Review: THE WEDDING SINGER at Colony Theatre

The Wedding Singer is a delightful retro romantic comedy musical at the Colony Theatre in Burbank through June 29th.  Confectionary light, with killer choreography and eye-candy 1980s costumes and sets, The Wedding Singer is a big whipped cream dollop of pure joy.  This is the story of a struggling musician who plays weddings with his band in 1980s New Jersey and falls in love with a big-hearted waitress — while they both are engaged to the wrong people.

While I have to confess that I am not the biggest fan of the original 1998 film, on which this 2006 musical is based, this sweet romantic comedy at the Colony Theatre is a purely joyous romp.  The Adam Sandler romantic comedy film is notable chiefly for displaying the charms of peak 90s Drew Barrymore, utterly adorable and radiant, captivating the camera with frolicsome innocence, like a frisky, big-eyed, irresistible puppy.  There is certainly a Drew-sized hole at the heart of a Wedding Singer performed without her.  But surprisingly, The Colony’s Wedding Singer has overwhelming charm that more than compensates.  The direction by Michael Donovan is so appealing, with a dreamy, feather-light touch, and the execution, cast and craft are so good, that The Wedding Singer at the Colony Theatre is frothy perfection.

The Wedding Singer at the Colony Theatre has spell-binding choreography by Michelle Elkin, a terrific cast including multiple Broadway stars, a high energy live orchestra with pitch-perfect musical direction by Brent Crayon, and an enviable sense of humor that had the packed live audience bursting into applause and laughing the whole night.

Standout numbers include a heartwarming “Move That Thang” with irresistible Broadway legend Kay Cole and an utterly endearing Chris Bey, “A Note from Linda” with a powerhouse sexy and hilarious Natalie Holt MacDonald, the show-stopping ensemble number “Saturday Night in the City" and the hilarious male ensemble number "Single."

This is a dazzling production to look at, all super-saturated, Day-Glo colors and bold graphics.  I love the whimsical, loving celebration of deliciously trashy 80s excess, with striking, genius dynamic set design by Mark Mendelson and gloriously flamboyant costume design by Jenna Bergstraesser.

There are occasional moments that reflect the cringe era of 90s rom coms, where every girl has her ear pressed fearfully up against her ticking biological clock, plotting to ensnare her man.  The well worn trope of the slutty Best Friend is on full display here, so that while the main character frets about not having enough (or good enough) sex, her harlot bestie can display the full horror of having too much fun.  There is so much unprocessed anxiety and panic about sex, intimacy, and gender in these kind of tales, it's painful.  Luckily for the audience, there is some consolation that the thankless role of the Best Friend skank is so beautifully played by a stunningly talented, drop dead sexy Juliane Godfrey. With the tongue in cheek, campy, satirical tone, and a generous dollop of good-hearted silliness, all of this nonsense works surprisingly well on stage.  

There are also disturbing social media allegations of violence and abuse, directed at lead Blake Jenner by his ex wife, Melissa Benoist, TV's beloved Supergirl star.  Jenner's sorrynotsorry rebuttal that the violence and abuse were mutual may or may not feel particularly reassuring.  There remain fascinating questions to explore here.  Is it resurrected Puritanism to plumb the moral probity and past of every performer and creator involved in a production, shaming and ostracizing those who are tainted with rumor or sin? Or does this attitude reflect an evolving, enlightened sense of responsbility -- being more mindful to avoid enabling abuse?  Some of my colleagues are boycotting this production.  I honestly do not even know how to process all of this in the context of a sweet romantic musical.

Thorny questions aside, this is a frothy, delicious, brilliantly produced sweet treat, and one that is pretty impossible to resist.

Los Angeles Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Hollywood Bowl)

9.1% of votes

2. HAIR (Conundrum Theatre)

5.3% of votes

3. HEATHERS (Backyard Playhouse: Treetop Production)

5.2% of votes

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