The Wedding Singer: Flat and Off-Key

◊◊out of five. 

In Act Two of The Wedding Singer, there is a sequence of scenes which takes place in Las Vegas, and features several celebrity impersonators.  Robbie Hart, our hero, refers to them as "Fake", as in "Fake Tina Turner," "Fake President Reagan," etc.  The national tour, which opened last night at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre, is like watching a "Fake Wedding Singer."  It is a very pale impersonation of the very sweet, very funny (albeit pretty slight) Broadway version of this show.  Yes, the vast majority of national tours are smaller, even watered down versions of the original, but this one feels like one of those fake Gucci bags you can buy for $15 in Times Square.  Would that this knock-off were that cheap. 

The billing tells us right off that the original team had nothing to do with this directly.  Rob Ashford's energetic MTV dances are "recreated" by Chris Bailey, John Rando's original direction is "recreated" by Paul Stancato.  Even the costumes are "based on original designs by Gregory Gale."  One assumes that original set designer Scott Pask's work isn't "recreated," as it appears the production has a majority of the original drops and set pieces.  Only Mr. Stancato has any actual tie to the original-his wife is Felicia Finley, the actress who stole the show nightly as Linda. 

This production has also garnered pretty significant press, considering its short Broadway run.  Contrary to some local press, The Wedding Singer was not a smash hit on Broadway, and it did not earn a slew of Broadway honors (it did get nominated for 5 Tonys, winning none).  But most of the press centered on the fact that this is a non-Equity tour, causing Actors Equity (the actors' union) to publicly advertise for its members not to sign contracts for it.  (That action also includes the Hippodrome's next tenant, Hairspray, which is also a non-Equity tour.)  Non-Equity tours allow producers to present shows much more cheaply, as they don't have to pay the same minimums, and some other benefits are scaled back or simply not given.  This allows small to medium successful shows like The Wedding Singer or older, still popular titles (Cats, Hairspray) to get a tour going.  Sometimes, as in the case of Cats, seen earlier this year at the Warner Theatre, the quality of the performance is not severely diminished.  It gives younger actors a chance to really develop a work ethic needed to handle an 8 show a week schedule.  In other cases, this lack of experience really shows.  The Wedding Singer is such a case. 

Being that this is only the third stop on its itinerary, one would expect an uncommon amount of youthful energy and pep.  It should be fresh.  Last night felt like anything but.  The entire performance was a case of getting all the moves right, all the lines said and all the notes hit, but the effect of it all was rather flat and uninspired.  I'm sure part of it was opening night jitters, and much more of it had to do with the pathetic (I'm being generous) quality of sound (especially in act one).  Time after time, only parts of lines or song lyrics could be heard because the mics kept going on in mid-sentence.  It was like each time the sound guy hit a button there was a 2 second delay before the microphones worked.  That has to be somewhat unnerving.  To give credit where it is due, the cast uniformly handled it by not overcompensating, but rather plowing on.  The wit of Chad Beguelin's book and lyrics were often missed as punch lines and the cleverness of his 80's music inspired lyrics were swallowed up whole.  (It should be noted that unlike many movies-turned-musical, The Wedding Singer features a significant amount of original material.)  Volume issues also plagued the orchestra.  For 80's style rock music, they sure kept it down.

The overall blandness of the show has to do with something much more important, I'm afraid.  The stars of the show, a romantic comedy, have no chemistry.  Well, that is not exactly true.  When they are apart, talking and singing about each other, love is in the air.  But put them together, and POW, the balloon deflates.  Odd, but true.  Merritt David Janes, as Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler in the film), is all charm and dedication to friends and career.  He sings well, not exceptionally, which would be right for a wedding singer who isn't a rock star yet.  He also moves well, and handles the physical comedy demands of the piece admirably.  But he lacks heart (no pun intended) and that oomph that could really make his performance soar.  Erin Elizabeth Coors, as Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore's role) is a cute, sometimes spunky girl, though she is tall, thin and somewhat gangly.  Many times, she looks uncomfortable, and others she seems to be "acting", not letting any real emotion in.  A brief glimpse of everything she will probably be as she grows in the role can be seen in act two when she is trying on her gown and having cold feet, then admitting she loves Robbie, not her fiancé.  Here she exudes warmth, and you come very close to really caring about her.  The same scene has Robbie outside watching her, and again, you can see the potential Mr. Janes has in the role.  They are clearly in love, but they are separate on stage.  Put them together and everything grinds to a halt.  This is most noticeable in the finale, of course, but also ruins the key act one scene where they are shopping and supposedly having sparks fly when they "practice" Julia's altar kiss.  On Broadway, that moment was always greeted with a verbal audience reaction.  Here, dead silence.

The dancers in the ensemble are very good, especially in the act one closer "Saturday Night in the City" and the act two opener, "All About the Green" which is a sexy take on Reaganomics.  Had the entire show had that energy, this review would be much different. 

The supporting cast is actually better than the principals, though somewhat uneven.  As Julia's best friend, Holly, a Madonna wannabe (circa 1985), Sarah Peck has all of the affectation of the Material Girl, but little of the sense of fun.  When she finally lets go in "Right in Front of Your Eyes", a fun number about love that plays like an old video, she is great to watch.  Otherwise, she is a little too tough, too wise-ass, and not enough fun.  Similarly, John Jacob Lee's take on George (a Boy George wannabe) gets all of the icon's moves right, but they seem like a costume, not a part of his character.  One wishes he could find the real sense of humor in his numbers "Never Too Late" and "George's Prayer" rather than just acting like they are funny.  He isn't in on the joke, he IS the joke.  When Mr. Lee figures that out, he'll probably be an ok George. 

Mark Raumaker, who plays Glen Guglia, Julia's fiancé, suffers because they have cut the key number which established his relationship with Julia (and her relationship with her mother and Holly).  It was called "Pop!" as in "pop the question."  In that number from Broadway, we got to see what attracted Julia to this guy in the first place, which then makes his transition into self-absorbed jerk all the more satisfying.  Instead, they cut the song and cut and pasted the lines that surround the scene into one.  On the other hand, Mr. Raumaker could stand to be a bit more of a jerk.  As Grandma Rosie, Penny Larsen is cute and sweet, but not all that endearing.  Of course, her big moment to really grab the audience, her "rap song" called "Never Too Late," was marred by several microphone issues.

Two of the supporting cast, though, really stand out for being totally into their roles and giving 110%.  Justin Jutras, as Robbie's other band mate Sammy, is a riot, nailing that helpless schlep, hang dog guy mixed with a guy who wants to be classy but suffers from too much testosterone and no place to put it.  Mr. Jutras really understands that Sammy thinks he is the personification of cool, but the rest of us can't see it.  The other stand out was Andrea Andert as Linda, Robbie's ex, who leaves him at the altar.  She exudes that 80's self-awareness and voracious sexuality.  And boy, can this girl move!  Even more impressive is that Ms. Andert is an understudy in the role.  Good for her!  She provides both of the evening's biggest laughs in "A Note from Linda" and "Let Me Come Home." 

That she provides the only two really big laughs of the night is very telling.  On Broadway, the laughs never really stopped.  It was all fun, all the time.  For me, The Wedding Singer was such fun, I couldn't wait for it to get here, and the CD is constantly in my player (a guilty pleasure, to be sure).  Maybe in a few months, it'll be a better show.  But for my money, if I were you, I'd just rent the movie and buy the cast recording.

 

PHOTOS:  TOP to BOTTOM: Merritt David Janes and Erin Elizabeth Coors; Justin Jutras, Merritt David Janes and John Jacob Lee (center); and The Company.  Photos by Phil Martin.

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