WEDDING SINGER review- Sat. evening, July 22

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 9:27pm

THE WEDDING SINGER
Saturday at 8:00 PM
July 22, 2006

I flew to NYC Saturday morning, and got in around 11:00. My family wanted to try and student rush a show for Saturday night, and decided to try THE WEDDING SINGER. We got to the box office around 12 noon, and got student rush tickets right away, in Row B on the far left. I was sooo excited! I never thought I'd be able to see this show!
So we hung around all day, till around 7:30 or so, when we arrived at the theatre. We looked at the understudy board, and there were 3- the only one I really cared about, though, that Amy Spanger was out, and Cara Cooper was in for her. I was pretty disappointed, because I had really wanted to see Amy. But we went to our seats, which were very close to the stage. The curtain was very cool, by the way, and I loved the disco ball. But anyhow, the show began.
So the curtain went up, and "It's Your Wedding Day" began playing. As the song was being performed, I noticed how much fun the ensemble seemed to be having, and I sure had a fun night, too!
This was such a fun, great show! First of all: the cast!
Stephen Lynch did a fantastic job, and deserved the Tony nomination very much. He had great charisma, and made Robbie a great and funny character. Next, Laura Benanti was absolutely perfect as Julia!!! I know a lot of people didn't really like her in the role, but I think she's wonderful! She is so cute, and her voice is so pure and pretty. She also had great comedic skills, especially during "Come Out of the Dumpster". Now, for Cara Cooper. I was very pleasantly suprised by her, she was amazing! I think she had the best voice of anyone on that stage, and really made Holly her own. I loved how she sang "Saturday Night in the City" (I loved the water thing towards the end of the song), and she was very funny. But my favorite person of all was Felicia Finley as Linda. She had a pretty small role, but when she first came on in that hilarious wedding dress for "A Note from Linda", I was in stiches! She sang that song amazingly, as well as "Let Me Come Home"! I loved her so much! The rest of the cast and ensemble were great, and let me just ask, was it Tracee Beazer who played the fake Tina Turner? The whole Tina thing made me laugh a lot!
Anyways, now to the sets and costumes. Not too much to say, but the costumes were very 80-ish, and colorful, but the sets were astounding!!! The dumpster, the plane, the houses, the girl's restroom...someone deserved a Tony nomination for those, they were awesome!
Most all of the songs were amazing, and unforgettable. I didn't care for "Single", "Move That Thang" or "All About Green" that much, but I didn't mind them. All the other songs were great, and sounded pop-ish, and fun. My favorites were "Not That Kind of Thing", "Saturday Night in the City", and "It's Your Wedding Day". Overall, a great score!
Not too much else to say, but this was a fantastic production! 2 things made it even better. At curtain call, I found out that that was just the 100th performance of the show, which made me feel good that I saw a milestone performance. I was also very fortunate to see an onstage proposal! I was really hoping to see one, and didn't think I would, but at the end, Stephen Lynch announced "To celebrate the 100th performance, we have decided to have a drawing, and give away a dinner for two." So they called a seat number, and a man and woman came up. Then the man said to the woman onstage, "Honey, we didn't win a contest..." Then, the whole proposal ensued. It was incredibly sweet, and I taped the whole thing! It was a great way to end the show!
So, after the show concluded, I went to a very crowded stage door. I met most everyone I wanted to, except I missed Laura Benanti, and Felicia Finley, which sort of dissappointed me. But I got my CD cover signed which was nice.
Overall, this is one of the best, and most fun shows I have ever seen, and I would love to see it again! It might not be perfect (I can't think of that many flaws, or anything), but it was a good time had by all!
I give this show:
4 stars out of 5.
So yeah, that is my review!
Goodnight, and I'll post more reviews later!

-Patrick

:)
Updated On: 7/24/06 at 09:27 PM

[ILoveWicked330]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 9:34pm

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=905176&dt=16

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/23/06 at 9:35pm

Great review!!! Yes, Tracee is the fake Tina Turner, and she also has a few roles in the show, she has great comedy skills, and she is just a triple threat. She steals all the scenes. The show is fantastic, i can't wait to see it again.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 4:46am

bump*

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 7/24/06 at 6:55am

thanks, muscle!

and sorry guys that there has already been a review of that performance...that was just my personal review!

ill write my SWEENEY review from yesterday later...