The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer, was originally a 1990s film starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The musical premiered in 2006 on Broadway and it was nominated for a Tony. But despite this it is not a commonly produced piece on the amateur circuit and this was my first viewing of the show. It is a lively, upbeat piece, and even though I was not familiar with any of the songs the colourful Guiseley Theatrical Productions version swept me along in a wave of joy and escapism.

The musical revolves around Robbie, the wedding singer, his failed relationship with his former fiancée, the advances of sex bomb Holly and his romance with a new love, Julia. It is 1985. Hair is huge, yuppies rule and all a girl wants is to get married. Simpler times which some of us look back upon with affection.

It was a coup for Guiseley to recruit Ben Tomlinson as Robbie. We can always rely on Ben for great performances. In All About the Green, he and Jamie Wilkinson demonstrated the ability they both have to appear completely natural and relaxed on stage, and this is always appealing to an audience. Both young men sing, act and dance superbly well and played their different roles with consummate ease.

The three girlfriends all played great and very contrasting parts. Linda’s solos (Freddie Feather) were both challenging pieces which she carried off admirably. Holly (Natalie Graham) oozed personality and shone in Saturday Night in the City, and Chloe Anderson gave us some wonderful duets with Robbie, especially If I Told You, in which they both excelled. We were all glad he chose Julia in the end!

This was a difficult piece to direct as it comes from a film background, hence lots of large cast scenes and many scene changes. I enjoyed the detail in the ensemble work with a number of mini scenarios being worked through and the clever inclusion of the sorts of activity that children indulge in at weddings. The floor sliding was a particular favourite. Well done to Nigel Passey for this level of precision.

Shirley Broadbent revelled in the role of Rosie and showed her rapping skills to great comic effect. I loved the dance routine with Sammy, very clever. Adam Folkard as George and Richard Mace as Sammy added humour and made a great looking band.

There was excellent choreography throughout which was suited to the period and to the individual performers. Well done to Kara Mottram, the choreographer, who also appeared on stage. The band, under the leadership of Ian Sapiro, gave the whole show the pizzazz it needed to pull off a really feel-good afternoon for me and the (sadly small) audience at the matinee. Congratulations to the whole team. May your weddings never end in disaster!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.