MTSoc serve up some matrimony cheese

Arriving on the tenth floor of the Blackett Building to watch Musical Theatre Society’s (MTSoc) newest performance, their big spring show The Wedding Singer, I get the feeling that either the powers of my imagination will have to be used to their fullest extent or I should keep my expectations pretty low. I have to admit, I was rather happily surprised by the end.

I’m sure most of you know (and love) the Adam Sandler classic comedy that goes by the same name. Those of you who do will probably hear the words “musical adaptation” and cringe – give it a second though! For those of you who live in a box, The Wedding Singer was a 1998 Rom-Com set in the 80s, starring Adam Sandler (Robbie, a lowly wedding singer) and Drew Barrymore (Julia, a loved-up cater-waitress). The story itself winds around the ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ scenario with plenty of hilarity to drag it away from the romance and into the comedy.

Having originally been an American film, brimming with typical All-American characters, the dreaded American accent, without fail, came into play in the MTSoc adaptation. However, what was noticeably uncomfortable in the first half hour slowly died down to the point where the audience would barely notice it at all; the numerous other distractions onstage outshine the minor bother of the US drawl.

One of the highlights of the evening was the energy-filled ‘Saturday Night in the City’ where you will get your fill of group dancing and 80s pop culture. George and Rosie’s – typical best friend character and the protagonists’ grandmother (played to great effect by Conrad Godfrey) respectively – humorous duet ‘Move That Thang’ will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face and put a spring in your step. The choreography, devised by MTSoc’s James Perry, was executed sharply, tightly and with vigour; the majority of songs were eagerly belted out with a pleasant lack of bum notes. Nigel Fullerton as Robbie and Lucy Forman as Julia promise to bring real integrity to the protagonists, putting their all into the songs, dances and acting in general.

This is a great offering from MTSoc, and once tech, props and costumes are in place (they hadn’t gotten round to it yet on Monday evening – hence the lack of information on design in this review!) I have great hope that this musical will be as popular with the audience today as the film was in ’98.

The Wedding Singer at the Union Concert Hall. From 29 February – 3 March. Tickets are on sale now: £6 students, £8.50 non-students.