The Wedding Singer
★★★★☆ Hilariously entertaining
Kings Theatre: Wed 20 – Sat 23 Mar 2019
Review by Sarah Moyes
It’s all big hair and eighties music as The Bohemians take us back to 1985 in their annual trip to the King’s with The Wedding Singer, playing until Saturday.
The stage musical made its Broadway debut in 2006 and is based on the 90s rom-com movie of the same name which starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
This is the story of New York’s favourite wedding singer, Robbie Hart, and Julia, a waitress at the events where Robbie performs. As they both prepare for their own weddings, it soon becomes very clear that they are about to marry the wrong people.
Fraser Jamieson takes on the lead role of Robbie Hart in his sixth show with The Bohemians. He is an excellent principal who mixes laugh-out-loud humour with angst and charm as Robbie comes to terms with his break-up from his loud and trashy fiance Linda (Zoe Brookes) and starts to fall for the more loving and sweet-natured Julia (Katherine Croan) as her relationship with her wealthy and arrogant partner Glen (Donald Randall) also starts to break down.
As you would hope from a show based on a romantic comedy, The Bohemians provide plenty of laughter. Sammy (Douglas Anderson) and George (Ross MacPherson) are both really entertaining as Robbie’s bandmates as they guide him through his love life while throwing in the odd 80s references to movies like Back to the Future and Flashdance.
brilliant new score
Where the film uses lots of pop songs of the era, the musical relies on a brilliant new score of eighties-inspired music from Matthew Sklar with lyrics from Chad Beguelin.
The song list includes everything from beautifully sung ballads like If I Told You by Robbie and Julia, to Robbie’s Grandma Rosie (Cathy Geddie) and George’s unexpected yet hilarious rap Move That Thang.
Another cast member who impresses with a strong vocal performance is Kirsten Simpson in the role of Julia’s best friend Holly, notably in Right in Front of Your Eyes, when she realises that her perfect man is Robbie’s bandmate Sammy after all.
Dominic Lewis and Felicity Thomas pack the show with fun and energetic choreography throughout from the big ensemble numbers like It’s Your Wedding Day and Saturday Night In The City to the Thriller-inspired moves of Casualty of Love.
Director Malcom Burnett and Musical Director Finlay Turnball have done a great job of creating the most professional show they can, and while The Bohemians may be an amateur company, but there’s nothing amateur about this production.
It is hilarious, fun and full of catchy songs. Whether you have ever seen the movie or not, you’ll find it hard not to be entertained by The Bohemians’ production of The Wedding Singer.
Running Time – 2 hours 10 minutes (including interval)
King’s Theatre 2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000
Wednesday 20 – Saturday 23 March 2019.
Evenings: 7.30pm; Matinee Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Bohemians website: http://bohemians.org.uk/
Facebook: @bohemiansedinburgh.
ENDS