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A Conversation with The Wedding Singer's Felicia Finley

With reality-TV star Constantine Maroulis joining the cast of The Wedding Singer shortly and some other recent cast changes, it seemed like the perfect time to check in with one of the show's most popular stars, Felicia Finley for the scoop on that and lots more��

How are things going with the show?�

The show is in great shape! This company has always seemed to me from the get go, and I hate it because this is not the right word, but we seem like an acting troupe��

I think that 'troupe' is the right term��

It's a fun group, because we're all around the same age and when we're out there on stage and it's just amazing this group of talent. It's like everyone is a star in their own right, individually and including the ensemble. It's been like we're taking class every night, so it's really amazing. Rob Ashford has been working with us for the past 2 days, since he just got back from working on Curtains. He's back and we've been working hard and now Constantine is coming in and he's really, really, stoked. We're all stoked to have him and he's just the "real thing." He graduated from Boston Conservatory with an acting degree and before American Idol ever started, he really had serious acting chops going on. He did Rent before American Idol, and he's really excited to get back on stage. It's cool, and we're so excited to have him.�

Do you know how his casting came about?�

I think what happened is just that we're trying to find the right audience. Smokey Joe's (Caf�) took a while for it to find its audience and once it did, it exploded. We're the same way I think, we just have to get that audience and that following. We now have what's called the "Wed Heads", did you know that?�

Yeah��

I think that's hysterical, and I love it. It's an addictive show, it's a fun show, and there's so much talent on stage, that you really can learn from it by just watching it.�

There's been rumors, online and off about other folks coming in to audition...�

Yeah, I'm just going to stay positive about the fact that Constantine is coming in, that it's all that's happening and we're really excited to have him.�

Word has it that you recently broke a rib as well?

Well, I hurt it the night of the Tony's during the actual performance. I didn't know it was as bad as it was, until, honestly a couple of days later, cause I was in shock. I couldn't believe that I had hurt it, and I'm doing a lot better now, so it only hurts when I sneeze. I was talking to Rob Ashford actually yesterday, and when he was doing Guys and Dolls, putting that show up, he broke his rib a year ago.�

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Robert Diamond founded BroadwayWorld.com in 2003, which has now become the largest theatre web site in the world. He also serves as the site's Editor-in-Chief, covering Broadway and beyond, with specific local coverage for 100 cities in the United States, 30 countries worldwide and 15 other related areas of entertainment - including dance, opera, fashion, concerts, comedy, films, television and more.

The 2001 Syracuse University graduate (School of Information Studies) is also the owner of Wisdom Digital Media, an award-winning leading design company for entertainment and technology web sites. In his previous life, he held an executive position for the world's leading publisher of technology magazines, web sites and conferences and, as a result, was named among the "Top thirty magazine industry executives under the age of 30" by FOLIO Magazine.

Diamond got his start in the entertainment field, accidentally, when he created the 'official web site' (while in college) for Michael Crawford, the popular actor and original Tony and Olivier Award-winning star of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. (He still blames Crawford - and credits him - for anything that goes particularly right or wrong during an average day.)

As a respected member of the Broadway and theatre community, Diamond also served as Lead Producer for a series of sold-out shows using the BroadwayWorld.com 'brand' for a set of 'Standing Ovations' concerts, which also branched out into titles that included Holiday Shows and even more specific concerts like 'From Stage to Screen and Back Again' in tandem with publishers and movie studios. All proceeds were in turn donated to Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, the industry's leader in aid for performers in need.

Robert lives in Manhattan with his wife and two dogs, growing the business and getting little sleep. In addition, you can usually find him in a theatre many nights a week.

Robert's very popular blog, 'The Broadway Pulse' appears daily on BroadwayWorld.com and he also writes weekly about theatre for the USA Network's Character Approved blog.

In December of last year, Diamond was one of 5 Syracuse University Alumni, all having achieved success in the world of start-ups, business growth and venture capital, participating on a panel addressing young alumni who are currently pursuing their dreams of running their own business and experiencing the day to day challenges of a startup. It is part of the university's new Student Accelerator Program, for which Rob was recommended by Syracuse University's i-School.

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