March 22, 2012 5:38 am
By Christopher Rawson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Who knew "The Wedding Singer" could be so much fun? I didn't -- and I saw it on Broadway (2006). Or maybe I didn't because I saw it on Broadway.
It was OK, but there was a caustic edge to it, making the New Jersey setting seem overly condescending -- an attitude Pennsylvanians share with New Yorkers, come to think of it. Then I missed the PNC Broadway Series tour (2008) and Pittsburgh Musical Theater (2009) version, or at least I think I did. I might have seen its greater appeal then. I never saw the original 1998 movie.
But maybe what I really needed was to see "Wedding Singer" done with the nonstop energy, goofball affection and innocent charm of the production now running (through Sunday) at Pine-Richland High School.
Because of construction at the high school, this year Pine-Richland is using its middle school auditorium. It's small, with various drawbacks, including no control booths for lights and sound, no space for an orchestra pit and no cross-over behind the stage.
But shortcomings spur invention. Under the leadership of producer Carole Rost, they've built back-of-hall booths on raised platforms, the small orchestra plays at rear stage behind a scrim ... and I'm not sure how they handle the cross-over problem. By crawling? Or going outside?
More to the point, the facility fits the spirit of the play, which is purposefully make-do, even scruffy. The hero, Robbie Hart, plays in a trio, which, while hoping for its big break, plays at weddings (mainly) or even bar mitzvahs. Their usual gigs are at The Touch of Class Catering and Banquet Hall in Paramus (I think), which isn't much of a place, in fact sort of like this middle school auditorium, where the lobby is decorated as if for a wedding.
So the whole setting makes a nice package, and then, pow! Nothing prepared me for the explosive energy with which the cast launched itself into the show the moment the lights came up.
Right at the center, as he is throughout, is Jeff Burgess as Robbie. This is a fully realized performance combining energy, focus, musical ability, naturalistic acting and an engaging comic persona. His touch of irony kept reminding me of the young Al Franken, back in his "Saturday Night Live" days, before politics intervened. It's the full package -- you root for him from the start.
Robbie is about to marry the wrong woman, a vamp named Linda (Katie Colosimo), while his obvious eventual mate, Julia (Abby Dionise) -- a waitress at Touch of Class -- is entangled with a materialistic creep, Glen (Christian Ceurvorst). Meanwhile, Robbie lives in his Grandma's (Jess Malandro) basement and gets what work he can with his band mates, short Sammy (Graham Suvick) and tall George (Andrew Brevik).
For a full schedule of high school musicals in the Pittsburgh area, visit
www.post-gazette.com/theater. Senior theater critic Christopher Rawson is at 412-216-1944.
First Published 2012-03-22 09:40:26
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