The Wedding Singer
★★★★☆ Party time
Loretto School Theatre: Wed 8 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Review by Martin Gray
Dearly beloved, we are gathered at Loretto School Theatre for The Wedding Singer, the new show from MAMA, and it is a corker.
Based on the 1998 Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy, this musical transcends its cinematic roots with a live celebration of love and laughter.
A scene from MAMA’s The Wedding Singer. Pic: Musselburgh Camera club.
It’s the Eighties and Robbie is the lead singer with party band Simply Wed, Julia is a waitress at a wedding venue, and they’re in love… with other people.
Of course, their eyes meet across a drunken room and time seems to stand still as a musical note holds its breath. It turns out that’s a problem with band member George’s keytar.
But the attraction is real. Will Robbie marry fiancee Linda? Will Julia wed beau Glen? Or will love find a way to bring Julia and Robbie together?
party mix
It sounds as if the stage is set for a fun jukebox musical, but no. While there are loads of nods to the music of the time – George’s Boyish look, bassist Sammy’s Flock of Seagulls hair horror – the music is a mix of originals and moments from the movie.
Matthew Skylar and Chad Beguelin’s new tunes are a party mix of dancefloor fillers and saccharine-free ballads, perfectly put across by the Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association players.
Eva Hills and Chris Miller in MAMA’s The Wedding Singer. Pic: Musselburgh Camera club.
The catchiest of them all, It’s Your Wedding Day, opens the show, pops up throughout and is still earworming its way through my head. On the sillier side there’s Come Out of the Dumpster, the plea from Julia to Robbie the morning after he loses it in the middle of his latest gig, having been dumped by Linda (his hideous mullet survives intact).
The hard-faced A Note From Linda prompts Robbie’s hilarious meltdown of Casualty of Love and powerhouse Kirsty Sim as the ambitious ex returns later in the show to plead/demand Let Me Come Home.
bags of chemistry
We also get some amusingly awful confections from songwriting strummer Robbie, such as tribute to Linda: Awesome.
Euan Dixon and Eva Hills have bags of chemistry as Robbie and Julia as they engage in not so much a ‘will they/wont they’ situation as ‘when will they’? Thanks to some nicely observed acting, their attraction is believable, but if they don’t finally get together you could imagine her joining the band as their voices blend beautifully on the yearning If I Told You and Grow Old With You.
Balfour Laird and Kian Tait in MAMA’s The Wedding Singer. Pic: Musselburgh Camera club.
Another memorable duet – and a very surprising one – comes from Robbie’s Grandma Rosie and sweet George as they engage in a hip-hop happening. Kian Tait is a treat whenever he steps forward from the band line-up, while Audrey Dixon generously holds her scene-stealing powers back…
Robbie has an unlikely vocal teaming with ghastly Glen. Chris Miller as the Wall Street banker (insert your own rhyming slang here) shows real vocal and physical flair as he leads the ensemble in the show’s flashiest number.
the ensemble members shine throughout
There’s a rock-solid performance from Rachel Allison as Julia’s cousin and best bud Holly, as she and newly-exed boyfriend Sammy, played with appropriately wacky energy by Balfour Laird, explore their feelings in Right in Front of Your Eyes.
Playing a collection of friends, neighbours, guests and corporate types, the ensemble members shine throughout, with several of the ladies coming into their own as a strangely familiar load of Las Vegas wedding celebrants.
A scene from MAMA’s The Wedding Singer. Pic: Musselburgh Camera club.
The Eighties-style arrangements are nailed by musical director Kerry-Anne Dougan’s seven-strong band (which includes Simply Wed’s invisible drummer). Dancing to said music comes courtesy of choreographer Claire Riddoch – keep an eye out for some very Thriller moves in Casualty of Love.
Overseeing everything are director Caroline Inglis and assistant director Kimberley Torley, while the entire production team – including Water Drop Effects man Paul Inglis – does a bang-up job.
an evening of fun
This isn’t a show with lots of kids in the cast, but plenty of tweens and up should enjoy it; hopefully the single instance of the F-word in Somebody Kill Me – one of the few numbers from the movie original – won’t put people off.
With its mix of Eighties nostalgia, sharp wit and terrific songs, The Wedding Singer will have you grabbing a plus one… you may not love happily ever after but you will get an evening of fun.
Running Time: Two hours (including one interval)
Loretto School Theatre, Millhill, Musselburgh.
Wed 8 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
MAMA Facebook page: @mamamusselburgh
Rachel Allison in MAMA’s The Wedding Singer. Pic: Musselburgh Camera club.
ENDS
