The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is a muscal by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin and a book by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy and is based on the 1998 film of the same name and is set in the 1980's. It tells the story of Robbie Hart who lives in his grandmother's basement in New Jersey and is the lead singer for a trio who perform at weddings. He comes to believe that he is a total loser after being left at the altar by his fiancee, Linda, and he takes out his bitterness at subsequent weddings until he meets Julia, a young waitress, who wins his heart but is about to get married to Glen, a wealthy Wall Street Broker.

There are many different scene settings in the show and Heath Parkin, the Set Designer, decided that the best way to portray these various scenarios was mainly by the use of props, which I might add were excellent, and applicable back projections. A series of tiers across the whole stage were used in various ways, one being as a platform for 'the band', and behind this structure, not totally hidden from view, was the seven piece orchestra. This all worked extremely well and the Stage Crew certainly worked overtime taking on and off some quite hefty items.

Dale Hind was sensational as Robbie Hart. It is such a demanding role not only because of the physicality of it but also it is incumbent on being more that capable in both acting and singing and Dale was most definitely outstanding in both of these areas. Out of the twenty five musical numbers in the show Robbie is involved in sixteen of them as a soloist, a duetist or fronting small groups and ensemble numbers. He could belt out a number when required, show real frustration as in 'Somebody Kill Me', show vulnerability as in 'Casuality of Love', and the beautiful and moving duet with Julia, 'Grow Old With You', was just superb. It was a truly terrific, captivating and endearing performance delivered with such natural charm and charisma. Katy Varney was exquisite as Julia. She too excelled in both acting and singing. She combined feistiness, sweetness, sensitivity and understanding with such natural ease and her delightful demeanour captured the very essence of the character. Her singing of 'Someday' and 'Come out of the Dumpster' was just super and as I have already mentioned the duet with Robbie was so heart-warming and the chemistry they shared was so engaging. Whilst each maintained their own inimitable identities George and Sammy were a wonderful pairing and such a hoot. As George, Morgan Hemstock certainly 'camped it up' as supposed look-a-like Boy George. He gave a superb flamboyant performance and his singing of 'Move That Thang' with Rosie was brilliant. Jake Eyles as Sammy was equally as good but in a definite 'blokey' way and his interactions and antics as he tried to win back his girlfriend, Holly, were hilarious. Cat Howarth excelled as Holly. She was sassy and sexy but portrayed a very likable, friendly and caring attitude towards Julia and her rock style singing of 'Saturday Night in the City' was fabulous. Remi Jones as Linda, was extremely sexy and seductive as she tried to win back the affections of Robbie, her ex-finance. Not a great deal was left to the imagination as she expressively sang 'Let Me Come Home' and earlier in the show her rendition of 'Linda's Note' was sublime. Joe Woffinden perfectly captured the arrogance, the money-loving, overbearing and pretentiousness of Glen Gulia, Julia's fiance. He swaggered about the stage in such a sleazy and pompous manner and his delivery of 'All About The Green' was splendid. Ironically, the 'boos' he received at the curtain call were a definite testament and tribute to his fine portrayal. Rosie was played to perfection by Anne Dunning. She was sweet and doting when required but showed an unpredictable sense of fun and feistiness at others. I loved her 'shaking it up and her rapping' in 'Move That Thang' alongside George. Angie, Julia's mother, was convincingly played by Sarah Stone. There are nunerous cameo roles in the show which were all played superbly and the 'fake celebrities' at the Vegas venue were just great. All of these players were involved in the many singing and dance routines fronted by specialist dancers - Sarah Stone, Stacey Hyndman, Megan Gibson, Liz Brookes, Chris Varney and Remi Jones. All of the ensemble numbers were extremely well choreographed and carried out with such stylishness, energy and enthusiasm, they were just brilliant. There were no problems with sound, the lighting plot was excellent and the costumes were splendid and very much in keeping with the era. Backed by a first-class orchestra this truly was a memorable and entertaining show and well deserving of the standing ovation. Congratulations to the the Production Team and indeed to the whole company and also many thanks for the warm welcome and hospitality that I recieved.

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