By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer
The problem with The Wedding Singer is it’s like two different musicals, with a poorly written first act whose story and characters seem entirely superficial.
There’s not much to work with here, even though Pierre-Jacques Brault, directing at Weathervane Community Playhouse for the first time, has assembled an accomplished high-energy cast dominated by Kent State University musical theater majors. The original story by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy simply has too many contrived situations for it to feel natural.
Thankfully, the Weathervane cast ultimately delivers the heart of the show. It just takes a long time for this story to warm up. Jason Leupold’s wedding singer Robbie is darling and endearing, and we start to care about his fate by the second act.
Although Leupold’s a doll, there wasn’t a strong romantic chemistry last weekend between him and co-star Erin Diroll as waitress Julia. We know she’s the good girl who wants true love, but she isn’t given much depth in the script.
Elizabeth Casper is sweet and sexy as fellow waitress Holly, and Christine Batten is just as sleazy as she’s supposed to be as Robbie’s ex-fiancee, rocker chick Linda. But really stealing the show is the fabulous Joshua Hughes as the preening Boy George-type character with his outlandish long hair and glitzy costumes, paired with the hilarious Karen Wood as Robbie’s rad grandma in the delightfully funny song and dance Move That Thang.
Christine Scheuneman’s over-the-top glam ’80s costumes are a sight to behold, as is all the big hair onstage. Weathervane’s cast also has a strong supporting ensemble, especially in the loser-dude number Single.
The songs were written for the 2006 musical in 1980s style, an attempt to echo the great tunes from the earlier movie.
It’s ironic that this story speaks out against materialism yet it feels so superficial, at least halfway through. Robbie is a working stiff with a heart, and so is Julia. Ultimately, the show’s message is a positive one about following your heart rather than doing what you think is expected of you.
Kerry Clawson can be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
I had a great time at this show! The audience laughed at all the jokes that made fun of the 80′s–loved the cell phone–and cheered loudly at the end. I hope this half-a** review doesn’t deter people from going–I’m going to go back with some friends from work on Friday–TGIF!!
While I typically enjoy Ms. Klawson’s reviews, I beg to differ this time. On the contrary, Wedding Singer was uplifting, fun, and an evening of pure enjoyment for my girlfriend and me. It was everything and more a comedy should be!
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disagree…while it took awhile to get going, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Sammy, George and Holly were played exceptionally, and Holly has a very good voice. Linda’s performance was a little over the top, and I thought Julia was miscast, but other than that, it was very good. 7.5 out of 10
Look, when Cameron Mackintosh first spoke to Andrew Lloyd Webber about producing Cats the Musical he seriously questioned Webber on the deeper meaning behind the poetic story line. He asked, “Andrew, is there some deeper meaning here? Is Grizabella a metaphor for the Queen and politics?” Webber quickly replied, “Cameron, it’s about f-ing cats!” – My point is that a show like The Wedding Singer is not meant to ask an audience to dive very deep into a plot structure or analyze a good onstage relationship, but to be a great night out for the local Akron audience. And, while Weathervane Playhouse has been known to produce other giant musicals in this seasonal time slot that pack a much more cerebral punch, such as Ragtime the Musical in 2008 and last year’s Man of LaMancha, The Wedding Singer seemed to be the perfect show for a local theater of this caliber to produce. I think more people should be proud to have a place like Weathervane Playhouse in their community who can successfully pull off large musicals with their very talented, yet limited resources. So how can you say this production “hits sour notes” when your distaste is for the script and not the performance? Maybe you wouldn’t like Cats either.
I went on opening night and found myself struggling to like it initially but before I knew, I repeatedly found myself smiling a ridiculous smile (did we really look like that?)…. I loved it by the end.
If you’re going to write reviews, please write something more substantial as this rendering at the Weathervane didn’t deserve the “Sour Note” headline. I vote 8 out of 10 for this show.
I think the show was wonderful. I do agree that Joshua Hughes stole the show, he was really great.