April 28, 2006

'80s-lovin' 'Wedding Singer' opens on Broadway

The musical version of "The Wedding Singer" opened on Broadway last night and critics mostly shrug it off with a condescending "it's fine if you like those kinds of things."

Based on the Adam Sadler/Drew Barrymore movie of the same name, "The Wedding Singer" musical is wall-to-wall '80s pop sentimentality, following the story of a jilted wedding singer as he falls in love anew.

It's directed by John Rando, choreographed by Rob Ashford with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin and book by Tim Herlihy and Chad Beguelin. The stars are Stephen Lynch and Laura Benanti. Earlier this week, the show was nominated for eight Drama Desk awards for outstanding musical, outstanding actor in a musical, outstanding featured actress in a musical, and choreography, music, lyrics, costuming and set design categories.

A sample of the reviews:

Variety - "Not that its synthetic quality proves fatal to "The Wedding Singer," by any means. Forced as it is, this is a fizzy confection offering enough easy enjoyment to attract the outer boroughs and the tourist trade."

Daily News - "Beguelin and Herlihy get a lot of mileage out of period jokes, such as when an arrogant stockbroker advises against buying stock in some Seattle coffee shop that's going public. But they can't get beyond the mechanical feeling of the film. None of the characters had - or has - any depth or interest."

Post - "A good one-word description for this show would be "crude." Actually, "obvious" is better, for the show is bestrewn with clichés, such as a potty-mouthed granny, a loutish best friend and, natch, all the pitfalls and pratfalls on the true-love way to Boy Gets Girl."

New York Times - "But the show has at least a flutter of a hedonist's pulse. And if its formulaic catering to an established public appetite feels cynical, the cast members exude earnestness and good nature. They are a personable enough lot, which is not the same as saying that they have personality."

Hollywood Reporter - "This highly unnecessary musicalization, produced by the same folks who brought you 'Hairspray,' throws in as many jokey references to that much-maligned decade as it can, and your appreciation of it will depend on your tolerance for endless jokes about such emblems of the era as A Flock of Seagulls and 'Flashdance.'"

Washington Post - "It's got vim and, in supporting performances by Felicia Finley and especially the appealing Matthew Saldivar, bona fide comic vigor. Yet a premise this flimsy -- one asking for your Joblike forbearance of jokey references to the 1980s -- requires two crucial elements this show does not have: a corker of a score, and a leading man and lady who can do something like spontaneously combust."

NY1 - "The right audience for this show will be smitten."

USA Today - "As Robbie's love interest, Julia, Laura Benanti fills screen star Drew Barrymore's shoes with her own girl-next-door charm. The period-inspired pop tunes provided by composer Matthew Sklar aren't ideal showcases for Benanti's gleaming soprano, but her playful sweetness is a constant delight."

Bloomberg - "The fun doesn't abate for one unamusing instant. Matthew Sklar's music is never less than serviceable, and Chad Beguelin's lyrics are rambunctiously down-to-earth. The book, by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, who scripted the movie, leaves no rib untickled. Rob Ashford's inventive dances range from cunning to uproarious, and John Rando's funny direction is unobtrusively omnipresent."

Journal News - "'The Wedding Singer,' which opened last night at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, is a good-natured musical with a great big hole in the middle. That hole, unfortunately, is the place held by the well-known lead in the 1998 movie on which the show is based, Adam Sandler. It's now occupied by a fellow named Stephen Lynch, who has all the stage charisma of a turnip."

Sun - "Among the supporting cast, Amy Spanger (as the nice slut) and Felicia Finley (as the mean slut) both score as two Whitesnake videos waiting to happen."

"The Wedding Singer has an open-ended run at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, located at 302 W. 45th St., map.

April 28, 2006 08:14 AM in Broadway

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