Review of The Wedding Singer

Ah, 1985: The Go-Go's, fingerless-lace gloves, Orange Julius and skinny ties. I was musically transported back in time at the Al Hirschfeld Theater by The Wedding Singer. This Broadway musical is closely adapted from the Adam Sandler movie of the same name. Like the movie The Wedding Singer, the musical is set in Ridgefield, NJ in 1985. Robbie Hart is a popular wedding singer, a true romantic who loves his job, until he is left standing alone at the altar.

For those of you familiar with the movie, you should know that the musical version has a few changes to tighten the size of the cast, which to me only improved it. Rosie is Robbie's grandmother in the musical, not just a friend and Robbie lives in her basement instead of his sister's. Robbie's best friend, Sammy isn't a limo driver; he's part of the band. The ending had to be readjusted since the plane scene with Billy Idol would be difficult to do every night, but the changed the writers made were excellent and made perfect sense. All the important elements and memorable lines are there. I watched the movie again just to make sure, and the only thing that I think was missing was Rosie paying Robbie in meatballs.

The music in the movie was a terrific collection of 80s songs. The music for the show is original to the musical except for Somebody Kill Me and Grow Old With You (which were written by Adam Sandler and Tim Herligy for the movie). However the original music stays true to the sound of the 80s and the lyrics are fun. (At intermission I went to the lobby to buy the soundtrack, but it hasn't been recorded yet. They are playing to record it in the next few months.)

As for the performances, Stephen Lynch is a fine successor to Adam Sandler. I have enjoyed Mr. Lynch as a comedian (His original twisted songs are a must on any of my long drives and his DVD Live at the El Rey is hilarious.) and it's great to see him onstage in a larger role. He is a warmer Robbie Hart, I think, than Mr. Sandler, whose humor is often based on quiet thoughts followed by explosive moments. Mr. Lynch doesn’t explode, but his expressive face conveys everything. He received a Tony award nomination for this role and I think he absolutely deserved it.

There are standout performances by most of the cast. Kevin Cahoon as George and Amy Spangler as Holly, Julia's cousin are amazing. Rosie is played by stage veteran Rita Gardner who was the girl in the original cast of the Fantastiks. Linda, the woman who dumped Robbie, is played by Felicia Finley. She is only on stage twice, but both moments bring down the house. The weakest character to me was Julia. Laura Benanti, who plays the role is an excellent actress. I think the problem is that although Julia is the love interest, she's the least interesting character. Ms. Benanti does very well in a blah role.

The costumes and set are great. The costumes invoke the best and worst of the 80s including the influence of Madonna, Miami Vice and Michael Jackson. The set has many elements that are pulled from the movies. I noticed things like the sheets on Robbie's bed are Broadway musical versions of the ones form the movie. The choreography understandably received a Tony award nomination. If there is an 80s dance you remember, it was worked into the show. The Thriller moment made me laugh till my sides hurt.

My suggestion? Meet some friends for wine coolers then head back in time with The Wedding Singer.