‘Wedding Singer’ at playhouse
By Sue Langenberg
MOUNT CARROLL – “The Wedding Singer” opens today at Timber Lake Playhouse, with two acts, thick with songs and always bursting with lyrics, unexpected and otherwise.
The story that weaves between singing and dancing centers around a lovelorn wedding singer who was a jilted groom at his own wedding. But then he falls in love again.
Lead role of lovelorn Robbie is played by Kyle Szen, a tall drink of water whose tender voice and strong presence takes his emotion all over the stage with ease. Meredith Jones plays his love interest Julia. Fiancé Glen Guglia is well played by Carl Hendin, appropriately handsome with an arrogant and insensitive feel for the part. Other notables include Jessica Dyer whose good voice jilted Robbie at the altar, a grandmother role played by Sarah Ruden of Iowa, and Sainty Reed.
Its increased ensemble includes 51 performers, 27 support staff and Artistic Director Brad Lyons. New Yorker James Beaudry is again on hand to choreograph the steps and lead the actors, singers and dancers through the paces of the ’80s style of the musical. It was the early days of MTV and ground-breaking waves of rock video that left their mark on this show. So Beaudry happened to be doing in-depth research for weeks prior to rehearsals on the dance styles, including the electric, cool dude moves of Michael Jackson.
“It’s almost eerie,” he says, “I hadn’t thought about [Michael Jackson] for years until this show,” and explained how he suddenly got up close and personal with “Thriller,” including “Billie Jean” and others to study the signature moves of the iconic rock star. “And then he was gone,” he said.
