Adam Epstein on WEDDING SINGER'S failure on BROADWAY BULLET podcast- Page 2

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/22/07 at 10:38pm

Oh,please. Let it go.

[goofy108]

Posted: 6/22/07 at 10:42pm

do we know if they will make any changes for the tour?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/22/07 at 10:44pm

Mamma Mia, here I go again...

[me2]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 2:06pm

Put me down as liking Maddigan. I didn't see Benanti, but I thought Lynch and Maddigan had incredible chemistry.
Broadway Blog: If They Could See You Now (the understudy debate)

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 2:07pm

Madigan was MILES better. Benanti was a chilly vaccum.

[Over the Moon]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 2:10pm

I saw The Wedding Singer last August and it was AMAZING the casting was amazing

he's just bitter cause it didnt work >_<

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 3:56pm

Benanti has class and knew how to act it...not schmact it.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 5:48pm

Oh, my God. LET IT GO. The show has clsoed, they're not playing the same role any more. Let it go.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 6/23/07 at 5:57pm

Ya know...you could have let the thread die, too.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:20pm

Not porno tongue. Church tongue.

[MrAmySpanger]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:51pm

M'kay so can we end the ****ing Maddigan vs Benanti argument before it even starts? That being said, I will refrain from saying that there is an obvious reason as to why Laura was the star and Tina was the standby, or that i found her preformance to be borderline-abrasive.

Anyway. I can see how the show failed, but to blame the actor's is redic. I really don't think that there are many Adam Sandler fans flocking to Broadway to see a musical adaptation of one of his old flicks. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but it never found an audience.

And lastly, "Benanti was a chilly vaccum. "

....wtf?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:59pm

Yes, there was a very good reason they made Tina the Standby. Smart move. She went on a hell of a lot and carried the show for weeks. BRAVO!

Updated On: 6/24/07 at 09:59 PM

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:11pm

Pathetic.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:14pm

Just responding to MrAmySpanger, FindYourGrail,

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:16pm

Where'd you get the Tina as Julia pictures?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:20pm

The dumpster. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:21pm

SpellingBeeFan - www.tinamaddigan.com (since I have a feeling Phantom is too off in his own world)

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 7/2/07 at 10:21pm

Thanks

[snl89]

Posted: 7/2/07 at 11:03pm

okay, I'm gonna kind of skip over all the Tina!Julia talk for a minute haha

I personally could not agree LESS with some of the statements made in the podcast. Stephen and Laura were my two MAIN reasons for loving the show as much as I DID! Well, them and Amy Spanger because she is a godess :P But seriously, especially Stephen. I'm sorry but there is simply NO ONE funnier or more loveable or more perfect for that role than Stephen Lynch. Yes, I'm biased because I have been obsessed with him since like 7 years ago when his comedy central special first aired, but really. Even looking at it from as unbiased a viewpoint as I possibly can, I STILL think he was just plain brilliant. He's just the master at that kind of humor- more so than even Adam Sandler himself imo! Adam Sandler annoys me. Stephen does not at all.

Now Laura I can understand why some people might not have felt she quite fit the role. I, however, ADORED her. Disregarding the fact that her voice is just ridiculously gorgeous and pleasant to listen to, 1)she and Stephen had some of THE best, most adorable chemistry I've ever seen and 2)Laura is a true actress. She made the part SO much more interesting than it ever even should have been. Whether or not she really made sense in the role didn't matter in the end, because she was a good enough actress that she determined what Julia's quirks were and what her personality was like. She made the role fit her; she didn't have to make herself fit the role. Tina was adorable- and a SWEETIE at the stagedoor, but that's besides the point- but she was adorable simply because she's a very cute person with a naturally bubbly personality. Laura was adorable and likeable because she MADE the role adorable and likeable.

Lastly, I'm not quite sure what he meant by "not enough heart was put into it", but if he meant into the performances, once again I couldn't disagree more. I thought that was one of the shows absolute greatest strengths- that the cast DID have SO much heart. I never felt happier leaving a theater than I did after seeing that show, and that's because happyness and heart completely exuded off that stage at all times- from everyone.


If the show failed, I think that's more simply because of the way theater and entertainment in general has become today. Broadway has gotten to the point where it costs so much to run a production that unless you're just one of the lucky shows who becomes "the next great thing", you're NOT going to be around very long. I mean think about it- what are the long running shows right now? Wicked, RENT, we can assume Spring Awakening; not all of them huge spectacles, but they all are progressive or huge in some way and so have been dubbed "the thing to see". Yes, Hairspray did very well probably because- I could be mistaken on this, but I think- it was one of the first jukebox musicals so it was new and fresh and people loved it. Jersey Boys was successful because, once again, for whatever reason it was chosen as "the thing to see". Not to say they ARENT great shows or don't deserve the credit they've been given, it's just when you really think about it, it's all pure luck. There are lots of AMAZING shows and only a select few get chosen for automatic success. And unfortunately with the industry the way it is the other great ones that dont get chosen just don't have the means to continue running. Wedding Singer was probably the most FUN show I've personally ever seen, but it wasn't edgy or progressive and it wasn't exactly a NEW style of show. So it just didn't garner the attention it needed to succeed. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I just feel that that's a lot more the reason for it closing than the performances or the heart. Because I felt that the performances and heart that went on that stage every night was what made me wish it HAD been able to succeed so very much.

WOW, I apologize for the waaaaaay super long ramble!

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 7/2/07 at 11:11pm

Hairspray is not a jukebox musical...

[RentHead2]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 9:16am

This is absolutly ridiculous. I saw THE WEDDING SINGER six times and it was fantastic. Stephen Lynch and Benanti were great in there roles. My theory on why this one did not work:

1. The WEDDING SINGER is not the most popular movie in the world. I mean it has the Adam Sandler cult base but its not even the best Adam Sandler movie.

2. Constantly members of the cast were on leave. Look at Laura Benanti when she was on leave for 4 months with a substitute (who was the fantastic Tina Maddigan) but none the less.

I personally thought that Wedding Singer was the most fun I have ever had at a theatre. Since it closed, I haven't really found anything that has entertained me to that level. Hoping that will change with Xanadu this weekend tho :)

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 9:35am

Yeah...

It's kind of hard to listen to the interview or follow along here because I actually LOVED the show!

It's since become one of my most-listened-to IPOD playlists and I tell everyone I know that we're all going to see it when the tour rolls around.

It was F-U-N, and that is exactly what I needed at the time!

(Incidentally, had Adam Sandler or Drew Barrymoore actually been in it, I would have stayed far away, as I don't care for either.)

Updated On: 7/3/07 at 09:35 AM

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 9:41am

I've been listening to The Wedding Singer OBCR a lot lately and my respect for it is growing leaps and bounds - especially when compared to High Fidelity and Legally Blonde which do not even approach it in quality-of-score. I think The Wedding Singer will have a life after Broadway - eventually.

[RentHead2]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 9:51am

As I mentioned before, THE WEDDING SINGER was the most fun I have ever had on Broadway. I left the theatre with a big old smile on my face because that cast had heart and thensome. That was not what was lacking. I think it's a shame that people are tearing apart the cast because they need a scapegoat. As farr as the comparisons to High Fidelity and Legally Blonde, Wedding Singer is a superior score but High Fidelity is damn good too. Legally Blonde, ahhhh not so much.