at ease both vocally and in his interpretation of the part presenting the various shifts in his mood and emotions very well indeed. Katherine Croan looked impressive and was totally believable as the innocent, naive waitress Julia. With a srong singing voice, she and Fraser complemented each other vocally in their duets. I did enjoy ‘Come Out of the Dumpster’ and the contrasting ‘If I Told You’.

Zoe Brookes, the rather ‘bitchy’ Linda was a great rock chic and exuded confidence and glamour in ‘Let Me Come Home’. Kirsten Simpson gave a bubbly performance as Julia’s cousin Holly showing great empathy while supporting Julia and her mixed up feelings. She certainly brought the part to life with her ostentatious advances to Sammy ‘Right in Front of Your Eyes’.

Ross MacPherson presented a strong, dynamic characterisation as George with excellent comic delivery. With his flamboyant costume and hair, he remained totally in character throughout and never overdid the slightly ‘camp’ mannerisms. ‘Move That Thang’ with Rosie was hilarious. Although very young, Cathy Geddie gave a great comedy portrayal as the agile, spirited Grandma Rosie. Douglas Anderson captured the character of Sammy and completed the wedding band trio which interacted well bringing out the humour in his lines. Donald Randall came across convincingly as the supercilious, philandering Wall street shark ,Glen.

The most attractive set with the wedding band trio placed centrally at the back of the stage and the most supportive on stage band at either side looked and worked well. The gutsy ensemble singing and solo numbers were never overpowered by the well controlled band. Scene changes were simple and well executed resulting in a smooth running production.

This was certainly an upbeat, fun filled show full of verve both musically and in the script which is full of comedy moments. Occasionaly some of the comedy lines were lost when spoken over the audience laughter.

Altogether this was a high energy production with a dynamic and disciplined chorus and solid, convincing principal characters, A real feel good, entertaining production which was well received by the audience. Well done again Bohs!

 

 

 

 

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