The Wedding Singer

This 1980’s set musical comedy was the perfect vehicle to showcase the many talents of this group of young people. From the opening number to the finale the energy and enthusiasm the 35 strong ensemble put into their singing and dancing was amazing – not a note or step out of place. Fraser Wood as Robbie Hart (the Wedding Singer of the title) was outstanding in the role, handling both the comedy and pathos with consummate ease for one so young. This was well demonstrated in the Loading Dock scene during the “Come Out of the Dumpster” number with Julia (he must have incurred a few bruises when falling out of that dumpster!). Olivia Tait as Robbie’s love interest waitress Julia, had a delightful voice and portrayed the young woman torn between the upcoming financier Glen and the cookie Robbie beautifully. Max Paterson as the aforementioned Glen Guglia portrayed the self-centred wheeler-dealer to perfection - so much so you just wanted to shout out to Julia to warn her not to get engaged to him. Grant Lindsay as Sammy (Robbie’s best friend and bandmate) and Grace Gauld as Holly (Julia’s best friend) made a delightful will they-won’t they pairing adding to the comedy of the piece. Grace had a belter of a voice shown to great effect in her lead in the Act One Finale “Saturday Night in the City”. Another pair carrying much of the humour was John-David Gatima as the flamboyant George (Robbie’s other bandmate) and Orla Woods as a very believable Gran Rosie – their rap number and dance “Move That Thang” was amazingly hilarious. Giving strong performances in their supporting roles were Emily Hindle as Linda (Robbie’s ex-fiance) and Demi Waugh as Angie (Julia’s mother). With 25 numbers the 9 piece band, under the expert hand of Musical Director Rhonda Scott, played a huge part in this show always supporting but never overpowering the cast. Mhorag Anderson’s choreography captured the mood of the 1980’s dance moves perfectly. Costuming too was appropriate to the characters and the era. By excellent use of a video wall to indicate the change in the locations of the action the scene changes were seamless allowing the show to run smoothly. Congratulations to everyone involved on an excellent and most enjoyable production.

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