The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin and book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy is based on the film of the same name. Set in the eighties, “nice guy” Robbie Hart is a charming, funny and entertaining wedding singer, engaged to his long-term girlfriend, Linda. Linda fell for Robbie when he had dreams and aspirations of becoming a rock star and she had dreams too - of being with the rock star. Robbie meets and befriends waitress Julia Sullivan who really can`t wait to get married and luckily (?) for her her Wall Street Banker, Glen Gulia pops the question. Linda stands Robbie up at their wedding as he`s not the man she fell in love with which sends Robbie into a deep depression reflected in both his songs and attitude towards life and love at subsequent weddings or other gigs. Julia convinces Robbie to help her out in planning for the wedding and, in the time they spend together, he realises that Linda was the girl he wanted before he really knew what he wanted. Where Linda was brash, loud, and shallow, Julia is the antithesis of Linda- sweet, endearing and kind - the girl next door. (Spoiler Alert) As you`ve probably guessed, after lots of twists and turns, and over the backdrop of crimped hair, Relax tee-Shirts, shoulder pads and eyeliner (and that`s just the men), the two ultimately fall for each other.

Karl Roe played Robbie Hart with confidence, taking the audience with him throughout the show. Comic timing and a good reading of your audience is essential for the role in both persona`s, whether as Robbie the guy or as Robbie the Wedding Singer - Karl carried this off with ease. The other skill required for the role is, of course, the ability to sing - which Karl most certainly can.

Anna Kenny was delightful as Julia Sullivan. Her demeanour was just right - immediately you knew who Julia was - wide eyed and a hopeless romantic, every audience member rooting for her from the moment she stepped on stage. A strong performance in both acting and singing. Both Karl and Anna complemented each other well onstage and made for a really nice couple without ever letting up on pace in their scenes-particularly evident in the song, “Come out of the dumpster”- this could have easily been overplayed, but the sincerity in both of their performances kept us all enthralled.

Tom Ledsham played the role of Glen Gulia - Robbie`s rival for Julia`s affections. Tom played the role with a swagger and level of arrogance that left you in no doubt that he was the bad guy of the show and the audience showed just how well he`d played it by the cheers when he got his cumuppance.

Robbie`s band mates (Sammy and George) were more than capably played by Duncan Ryan and James Shields, both making the most of their roles, believable and without going too far over the top - which could be quite easy to do with these characters.

Sammy used to date, and still has a thing for Julia`s cousin and best friend, the flirtatious Holly- played by Sophie Jade Butler. Sophie`s wise cracking, good-time girl Holly provided great support and a foil to Anna`s starry eyed, romanticist Julia. Sophie`s great singing and timing once again shone through.

Faye Cooper stated in the programme that she enjoyed the silliness of her role and gave us a great exuberant, sprightly and sometimes inappropriate interpretation of Grandma Rosie.
 

The role of Robbie`s fiancee, Linda, was undertaken by Tracy Blenkinsop. Tracy`s Linda was perfectly hard hearted, self-centred and shallow. You could tell how much Tracy relished the role, squeezing every ounce of bitch out of it. Her number, “let me come home” certainly raised the temperature in the theatre and made me wonder where the nearest defibrillator was…. Just in case!
 

All other roles were played with zest and a level of fondness for the characters they`d created and with every chorus member fully committed to the show we were presented with a great night`s entertainment. What was also refreshing was seeing a few new faces (new to leading roles, at least) undertaking them with relish.

Considering the variety of locations in which the action takes place, the set was kept to as much of a minimum as possible, using larger props and tabs to define different areas. This was probably due to the fact that the band were actually onstage, (good call), making some of the transitions really easy, and others, whilst appearing to be easy were probably an initial logistical nightmare. Lighting and sound were, as ever at the Grand, excellent and sympathetic to the era and performers.
 

Musical Direction was in the safe hands of Angela Potter whose work with principal and chorus alike was there for all to see- even moreso with the band onstage!

 

Bethany Isherwood`s really good choreography kept the show flowing throughout, even through dialogue scenes, the chorus still dancing in unison through crossovers and dialogue, without distracting the audience from the lead performers.

This was Chris Isherwood`s (ably assisted by Ceri Hamer) first attempt at directing a musical, and judging by what I saw, won`t be his last. With a clear understanding of how tongue in cheek much of the show is, we were given believable characters who kept the audience engaged throughout.
 

Thank You, Morecambe Warblers for your invite and hospitality.

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