'Wedding Singer' is Witty 80s Fun

By Darcie Flansburg
Real Critics Editor/Publisher

It isn't easy to reproduce a smash hit movie for the stage. There's no CG or snappy set changes on the stage. But the stage provides a realness that no movie can.
"The Wedding Singer; The Musical Comedy" is a fun musical that is still recognizable for movie fans, but also presents something a little different. The script sticks pretty close to the movie plot, but has additional songs that bring you deeper into the world of Robbie Hart and Julia Sullivan.
For those of you who have not seen the movie (which you really should), Robbie is in a successful wedding band. When he is left at the alter by his fiance and then falls for Julia, who is engaged, he starts questioning his life.
Set in the 80s the musical doesn't present any classic 80s songs, but original music with 80s flare.
Yucaipa Little Theatre's production of "The Wedding Singer" was very charming and well received by the audience at the April 18 show. The production represented every aspect of that crazy decade and had a solid ensemble of great singers with some great comedic timing.
Garrett Peters channeled his inner Adam Sandler for the part of Robbie Hart, but also gave the character his own style with a lot of heart. Peters also had great chemistry with his bandmates and with his leading lady.
Krystin Rauma was a sweet and soulful Julia Sulivan. Rauma has a fabulous voice and really played up her character's comedic moments. One of my favorite scenes was when Julia and her potential fiance Glen Guglia were at dinner surrounded by men who are loudly popping the question to their significant others left and right. Rauma and Pete Bennett, who played Glen, played off each other well, and the ensemble helped keep the pace up to provide for some really hilarious moments.
Bennett was the perfect Corporate scumball who was "all about the green" and nothing more, as the unloveable Glen Guglia. Bennett was consistently dry with his humor and quite arrogant, the perfect bad guy mixture.
Katherine Harris got a chance to show off her fabulous vocal ability as Julia's friend Holly. Harris was quirky and sassy, but could have been a bit more flirty. But I do love that in this version Holly finally sees the guy that is right in front of her and gives in to his silly charm.
Brad Allen as George and Matthew Bell as Sammy rounded out the awesome wedding band, having many comedic moments of their own. George's wigs and Sammy's hair were enough to have the audience rolling, but the two also proved to be true friends to the distraught Robbie.
And Director Courtney Fox Taylor stepped in as Rosie after Harriet Briant had to sit a few performances out due to some surgery. But Taylor brought all the necessary spunk to the part of Robbie's grandmother, nailing the rap along with Allen.
It is always amazing to see how Yucaipa Little Theatre is able to pull off the large casts and multiple set changes with such a small space. But they always manage to make it work and do so with quite a bit of style.
The set changes for this show were constant (much like a movie would be) and sometimes they were a bit clunky and took a bit too long. But with what the company is able to accomplish on that small stage, it is often worth the wait to see what will be up next.
I am glad to see that Yucaipa Little Theatre is not only trying new productions along with their bill of classics, but also that they are really able to pull these productions off and put on a great show.
"The Wedding Singer" is one of those feel good movies and this production hit home.

Yucaipa Little Theatre presents 'Aladdin' June 24 through July 11. Visit www.yucaipalittletheatre.com for details.