The Wedding Singer

Based on the 1998 film of the same name starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, The Wedding Singer transports us back to the 80’s with Bright colours, Big hair and Mullets! This musical Romantic Comedy opened on Broadway in 2006 to critical acclaim receiving nominations for “Best Musical”. I have never been to see this production before and so it was refreshing to see something completely new to me and there was certainly some great laughter to be had throughout the evening.

It was great to see The Wranglers finally getting back on to the stage after the devastating cancelling of their pantomime the day before they opened. I had the pleasure of attending on opening night and boy did they open with bang. The performance was almost sold out and although this did expose some potential issues with the seat booking system these issues did eventually get solved.

The performance opened with an 80’s video mash-up projected on to the set. This was a nice added touch that helped to effectively set the atmosphere and take us straight back to the 80’s. These projection screens would later assist with scene changes later in the show. The video ended and the band began. The unique thing with Lipson Muse Theatre is that the band are set up further down the corridor and fed into the theatre sound system directly which gives a great level of control between the vocals and band. As always this band was made up of strong and competent musicians led by the ever capable Gavin Martin. My only comment on the sound is I feel the overall volume could have been a little louder to really fill the space. The opening number “It’s Your Wedding Day” was full of energy and Robbie, Sam and George had excellent chemistry and fully embodied their characters. The costumes were brilliant and allowed each character to have their own unique identity; Sam with his mullet and moustache, Robbie with his slick hair and the overtly eccentric George with his long hair and extreme makeup.

Julia, who would later fall in love with wedding singer Robbie Hart, sang her opening song “Someday” and had a lovely soft tone to her voice which suited this genuine character beautifully. It should be said that the chemistry between Robbie and Julia was tremendous and the audience were genuinely drawn in by their rocky road of a love story. The best man, who also later played the drunk in the bar, was very funny and delivered some of the greatest comedy throughout the production. “A note from Linda” was a fun number and Linda had the right contrast between the soft “love song” and the “Hard Rock” aspects of this song which delivered the song with the shock intended.

Holly, Julia’s best friend, had very powerful vocals throughout which suited this role perfectly. Holly was an outstanding performer and fully embodied this character with her flirtatious nature with Robbie and playfulness with Julia.

One thing in particular that I loved in this production was the fact that Robbie Hart was actually playing the guitar which was also amplified wirelessly. This was a subtle touch but one in which I feel made a world of difference to the connection he had when singing his love songs for Linda and to Julia at the end of the show. Robbie was a good performer who had great characterisation that pulled the audience into his story throughout.

The costumes throughout were absolutely spot-on and suited the production. It was impressive to see such a collection of wedding dresses on display throughout. The impersonator costumes were accurate and were recognisable to the audience. Well done to Elvis and Billy Idol for stand out performances here. The set was very simple though effective and helped to move the narrative through the various locations. These scene changes were supported through the use of the projection screens that named the various locations: Ricky’s Bar, Wall street office etc. The bar was a nice touch and I liked how it separated in the middle and was used during “Single”. Once again the “Drunk” was hysterical as he ad-libbed pushing the bar off the stage.

The ensemble movement was good overall and energetic. My particular favourites were “Saturday Night in the City” and “All About the Green”. The duet, “Move That Thing”, between Rosie and George however absolutely stole the show as it was fabulous in every way and had me laughing throughout.

Congratulations on a great show.

Kind regards

   Ryan Procter

   District 3 Representative

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