Benanti Takes Wedding Singer Medical Leave;Maddigan Fills In

The Wedding Singer star Laura Benanti will be out of the show for 4-6 weeks on medical leave. During that time, standby Tina Maddigan will play the lead. A note on Benanti's official site notes that:

"As you may be aware, I am on medical leave from The Wedding Singer for the next four to six weeks. I want to thank the cast of The Wedding Singer (especially Tina Maddigan) and everyone who has been so kind to me and supportive during this difficult time, and I want you all to know I am doing everything I can to get healthy and get back to the show to stay!"

Rumors online and off have the producers of The Wedding Singer on the lookout for a new star for Benanti's role later this year. Based on the 1998 Adam Sandler movie, the show takes place in Ridgefield, New Jersey. With a brand new score that pays loving homage to the pop songs of the 1980's and a design that captures the styles and spirit that marked the decade, The Wedding Singer takes us back to 1985, a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer just might be the coolest guy in the room.

In this original musical, rock-star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey's favorite wedding singer. He's the life of the party-until his own fiancée leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie becomes a newlywed's worst nightmare-a wedding singer bent on destroying other people's weddings. Enter Julia, a winsome waitress who wins his affection and helps Robbie pick up the pieces of his own heart. Only trouble is Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of the decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever.

The Wedding Singer is currently playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theater on 45th Street & 8th Avenue in New York City. It stars Stephen Lynch, Amy Spanger, Felicia Finley, Matthew Saldivar, Kevin Cahoon, Rita Gardner and more. Directed by John Rando and choreographed by Rob Ashford, it features music by Matthew Sklar, a book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, and lyrics by Beguelin.