THE WEDDING SINGER

What a fun show – but at no time did the fun outdo the quality of performance, in what was a well-directed and musically strong production.

The set was basic, and the band on stage worked well.  All props and scene changes were accomplished with alacrity from a first class Stage Manager and crew. 

Sound was good throughout, with the balance between band and singers very good, everything blended well, and despite problems with interchanging band members, it all sounded very accomplished the night I was there.  Lighting was suitable for the varying scenes with projections etc that mostly worked well, although I didn’t like the swirling dots (I think in Right in Front of Your Eyes) - I found it distracting.

For a first timer, I thought the choreographer did extremely well – the cast were well-drilled and everything was sharp – very well done Chloe.  I had one reservation, but not only with the choreography…I felt the beginning of Act 2 (All About the Green) seemed a little tentative from the cast at times, whereas the other numbers were very slick.  The solo number was also well-choreographed by Lynette, with her slightly quirky take as always!

Costumes were good, very appropriate on the whole, although some of the gents trousers were not quite in line with the general feel of the era, but everything else worked really well.

I particularly liked the ‘Carousel’ scene – funny and pacey, and a standout for me was ‘Move That Thang’ from George and Granny.

Good to see Marc Rolfe and Katie Barton-Rolfe on stage again playing the roles of Robbie and Julia.  Good interaction between them (as there should be!), nicely characterised with excellent musicality from them both – I ‘got’ Robbie’s indecision and Julia’s bright, bubbly personality – they both gave super performances.

Laurence Sims as the suave Glen, got the real go-getter in his portrayal – I was so pleased when he failed to get the girl!  Another good performance in all aspects.

Tracey McNevin had a wonderful part as Granny Rosie to play with, which she did to perfection, every nuance was well done, Tracey really made her mark!

Nico Whitney-Bamford as Sammy, with Luke Murphy as George, made up the ‘Wedding Singer’ band with Robbie, both gave such diversity to their parts, and I loved what they did, good acting and singing.  It was good to see Luke in a principal role.

Nicole Read as the feisty Linda was very - upfront, she accomplished the flirty, sexy qualities of her character well, and featured a strong voice, whilst completing some quite difficult choreography.

Allanah Rogers in her first main role in a musical was a very believable Holly, a good friend to Julia, and indulging in some relationship manoeuvring between Robbie and Julia – very well accomplished.

The ensemble all had named parts, which they undertook well, everyone acted and sang their parts well, but space precludes me from naming everyone – suffice to say, the team looked exactly that – a close knit cast of individuals all pulling together to make a super and fun production.

My thanks to Griffin Players for their hospitality, always much appreciated, and good to be able to get an insight into the background of the production, and to meet up with so many amdram colleagues.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.