The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is a musical comedy with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. It premiered on Broadway in 2006 and was nominated for a Tony Award as ‘Best Musical’ the same year. It is based on the 1998 film of the same name, which starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, Set in 1985, the story revolves around Robbie, who sings at weddings, his failed relationship with his former fiancée, and his romance with a new love, Julia.

Both Debi and I were really excited about seeing the production – we’d not seen Bristol Musical Theatre or The Wedding Singer before and are both children of the 80s!  I am so pleased to say that neither of us left the Theatre disappointed! The production was spectacular. The great upbeat opening number - ‘It’s Your Wedding Day’ had tremendous energy from the whole cast and team, which was maintained throughout the entire show.

The performing venue at The Redgrave Theatre looks like a decent space to work in and the ingenious and high-quality set made the very best of it. This was from the various sliding doors, all the way through to how the bed and the dumpster were brought on and off. Using the cast to change the scenes really helped maintain the pace of the production, but the extent of this was so intricate, well-choreographed and entertaining that it was a real highlight of the performance for me.

The lighting design was terrific too and really enhanced the show. Coverage was excellent, colours were vibrant against the plainly coloured set and excellent use was made of side and floor lighting to generate different effects, LEDs on and around the stage and follow-spots. There was a great use of other stage effects too, from projection to glitter drops to confetti candles at the end – you really threw out all the stops to generate a great production effect overall. Sound was generally good too. We could hear all of the dialogue, though we did lose some of the diction of words during the songs and some of the harmonies in the chorus work too were also lost as a result.

The costumes were spectacular – both in the quality and suitability of them for the 1980s and also the sheer number that were used and required for all members of the cast. They really added to the overall impact of the performance. Some big hair and heavy make-up really added to the overall creation of life at the time.   The costumes, hair and make-up combined did give us both some serious flashbacks to our youth and clearly a lot of work had gone into all of this. Very well done to the large team involved. Properties used were effective and all seemed of the period too.

In reviewing the principal performances:

• Robbie. As the title role, this part is key to the whole production and Robbie (and his Mullet!) produced an excellent performance to deliver this and help carry the show off. With a natural charm he acted, sang, danced and played the guitar to create a character that the audience believed in and were willing on to succeed. Really well done!
• Julia. This is a tricky part as Julia is the straight role to many of the others, but the actress maintained the part well, ensuring the character gained and held the audience’s sympathies.  The duets with Robbie were real highlights.
• Holly. Made the very best of this part as the sassy waitress friend to Julia – singing and dancing with great confidence and leading “Saturday Night In The City” to create a terrific ending to Act 1.
• Sammy and George. These were great fun part as Robbie’s band-mates, creating a wonderfully overstated Sammy and a brilliantly understated George, which were both equally enjoyable performances.
• Rosie.  This is an absolute peach of a part and the actress made the very best of every line and gesture she was given as Robbie’s straight-talking Nan. She was hilarious and the duet with George - “Move That Thang” was a real treat. Very well done!
• Glen. Played the part of Julia’s greedy and cheating fiancé to great effect and made “All About the Green” in particular a really memorable number.
• Linda. Robbie’s former fiancé needs to be sassy and confident and the actress really delivered here, making the most of her two numbers – “A Note from Linda” and “Let Me Come Home”.
• Angie. Nice support as Julia’s Mum, delivering some memorable one-liners.

The supporting cast were excellent as an ensemble – always acting and supporting the overall performance. In addition, each had their own cameos parts as well which they all made the best of, many of which made us laugh out loud!

The Music overall was very good. The band was very well-controlled by the Musical Director in the orchestra pit. Solos were well-performed and co-ordinated very successfully with the band, which made an excellent sound. Balance on the whole with the performers was very good, other than the few issues identified earlier with some of the sound.

The Choreography was extensive and appropriate for the period. The "Thriller" routine was a great touch and very well executed. There were some very talented dancers on the stage too who were also stretched as required, as well as the whole cast who were put through their paces.

In Summary, this was an excellent and memorable production. I can often judge this by how much the songs and scenes are still in my head a few days later - and they still are! The performance had very high production qualities from the extensive technical team, which the performances of the actors, singers, dancers and musicians were all able to match. Very well done to everyone for a wonderful night’s entertainment and for keeping it all-together with the 2 year enforced COVID extension to the rehearsal period.  I greatly look forward to your future productions.

PLEAS NOTE:

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances, and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

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