It’s 1985 and rock star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party until his own fiancée leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie vows to make every wedding as disastrous as his own. Enter Julia, a winsome waitress who wins his affection. But as luck would have it, Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever. With an electrifying pop score that pays loving homage to the 1980s, The Wedding Singer takes us back to a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer was the coolest guy in the room. Music by Matthew Sklar, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. Directed by Kristie Mattsson, choreographed by Niko Montelibano, music direction by Daniel Koh, produced by Spencer Johnson, stage managed by Ashley DeFrancesco.
Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, June 29 through August 3, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Adults $28, Students and Seniors $23. Visit www.morgan-wixson.org or call (310) 828-7519.
The Wedding Singer
Reviews
Director Mattsson, who helmed the Morgan's sold-out hit production of Mary Poppins last season, certainly should have known about the theater's sound system problems and addressed them in advance of the opening. For as entertaining as this big rock musical should have been, unfortunately it suffers from the worst of all problems in staging such an extravaganza - a sound system which cannot handle the volume needed to successfully present such an undertaking.
The Wedding Singer has some truly great moments and a lively cast, but the show itself inherently has some peaks and valleys. While not all the songs are catchy winners like “Saturday Night in the City” or reminders of the movie like “Somebody Kill Me” and “I Wanna Grow Old With You,” the cast does what it can with the source material, bringing an intimate sweetness to the flashy ‘80s setting. With some fine-tuning to the choreography and pacing, The Wedding Singer is definitely a fun time at the theater, and reminds the audience that love isn’t always “All About the Green.”
It’s anyone’s guess why The Wedding Singer hasn’t achieved nearly the regional success of its fellow 2000s musicals Hairspray and Legally Blonde. (Maybe language, maybe name recognition, but who knows?)
Fortunately for L.A. audiences, Morgan-Wixson Theatre is doing its best to remedy that in the most entertaining of ways. Expect to be driving home with a smile on your face and the ‘80s in your heart.
Musical director Daniel Koh and choreographer Niko Montelibano join forces to present an upbeat music score. The production team also does a competent job of rolling out the 2006 musical with gusto. Finally, the cast more than makes up for their lack of professional chops by their enthusiasm and joie de vivre. Although somewhat miscast and uneven, THE WEDDING SINGER still manages to present a light-hearted and lyrical evening which should keep your toes tapping. After all, it’s always fun to revive oldie-but-goodie song and dance.
Ms. Mattsson’s direction is lively, and free-flowing, with an inspiring trend toward finding the ‘realism’ in the outright farcical; this makes the characters, and what they’re doing so much easier to identify with. Yet, perhaps she and her creative team score their greatest accomplishments through their insightful use of subtlety in the props, costumes, and set concepts. It’s just these minute “did you catch that?” touches that make this production particularly invigorating–and unforgettable!
Director Mattsson, who helmed the Morgan's sold-out hit production of Mary Poppins last season, certainly should have known about the theater's sound system problems and addressed them in advance of the opening. For as entertaining as this big rock musical should have been, unfortunately it suffers from the worst of all problems in staging such an extravaganza - a sound system which cannot handle the volume needed to successfully present such an undertaking.
The Wedding Singer has some truly great moments and a lively cast, but the show itself inherently has some peaks and valleys. While not all the songs are catchy winners like “Saturday Night in the City” or reminders of the movie like “Somebody Kill Me” and “I Wanna Grow Old With You,” the cast does what it can with the source material, bringing an intimate sweetness to the flashy ‘80s setting. With some fine-tuning to the choreography and pacing, The Wedding Singer is definitely a fun time at the theater, and reminds the audience that love isn’t always “All About the Green.”
It’s anyone’s guess why The Wedding Singer hasn’t achieved nearly the regional success of its fellow 2000s musicals Hairspray and Legally Blonde. (Maybe language, maybe name recognition, but who knows?)
Fortunately for L.A. audiences, Morgan-Wixson Theatre is doing its best to remedy that in the most entertaining of ways. Expect to be driving home with a smile on your face and the ‘80s in your heart.
Musical director Daniel Koh and choreographer Niko Montelibano join forces to present an upbeat music score. The production team also does a competent job of rolling out the 2006 musical with gusto. Finally, the cast more than makes up for their lack of professional chops by their enthusiasm and joie de vivre. Although somewhat miscast and uneven, THE WEDDING SINGER still manages to present a light-hearted and lyrical evening which should keep your toes tapping. After all, it’s always fun to revive oldie-but-goodie song and dance.
Ms. Mattsson’s direction is lively, and free-flowing, with an inspiring trend toward finding the ‘realism’ in the outright farcical; this makes the characters, and what they’re doing so much easier to identify with. Yet, perhaps she and her creative team score their greatest accomplishments through their insightful use of subtlety in the props, costumes, and set concepts. It’s just these minute “did you catch that?” touches that make this production particularly invigorating–and unforgettable!