The Wedding Singer

BMTG are a company that always look to provide a great variety of musical entertainment and with ‘The Wedding Singer’, which is based on the 1998 film of the same name, they could not have provided more of a contrast to last year’s production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods and they should all be congratulated for throwing themselves so completely into a night of high energy dance, dynamic vocal performance and both broad and subtle humour.   

Claire Rybicki and Chris Bryan, who had shown particular personal commitment to the show through the loss of his signature long hair and beard (for MyelomaUK), literally shone in this production, their comic timing, vocal delivery and range helped to drive the show throughout the night. 

However, Claire and Chris were not, of course, the only ‘on stage’ BMTG team members responsible for making the production the great success it was.  Rob Holsman and David Hurt (in his first principal role) demonstrated great character development as Sammy and George, the other two members of the ‘Wedding Band’ with David’s comic timing being a particular highlight.  Rob Charles brought exactly the right level of sleaze to his portrayal of Glen with his personal highlight being All About the Green. 

I always look forward to hearing Zoe Brinklow and her acting talents grow with every production and tonight, she blew the doors off with her portrayal of ‘Holly’, great character arc, great dancing and superb vocals.  Not to be outdone, Abby Riddell, complete with personal electric fan attendant ‘a la Beyonce’, superb vocal and acting range made Linda a three-dimensional character and not a pantomime villain being the woman who broke Robbie’s heart by jilting him at the altar.  Mina Machin brought her indomitable sense of humour to the role of ‘Grandma Rosie’ and once again demonstrated her comic timing, dance moves and vocal ability especially in Move that Thang.  

The Wedding Singer would be nothing without the Ensemble, and once again BMTG’s strength in depth came to the fore here.  I’m not going to mention all by name but suffice to say that they all provided great support in all aspects of dance energy/delivery, vocal drive and acting cameos. 

With so many scene changes, The Wedding singer represents a significant challenge in all elements of set design, (Nightclubs, Wedding venues, Presidential Podia, Garbage Dumpsters, Beds) and other large props (half a car and airplane) and Garry, Craig and Lisa, David, Rob, Mark, Alex, Jacqui and Simon should all be very proud of the design and speed of scene change that they accomplished to ensure the pace of the show was maintained throughout.
Lighting and Sound supported the action throughout and great work from the pit was provided by Nathan and his 7 piece band, with some especially impressive lead guitar work from Tim Yearsley.  Nathan’s vocal coaching and development of the whole cast was evident throughout the night as was the great choreography developed by Craig.  Shows like this don’t happen by accident and Lisa should feel very proud of what she and her talented production, and on stage team, have produced. 

Congratulations and here’s to All Shook Up in 2017
 

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