"The Wedding Singer" Reviews — Page 2

It happens all the time, don't even get me started. One need only to look at my avatar.

The AP is Mixed:

"The 1980s: Wall Street greed; the mullet; Boy George and Culture Club; Mr. T on TV; and a little moonwalking on the dance floor.

All are a part of "The Wedding Singer," the aggressively eager new musical comedy that attempts to do for New Jersey in the '80s, what "Hairspray" did for Baltimore in the 1960s.

Brought to Broadway by the same producing team that gave us "Hairspray," the show, which opened Thursday at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, is, unfortunately, more relentless than inspired.

All the ingredients, particularly a promising score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, seem to be in place. So why doesn't "The Wedding Singer" deliver a bigger kick, transporting us to that electric if rarified world of musical-theater bliss?

For one thing, the musical seems to be over-enamored of its own concept — obsessively referencing the decade in which it is set when time might better be spent fleshing out the people on stage. If you don't know "Joanie Loves Chiachi" or the jellybean connection to Ronald Reagan, for example, you may feel a little left out of the party.
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More interesting in "The Wedding Singer" are its supporting players, particularly the show's two women of loose morals. Let's face it. Bad girls have more fun — and so does the audience when these ladies are played by the likes of Amy Spanger, a would-be Madonna (only with a sense of humor), and Felicia Finley, as Robbie's crude ex-fiancee.
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Scott Pask's settings are often witty, most tellingly a revolving rooftop restaurant with views of a water tower in beautiful downtown Newark. And Gregory Gale's costumes capture the awfulness of what passed for the height of fashion 25 years ago.

For a simple boy-meets-girl story, "The Wedding Singer" has a convoluted plot, and, it takes Robbie and that waitress a full two acts to finally connect. By then, your affection for the '80s may be exhausted.




http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193492,00.html

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Updated On: 4/27/06 at 07:53 PM

What a shame re the reviews

The show was pleasant & entertaining. It had no intention of trying to be anything great but all it wanted to do was entrtain. It did that

Some critics need to take their thunmb out of their ass & stop being so high & mighty. I loved the Gordon Gekko peon to Greed number

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thespian, i agree. Plus, I think the critics rarely praise a "fun" musical. I really hope the reviews don't hurt the run. If it can get through the next month or so, I think it will be a big tourist draw this summer. It's fun and recognizable- two things which usually draw in the tourists.

I just bought tickets for August, I hope it lasts that long! If it for some reason closes before then, would I get refunded? I REALLY REALLY want to see this show so I hope it does well!

Thespian, your comments don't hold up, in regards to the bad notices so far. I know for a fact that Matthew Murray (Talkin' Bway) and Rob Kendt (Broadway.com) are both in their 30s. I don't think Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter is too far past that either. How old SHOULD the critics be? 16? 17? 22?

Oh, and those born in the early 80s didn't exactly LIVE through this time period. In what? Kindergarten? By your logic, they would have to be born in the late 60s or 70s and coming of age in the 80s. In other words, the men above should have loved it, no?

Updated On: 4/27/06 at 08:39 PM

Well, actually I would think the target audiences, Thesbian, would be people who were in their teens/early 20s in the 1980s - i.e. the same age as the characters in the show - those were the people who would most "get" the jokes and referencecs.

If they are marketing the show to people born in the late 70s/early 80s - it's a mistake, because most people just out of college don't have 110 bucks to put down on a "fun" show.

That would, however, explain their low attendance numbers, if that were the case.

It won't run nine months if the major reviews are anything like these, that's for sure.

And it must be said - there is honestly only so many shows that can fit the "fun and fronthy musicals based on recent movies" genre. If WEDDING SINGER falters, I wonder if it will give producers pause over LEGALLY BLONDE, HIGH FIDELITY and all the other planned Broadway productions.

Of course, it all depends on the quality of the material.

They had their chance to impress me, and they blew it big time. And I don't care if the music's good, I'm NOT coming and that's it.

I do hope you're being sarcastic. Otherwise, you're quite full of yourself.

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Okay, so I was kidding.

I really, REALLY, really liked it. No, really. The music sounds good. Rita Gardner is a hoot as Rosie. This could last the same length as BROOKLYN or LITTLE SHOP with the good word-of-mouth to surround it. I really have high hopes for this show.

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Well said, Margo. The critics are there to analyze the show, not sit back and forgive everything because its fun. Enjoy it, but don't knock those who don't. They have good reason.