Musical Theatre Musings Review: The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer Musical stems from the hit film of the same name, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The musical tells of Robbie Hart who is the front man of the wedding band (Simply Wed) who gets jilted at the alter by his rock chic bride to be Linda sending him into a downward spiral. In the meantime waitress Julia is determined to be proposed to by her rich and arrogant boyfriend Glen. Of course sparks begin to fly between Robbie and Julia and she ends up helping Robbie get over his heart break in a way she may not have originally planned.

The show is packed full of fun high energy numbers, from the catchy opening ‘It’s Your Wedding Day’ through to ‘Saturday Night in the City’ that closes the first Act. The energy that this show requires is relentless but luckily Centre Stage’s cast had it in abundance. The entire cast threw themselves into this show and throughout every number you had as much fun watching the ensemble and their supporting roles as you did those stood front and centre.

Julia Sullivan was played by Abbie Minnock and she was the perfect casting for this role. The part can be tricky to balance with the sweet girl next door vibe there is a danger that the character becomes a bit wet but with Minnock at the helm she ensured that Julia had a quirky side, really pulling out the comedy in the role whilst still remaining true to the girl next door interpretation. Not only could I run out of superlatives to describe her acting but to boot her vocals were also perfect for the part of Julia, crystal clear, sweet and wonderfully easy to listen to. Playing opposite her was Joe McWilliam as Robbie Hart. McWilliam has a wonderful way of making the audience warm to him, embracing the loveable but awkward side of Robbie and his ability to accompany himself in ‘Somebody Kill Me’ and ‘Awesome’ was impressive to see on stage, especially in an amateur production.

The cast around Minnock and McWilliam were all of a high standard with Glen Jordan as George knowing how to play up the comedy in his role well, Toby Chapman as Glen embracing the smarmy side of the role brilliantly and Hillary Zondlak’s breakdance as Rosie being one of the highlights of the show.

There were times when I would have liked more oomph from the principles vocals, for example at the end of Saturday Night in the City, Holly’s big vocal moment was slightly drowned out by the band and equally in some of Simply Wed’s harmony moments it proved difficult to hear the backing vocals, potentially party to do with Sammy and George often being on a platform right at the back of the stage.

The show had clearly been well thought out by director Stuart James. He had managed to eek out all of the comedy whilst ensuring that this was never to the expense of the romantic connection building between Robbie and Julia. There was also great attention to detail such as 80’s music playing as you entered the Bridewell auditorium and the pre-show announcement made by Rosie.

Choreography was by Sophelia Gentles who had the unenviable task of being responsible for a huge number of dance numbers. They were all packed with energy that left you grinning and the Frug style ‘All About The Green,’ was particularly fun and inventive. There were moments where the dances could have done with some more polish and cleaning but with the volume of dance in the show it was understandable that some moments were more polished than others.

There was a cohesive feel with the set design by James Chadwick, from the vibrating bed to the instruments used by Simply Wed that ran throughout the show. My only criticism would be that sometimes the set changes slowed the pace occasionally and whilst they were necessary they could have potentially have been choreographed or even lighting used so that other scenes could take place whilst the changes were going on.

Centre Stage’s production of The Wedding Singer is a great evening packed with nostalgia and shoulder pads galore. If high energy, catchy songs and numerous laugh out loud moments is your idea of a fun night out at the theatre then you need to get yourself to the Bridewell for this production.

The Wedding Singer is on at The Bridewell Theatre until 27th July. To find out more about Centre Stage visit their website here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Centre Stages previous productions including The Little Mermaid, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Holiday Inn.