#1
Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:30am
Let me preface this by saying that tonight was first preview, and a lot can change between tonight and the New York opening. That said, "The Wedding Singer" tonight was a very problematic show.
Its biggest problem is Laura Benanti. I love Laura Benanti. I think she's extremely talented. She was sensational in "Nine," and I loved her in "Into the Woods." But she is woefully miscast as Julia in "The Wedding Singer." Julia needs to be warm and charming, qualities which Benanti, as marvelous as an actress that she is, simply doesn't have. There is zero chemistry between her and Stephen Lynch. Her voice is lovely (if underused), but she's wrong here. Interestingly, her standby is Tina Maddigan (of "Mamma Mia" fame), who I suspect would be terrific and have all the qualities that the role of Julia desperately needs. They need to dump Benanti and let Maddigan go on.
The book doesn't do Benanti any favors, either. In a star-crossed love story, which "The Wedding Singer" is, you need that moment at the top of the show where you realize that the two lovers are with the wrong people and they need to be together. That moment is missing here. Benanti waltzes on as a waitress, she says "Hi" to Lynch, and the audience goes "Whoop dee doo." You don't root for these two to get together. Benanti has a very nice "I want" song at the top, called "Wonder," but the message is wrong. She's wondering if she's marrying the wrong man, but the lyrics just make her seem a bit of a doormat, and it's not clear that what she really needs and secretly wants is to marry the Wedding Singer. That point should be totally clear at the outset, and it's not.
The score is fun, musically, but a bit lyrically weak. It relies heavily on 80's nostalgia, which isn't as fun as one would think. There are lots of references to huge cellular phones and the newness of CD players, and Swatches, and Esprit, but it all comes off as rather patronizing instead of celebratory. If you're going to exploit nostalgia effectively, you have to revel in what was great about a decade, not what was ridiculous about it.
Other than Benanti, the cast fit their roles and were working very hard to make lemonade out of lemons. Stephen Lynch was charming and sang extremely well. Amy Spanger, stuck in the thankless role of the best friend, had moments (although her big number, the first act finale, is a bit too reminiscent of "Do Me a Favor" from "Carrie" for its own good). Kevin Cahoon worked his buns off, Felicia Finley did a knock-out Sherie Renee Scott impersonation, and Rita Gardner tried valiantly to bring a bit of dignity to the "Rap Granny."
There's a number in the first act called "Pop", where the girls are in a bathroom with Julia and they're convincing her that her boyfriend is going to pop the question. It perfectly illustrates what's wrong with this show. It's a fun, infectious melody, with an amusing staging, and it should stop the show. It doesn't, because the authors are musicalizing the wrong moment. We absolutely don't care if her creepy boyfriend pops the question or not. In fact, we don't want him to. But there's a whole musical number where the leading lady mysteriously wants him to, and it's wrong.
"The Wedding Singer" isn't a complete fiasco, and it might be able to turn itself around. But it needs to find its heart. Right now, it's a whole lot of flash with no substance whatsoever. There's a good story here, and I think it could be musicalized well. But they don't have it yet. And Benanti's got to go.
Its biggest problem is Laura Benanti. I love Laura Benanti. I think she's extremely talented. She was sensational in "Nine," and I loved her in "Into the Woods." But she is woefully miscast as Julia in "The Wedding Singer." Julia needs to be warm and charming, qualities which Benanti, as marvelous as an actress that she is, simply doesn't have. There is zero chemistry between her and Stephen Lynch. Her voice is lovely (if underused), but she's wrong here. Interestingly, her standby is Tina Maddigan (of "Mamma Mia" fame), who I suspect would be terrific and have all the qualities that the role of Julia desperately needs. They need to dump Benanti and let Maddigan go on.
The book doesn't do Benanti any favors, either. In a star-crossed love story, which "The Wedding Singer" is, you need that moment at the top of the show where you realize that the two lovers are with the wrong people and they need to be together. That moment is missing here. Benanti waltzes on as a waitress, she says "Hi" to Lynch, and the audience goes "Whoop dee doo." You don't root for these two to get together. Benanti has a very nice "I want" song at the top, called "Wonder," but the message is wrong. She's wondering if she's marrying the wrong man, but the lyrics just make her seem a bit of a doormat, and it's not clear that what she really needs and secretly wants is to marry the Wedding Singer. That point should be totally clear at the outset, and it's not.
The score is fun, musically, but a bit lyrically weak. It relies heavily on 80's nostalgia, which isn't as fun as one would think. There are lots of references to huge cellular phones and the newness of CD players, and Swatches, and Esprit, but it all comes off as rather patronizing instead of celebratory. If you're going to exploit nostalgia effectively, you have to revel in what was great about a decade, not what was ridiculous about it.
Other than Benanti, the cast fit their roles and were working very hard to make lemonade out of lemons. Stephen Lynch was charming and sang extremely well. Amy Spanger, stuck in the thankless role of the best friend, had moments (although her big number, the first act finale, is a bit too reminiscent of "Do Me a Favor" from "Carrie" for its own good). Kevin Cahoon worked his buns off, Felicia Finley did a knock-out Sherie Renee Scott impersonation, and Rita Gardner tried valiantly to bring a bit of dignity to the "Rap Granny."
There's a number in the first act called "Pop", where the girls are in a bathroom with Julia and they're convincing her that her boyfriend is going to pop the question. It perfectly illustrates what's wrong with this show. It's a fun, infectious melody, with an amusing staging, and it should stop the show. It doesn't, because the authors are musicalizing the wrong moment. We absolutely don't care if her creepy boyfriend pops the question or not. In fact, we don't want him to. But there's a whole musical number where the leading lady mysteriously wants him to, and it's wrong.
"The Wedding Singer" isn't a complete fiasco, and it might be able to turn itself around. But it needs to find its heart. Right now, it's a whole lot of flash with no substance whatsoever. There's a good story here, and I think it could be musicalized well. But they don't have it yet. And Benanti's got to go.
