The Wedding Singer

Based on the 1998 Adam Sandler film by the same name, the musical follows Robbie Hart, wedding singer, as he grieves the failure of his own relationship then finds it again with his perfect match. In contrast to the film version the musical is made up of original songs and not the 80’s juke box tunes.

The society had a set back with the venue during their show which meant that they were only able to perform 3 of their 4 planned performances, this was such a shame given the amount of work and planning it tales to put on a show but YCTC didn't let this spoil their week and they ploughed their energy into the performances they were able to get on. From stepping into Front of House the welcome was warm and there was even an opportunity to dress up in some 80's props for a photo for those brave enough! 

The set was simplistic but perfectly represented a club with small performance area the rear and the different levels were used to good effect throughout to portray the various scenes with the addition of extra set pieces, props and lighting changes; I liked that the white furniture picked up the colours in the lighting plot and I was particularly impressed by Glen’s car. The costumes certainly had elements of the 80’s and the subtle colour palette changes for the different party scenes worked really well.

Gary Hoyle was excellent as Robbie Hart and held the stage from start to finish, he had the perfect balance of humour and nice guy appeal and a voice that suited the whole score. It was a great advantage that he could also play the guitar especially for songs such as “Somebody kill me" and of course for the fronting of the “band”. Jamie Donkin as the sweet waitress Julia had some lovely solo vocal performances as well as the duets with Robbie, came across as the perfect “girl next door” and portrayed well her conflict of whether to stick with Glen or let herself fall for Robbie. As the rock chick ex fiancé Linda, Charlotte Guest was super and her belter performance of “Let Me Come Home” was a showstopper. As Grandma Rosie Melanie Hill was in her element, she had some very funny one liners and delivered them perfectly, of course her song in act 2 was hilarious and a definite audience pleaser. Stephen Shield portrayed the greedy, slimy persona of Glen Guglia with style and ease and his song “All About the Green” was a great opening to Act II, I loved his “mobile” phone which he carried throughout. Robbie’s band mates Sammy and George played by Jake Marshall and Chris Barrass were great support with personalities that complimented each other and they came into their own during the “Today You Are a Man” number, and Sammy’s love interest Holly, the girl who likes a good time, was well played by Emily Hardy.

The ensemble were strong throughout with some great vocal performances and the choreography was slick and well performed. Many of the ensemble took on cameo roles and these were well done, in particular the 80s icon line up in Vegas, very funny. The seven piece band were excellent and provided the perfect accompanyment to the piece. 

Congratulations to Linda, David, Rachel , the wider production team and the whole company for an enjoyable production, as always Linda Watson's words at the end of the last peformance left me in tears, this lady embodies everything that is good about our hobby and she is a true inspiration. 

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