| The Wedding Singer! | |
 |
|
| Original Cast Recording | |
|---|---|
| Music | Matthew Sklar |
| Lyrics | Chad Beguelin |
| Book | Chad Beguelin Tim Herlihy |
| Basis | 1998 film The Wedding Singer |
| Productions | 2006 Broadway 2007 US Tour 2008 UK Tour 2008 West End Sheldon Williams Colliegiate 2009 2009 Gold Coast, Australia |
The Wedding Singer is a musical with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. It is based on the 1998 film The Wedding Singer.
Contents |
Productions
The musical opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 27, 2006 and closed on December 31, 2006 after 284 performances. It was directed by John Rando, with choreography by Rob Ashford, and featured Stephen Lynch as Robbie.
A US tour began on August 31, 2007, lasting through June 2008.[1]
A Swedish production opened in Karlstad on September 1, 2007.[2] El Rey de Bodas, the Spanish-language version, which translates into "The King of Weddings", opened in Madrid in October 2007.[3] A UK tour opened at the Manchester Palace Theatre in February 2008 starring Jonathan Wilkes and Natalie Casey, and toured the UK through July 2008.[4]The Japanese version opened in Tokyo at the Nissay Theatre on February 6, 2008,[5] and other foreign productions are scheduled for Finland, Germany, Australia, and South Korea. The South Australian premiere opened on July 9, 2008 at the Arts Theatre, Adelaide, presented by Matt Byrne Media. [6] The Queensland, Australia, premiere opened February 13, 2009 (after Previews) at the Spotlight Theatre, Gold Coast.[7] Directed by Priscilla Scott, the show stars Marc Lister and Kirby Lunn, with Stewart Reeve, Steven Dorrington and Shirley King. The four week season closed March 14, 2009.
Differences from the film
The musical largely follows the same storyline as the 1998 film of the same title which starred Adam Sandler opposite Drew Barrymore. However, some plot and character elements were indeed altered. For instance:
- In the movie, Linda doesn't show up to the wedding. She later visits Robbie on his doorstep and dumps him. In the musical she does show up to the wedding and dumps him via letter (ghost appearance).
- The older woman to whom the lead character Robbie Hart gives singing lessons, portrayed in the film by Ellen Albertini Dow, is changed into his own grandmother for the musical;
- Robbie ruins the wedding before playing "Somebody Kill Me" in the movie.
- Robbie's friend Sammy, portrayed by Allen Covert in the film, is a member of Robbie's band in the musical, while he was a limousine driver in the movie. His character's personality was also changed to give it more "white trash" elements as compared to the film version.
- Julia's cousin Holly and Robbie's friend Sammy are shown to be broken up from a relationship, though they still love each other. In the movie, the two know each other but there is no mention of a relationship between the two until the end, where they lightly flirt.
- When Robbie goes to the city to seek out gainful employment, in the musical he turns to Julia's fiancé Glen (his rival for her affections), rather than an unrelated bank as in the film.
- In both versions, Julia, Glen, and Robbie board airplanes to Las Vegas. However, in the movie they are on the same plane and Robbie proposes to Julia on the plane, while in the musical they arrive in Las Vegas and Robbie only intercepts Julia just as she and Glen are about to be married.
Songs
|
|
Note:The song "Pop" was removed for the US National tour because the set pieces for the song were too big.
Original Broadway cast
- Stephen Lynch as Robbie Hart
- Matthew Saldivar as Sammy
- Kevin Cahoon as George
- Laura Benanti as Julia Sullivan
- Amy Spanger as Holly
- Richard H. Blake as Glen Guglia
- Rita Gardner as Rosie
- Felicia Finley as Linda
- Constantine Maroulis replaced Matthew Saldivar as Sammy September through December 2006. Saldivar then returned to close the show after Maroulis's departure.
Original UK cast
- Jonathan Wilkes as Robbie Hart
- Simon Lipkin as Sammy
- Natalie Casey as Julia Sullivan
- Nick Hayes as George
- Jodie Jacobs as Holly
- Stephen Webb as Glen
- Tricia Deighton as Rosie
- Camille Devine as Linda
- Carys Gray as Angie
2009-2010 Tour Cast
- J. Michael Zygo as Robbie Hart
- Adam Clough as Sammy
- Ben Martin as George
- Jillian Zygo as Julia Sullivan
- April Monte as Holly
- Shain Fike as Glen Guglia
- Ellen Karsten as Rosie
- Jennifer Gottlieb as Linda
Awards and nominations
- Best Musical (nominated)
- Best Book of a Musical (nominated)
- Best Original Score (nominated)
- Best Actor in a Musical (Stephen Lynch, nominee)
- Best Choreography (nominated)
- Outstanding Musical (nominated)
- Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Stephen Lynch, nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Amy Spanger, nominee)
- Outstanding Choreography (nominated)
- Outstanding Lyrics (nominated)
- Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (nominated)
- Outstanding Music (nominated)
- Outstanding Costume Design (nominated)
- Distinguished Production of a Musical (nominated)
- Distinguished Performance Award (Felicia Finley, nominee)
- Distinguished Performance Award (Stephen Lynch, nominee)
References
- ^ Gans, Andrew."One Night Only: Wedding Singer Tour Begins Aug. 31",playbill.com, August 31, 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]elreydebodas.com
- ^ Geen, Michael."Jonathan Wilkes in The Wedding Singer at Manchester"chesterchronicle.co.uk, February 22, 2008
- ^ [3]tohostage.com
- ^ [4]mattbyrnemedia.com.au
- ^ [5]spotlighttheatre.com.au
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
