The Wedding Singer

I went along to The Curtain Theatre in Rochdale to see Whitworth AMDS`s production "The Wedding Singer". The stage is a decent size without it being too wide, it has a revolve in the middle which the cast used very competently and cleanly, its width also allows for different height levels to be built away from the edge of the revolve using stage scaffolding which again WAMDS took full advantage of and used to create an upper room to allow the audience to see Julia (Leah Fisher) in her wedding dress . There were projection screens used on the front side flats and across the back of the stage which did come into their own during the “All About The Green “ musical number, but unfortunately from where I was sat part of the stage action throughout the performance was blocked from my view by them.  There are quite a few props used within this production and they all looked very fitting and were competently handled by the cast members. The sound was fairly consistent and even with a nice balance between the unseen band and the cast. Lighting was sympathetic to the scenes . Costumes looked the part and the hair and makeup also followed suit. Julie Milligan`s choreography took us right back to the 80`s (in a good way) and was executed well by the ensemble, there was some good pace and action.  I particularly enjoyed “Saturday Night In The City” because of all the smaller sections of movement . I loved “It`s Your Wedding Day” the whole 80`s vibe from onstage made me smile, the cast were visibly happy performing it and enjoying themselves . Musical Director Alasdair Gordon had obviously been very busy in the rehearsal room as harmonies were strong and there was some nice blend, the band kept some good pace under his direction and kept the whole production moving along. It must be quite difficult for the cast to not see their MD standing in front of them waving his baton but he was visible on a screen facing them. A couple of the songs started straight into vocals instead of with an intro and there were a few wobbly notes but they were soon pulled back on track.

Ryan Duffy as George stole every scene he was in. His timing was flawless, his whole characterisation was perfect right down to each plait flick. His chemistry on stage with Ben Maguire (Sammy) and Dan Fielden was evident, I have to point out that Dan genuinely did play the drums on stage in character.  Ben Maguire (Sammy) really brought his character to life. I was interested to see him and Holly (Alison Hasler) get back together, they had some lovely moments shared and some great one liners that were delivered and reacted to with perfect timing . Mandy Tiffany (Linda) certainly brought some sass, she was a super contrast to Leah Fisher`s Julia. Leah Fisher (Julia) and Alex Cohen (Robbie Hart) were perfectly cast, both powerhouses in their own right they showed some fantastic control with  beautiful light and shade in their vocals, they both made a super connection with the audience and with each other – again, they made me believe in them.

Thank you for inviting me to see your production of The Wedding Singer, both myself and my guest enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

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