The Palace Theatre
Monday 25th February–Friday 1st March
The Wedding Singer doesn’t pretend to be anything but an energetic, overtly camp musical and that’s exactly what it delivers (and ironically I don’t mean that in a negative way). The story is simple; based on the film starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, it tells the troubles of wedding singer Robbie Hart (Jonathan Wilkes) after he gets stranded at the alter by his childhood sweetheart, Linda. Cue Julia (Natalie Casey) who is also about to get married, but in no time, the two start falling in love. The show is packed with cheesy songs, a lively cast and I can guarantee you won’t leave the theatre without sighing “awww.”
Surprisingly the acting was most impressive, especially the supporting characters. Although the character of Linda (Camille Devine) is not on stage for time, her two scenes are so over the top and her voice is so screechy that you cannot help but smile, with her rendition of 'A Note From Linda' was delivered very well. Other actors that deserve a mention are Nick Hayes playing George and Tricia Deighton playing Rosie who seemed to adopt their character immensely and we performing with every part of their body. The highlight for me was Jodie Jacobs as Holly, where her powerful vocals nearly blew the audience away and her quick wit and charismatic spark kept the flow of the show moving.
A few of the problems with the show unfortunately stem from the two main protagonists. Wilkes’ performance of Robbie is almost too forced and he seems to plead to get a gag from the audience. Casey, although bringing a unique charm to Linda, did not have the voice to carry the high-pitched notes and her songs became frustratingly annoying. The Wedding Singer is not going to be a masterpiece of theatre, as it employs too many clichés that just don’t seem to work in the atmosphere of an overtly camp show.
8/10
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