Riverdale Rising Stars to Stage THE WEDDING SINGER, 12/5-20

The year is 1985, and the place is New Jersey: hair is big, greed is good, collars are popped, and a wedding singer might just be the coolest guy in the room. The award-winning teens of Riverdale Rising Stars present THE WEDDING SINGER, the Broadway musical based on the hit movie of the same, for six performances only, from December 5 - 20, 2015.

Performances will be held at the Riverdale YM-YWHA, located at 5625 Arlington Avenue (just off of Riverdale Avenue and West 256th Street), in Riverdale, Bronx, NY.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND PRICES

Saturday, December 5 at 8pm

Sunday, December 6 at 3pm

Saturday, December 12 at 8pm

Sunday, December 13 at 3pm

Saturday, December 19 at 8pm

Sunday, December 20 at 3pm

General admission tickets are $15 for adults and teens, and $10 for children under the age of 10. Tickets may be purchased online at www.RiverdaleY.org/wedding or at the door prior to showtime. Tickets may also be purchased by phone 24/7 by calling Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006 and selecting option 1.

ABOUT THE SHOW

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 makes every wedding as disastrous as his own. Enter Julia, a winsome waitress who wins his affection. As luck would have it, Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever.

A cast of 30 teenage performers from Riverdale, Yonkers, Upper Manhattan and beyond perform in THE WEDDING SINGER, which is directed Riverdale Rising Stars Artistic Director Laurie Walton, with choreography by Emily Walton and music direction by Kelly Erin Martin. The design team includes Tony Wan (Set Building), David Pentz (Lighting), Penelope Margeotes (Costumes), and Denise Eberly (Sound Design).

Featuring music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and book by Beguilin and Tim Herlihy, THE WEDDING SINGER received five Tony Award nominations, including "Best Musical." Sklar and Beguelin also wrote the score for the Broadway musical Elf, and Beguelin wrote book and additional lyrics for the current Broadway production of Aladdin. THE WEDDING SINGER is based on the 1998 film starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

ABOUT RIVERDALE RISING STARS

Riverdale Rising Stars was created to provide the teens of the Riverdale community and beyond a professional repertory company experience. Since its inception in 2000, the organization has expanded its programming to include Rising Stars Jr., Riverdale Repertory Company, and the Riverdale Performing Arts Conservatory (RPAC), an educational program for adults and children. Of greatest importance is the way that all build self-esteem, learn enormous respect for others, develop camaraderie and create lifelong friendships. Together, these award-winning companies provide a world of expression, passion and creativity for all ages.

In addition to THE WEDDING SINGER, the 2015-2016 theatre season at the Riverdale Y includes SHREK JR. (child performers - January 16-31, 2016); GYPSY (adult, teen, and child performers - February 20-28, 2016); the one-night-only BROADWAY GALA on March 28, 2016; ANYTHING GOES (teen performers - April 2-17, 2016); OUR TOWN (adult performers - May 12-15, 2016); and HAIRSPRAY JR. (child performers - May 29 - June 9, 2016).

For more information, visit www.RiverdaleRisingStars,com.