The Wedding Singer at Niantic Bay Playhouse: professional quality in a community setting
One-year-old playhouse makes the best of what it has Niantic Bay Playhouse’s 2024 production of The Wedding Singer brings the talent of its cast and the humor of Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy’s book to life.
The Wedding Singer follows New Jersey wedding singer Robbie Hart through the challenges of being dumped by his fiancée Linda. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Julia Sullivan, who has recently become engaged to Wall Street entrepreneur Glen Guglia. Julia has second thoughts about Glen as she and Robbie humorously stumble around the subject of their budding romance.
Cast and acting
Nick Rapuano is a fitting choice to play Robbie, as he has an entertainer’s voice and sharp comedic timing. His performance of “Somebody Kill Me” channels Adam Sandler, who played Robbie in the film the show is based on, through its pouting verses and growling chorus. Rapuano encapsulates Robbie’s awkwardness, drunkenly performing an anti-love song at a wedding and failing miserably in a fistfight. He also shows Robbie’s growth in scenes like his composed rejection of Linda when she tries to waltz back into his life.
Kate Eberle skillfully performs the role of Julia. Eberle’s Julia is a friendly nerd, calling to mind Amy Santiago in the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her character is smiley and vibrant. The only aspect of her performance that is off-putting is when she begins crying over not wanting to marry Glen; her cry lacks a bit of credibility given her bright demeanor.
The supporting cast is also strong. Aidan Lamont plays a believable wannabe rockstar as bassist Sammy, while Andrew Schoepke puts the viewer in stitches as flamboyant keyboardist George. Grace Gilbert uses her big personality in executing Holly’s sassiness, while Keith Eugene Brayne navigates through several roles: Priest, Fake President Ronald Reagan, and Father of the Bride. Nathan Russo is a nice guy, but one wouldn’t know it from the way he carries himself as Glen, Julia’s fiancée and the play’s smug jerk.
Physical comedy
Physical comedy is a staple of this show. Rapuano leads the charge, toppling like a domino after being punched by Glen, visibly pulling back from Holly’s sexual advances during “Saturday Night in the City” as if frightened by them, and failing to climb out of a dumpster.
The physical comedy is dispersed through the cast. Glen flails his arms like a toddler during a phone call in which the viewer can see but not hear him. Fake Tina Turner (Jazmin Hall) does a dramatic full-body windup before kicking Glen squarely in the jaw after he confesses to cheating on Julia.
The score
Matthew Sklar’s score channels the 1980s through its driving rock rhythms and anthemic, synth- and guitar-driven choruses. Given that the show takes place in the 1980s, the music fits well within the context of the storyline, and Chris Stanley’s pit band performs it tightly with the actors.
Direction, choreography, lighting
The play is directed swiftly by Erin Sousa-Stanley, so much so that one scene often develops as the previous one finishes. For example, the pit band, directed by Sousa-Stanley’s husband Chris Stanley, begins playing “Today You Are a Man” as Robbie is talking to Julia next to the dumpster, but within a few seconds, he is cleaned up and singing at a bar mitzvah. These overlapping scenes move the play along and the actors perform most of them smoothly. When they don’t, they still stick the landings.
Sousa-Stanley’s choreography is impressive, as are several actors’ dance moves. Hall performs a full split during “Saturday Night in the City.” Sousa-Stanley also leaves room for the actors to be creative in their dances. Rapuano, for example, breaks into a silly, shaking dance in the second chorus of “Not That Kind of Thing.” Lighting is modest and fits the show well, courtesy of Nathanial Hilzinger and Patrick Conaway.
Props and set design: less is more
Liz Hall’s props and set décor are simple and true to the playhouse’s community atmosphere. The prop for Robbie’s queen-sized bed isn’t even big enough to be twin-sized, and in a scene where Glen is talking on his cell phone while driving, Russo sits on a wooden stool and holds a steering wheel that is attached to nothing. Given the neighborhood feel and limited budget of the playhouse, these details are charming.
The Wedding Singer will run through August 4 at the Niantic Bay Playhouse.
The Wedding Singer
Music by Matthew Sklar
Book by Chad Beguelin & Tim Herlihy
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based on the New Line Cinema film written by Tim Herlihy
Directed and choreographed by Erin Sousa-Stanley
Music Director and Conductor: Chris Stanley
Stage Manager: Patrick Wall
Assistant Choreographers: Jazmin Hall, Scarlett Stanley
Assistant to the Directors: Sarah Burkart
Lighting Tech: Nathanial Hilzinger, Patrick Conaway
Sound Tech: Jaron Wilbur, Sophia Bell
Props/Set Décor Coordinator: Liz Hall
Props Assistant: Paloma Valquez
Stage Crew: Jane Campbell
Dance Captain: Jazmin Hall
Set Design, Build, and Paint Team: Bob Sousa, Al Crossley, Bob Salen, Erin Sousa-Stanley, Keith Brayne, Amy Ruenzel, Emma Frisbie
Costumes: Annie Egan, Erin Sousa-Stanley
