The Wedding Singer

What a refreshing change to see a show that I knew absolutely nothing about beforehand. The Wedding Singer, based on the 1998 film of the same name, had its Broadway debut in 2006. It toured in the UK in 2008, but never seemed to quite make it into the West End. A great shame, because it’s a delightful show with a decent plot, well-defined characters and pleasant music, and this slick production by SDMS made me want to see it again. The story centres around a disillusioned wedding singer, Robbie Hart and his “will they, won’t they” relationship with waitress Julia Sullivan.

I have not visited the Park Community School Theatre since it was substantially re-vamped a few years ago, but what a transformation! It is now a very comfortable, spacious theatre and ideally suited to smaller scale productions such as this. The set was kept very simple: an empty stage with a small platform at the back, surrounded by sparkly curtains, and a few props brought on by the cast, as required. Lee Stoddart’s ingenious lighting made it look like the glitziest of nightclubs.

Director Adam Myers has chosen his cast well. The multi-talented Sam Townsend (as well as singing, dancing, and acting, he plays the guitar) was spot on for the title character Robbie Hart. He is a delight to watch on stage and with his energetic movement and lyrical singing, he soon had the whole audience rooting for him. His two band mates were equally well portrayed. It took me a while to realise it was Steve Reading playing young hippy Sammy underneath the blond wig, but he totally aced it. As did Fin Hughes as George, never overdoing the gay aspects to his character, and being a friend to all. Both are excellent singers and movers.

Amy Pickance was completely right as waitress Julia, and you could immediately see the chemistry between her and Robbie which would lead them to end up together. Robbie really dodged a bullet when Linda dumped him at the altar, judging by the way she treated him at the end – nice performance by Sophie Fugard. Kimberley Harvey was great as Julia’s unintentional matchmaker friend Holly, and she used her stunning voice to good effect. Ben Llewelyn gave a convincing performance as the strutting, self-important cheat Glen and we were all delighted when he got his comeuppance.!

Lastly, but by no means least, I must mention Peta Reading’s wonderful portrayal of Rosie, the kind of supportive and loving Grandma we’d all like to have. Her interpretation of "Move That Thang”, along with Fin Hughes, was unforgettable.

Costumes (Emily Horner, Peta Reading and Sarah Powney) and makeup throughout were completely redolent of the period. The company gave great support to the principals, both vocally and in the well-executed choreography, cleverly designed by Thom Jones to make the most of the relatively limited stage area. Despite a fair few missed mic cues, the quality of the sound system (by Park Community School) was excellent, enabling us to hear most of the lyrics over the band. The band - just a six-piece - under MD Adam Blosse, produced the perfect sound for the music, despite being hidden away backstage.

Thank you SDMS for introducing me to this delightful musical, and I think the rest of the matinee audience enjoyed it as much as I did, judging by the enthusiastic applause at the end. Well deserved!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.