Amy Burns and Caitlin Shantz perform on Friday, February 26. Photo by Sara Roudebush.
Last weekend’s opening of “The Wedding Singer” showcased Max Jacobs as Robbie, a wedding singer who is left at the altar. Amy Burns plays Julia who is working as a waitress at the same parties as Robbie. Julia persuades Robbie in order to help him get his mind off of his “almost wedding,” to help her plan her wedding. They start spending all their time together, picking out patterns, flowers, invitations and growing closer everyday. It’s based on the popular Adam Sandler film and definitely had some items meant for a mature audience.
As someone who loved previous school productions like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Charlie Brown,” “The Wedding Singer” was sort of a letdown for me. Personally, I had higher expectations because of how the past plays were so well done. All in all, this was a good show but not without its ups and downs.
One of the show’s strengths was its dance performances; the dance numbers were well choreographed and it was clear that the actors in this large cast were putting forth 100 percent effort in the opening show.
The thing is, it’s just that the comedy wasn’t that funny. Most of the intended jokes did get a chuckle or two out of the audience, but nothing major. The part where the grandma started rapping was intended to be funny but wasn’t the least bit witty.
I noticed a few sound glitches, too, but that was expected because it was opening night. The actors’ mics were also going in and out, which made it hard to hear at a few parts. Surely this is something that will be resolved by the next set of performances.
The set was well done; the convertible and the vibrating bed was a nice touch and was unexpected. That certainly got a laugh out of the audience. The set worked well with the scenes, with only minor changes necessary from one scene to the next.
The music was great. Burns had by far the voice that definitely stood out. Except for the mics going out every few minutes, everyone did a great job singing. Although they all did well, I personally didn’t care for Jacobs’ singing. I wasn’t all that impressed.
There were a few spots of improvisation throughout the performance, but you could barely tell. The cast did a great job memorizing their lines and it’s clear that they spent tons of hours rehearsing. I could tell that the cast put a ton of effort into making this production happen. It lasted about the regular time of a movie, around two hours, so it’s well worth the ticket price.
Opening night was last Friday, and the show will continue until March 6, with two shows this Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.
By TORI CHAFFIN
