Unimpressed

The best thing about The Wedding Singer, playing at Georgetown's Palace Theater, was the enthusiastic reaction of the teenagers sitting in front of us. But Husband and Fio were not that enthused.

The stage sets were great, as was the musical accompaniment (including Robbie's own strumming), the costumes were good, and the singing and dancing were fantastic--especially the dancing. This is civic theater, but there were no left feet. Choreographer Jessica Kelpsch's presentations, as always, were perfection itself, in double time.

That's one of the perks of local theater, spotting familiar faces in the line-up: Jessica, Sister Amnesia, and the uber-sexy Kenicke. But, in a play like Wedding Singer, which requires a large cast, it's also a drawback, because recognizable actors end up playing multiple parts. Thus Pete Munoz (Reuben), a bridegroom in the first scene, proposed to another woman a couple of scenes later, which triggered a "Who the Bleep Did I Marry?" reaction in Fio.

Fio has to hand it to them--the actors were extremely energetic, over the top, in fact, especially Sammy. His action and speech patterns were so loud and fast that Fio often had problems figuring out what he was trying to get across. In fact, sound was a problem throughout the production. Those d**n face mics. Some people needed them, some people overwhelmed them.

Fio does have a bone to pick with the silly stereotypes of the gay George and the geriatric grandmother, but Husband and the teenagers in front of us thought they were hilarious. MaybeFio's reaction is a clue to what she found lacking in the play: coherence. Wedding didn't hang together, and that's the fault of the playwright. George and Granny were cartoon characters in a realistic setting (at least as realistic as one can get with people bursting into song and dance every time one turns around). The story seemed to be a cross between Little Shop of Horrors and Grease.

Robbie did a great job, but Julia was top-notch. A pretty girl with good acting skills, she has a voice that sparkles. Linda was a real scene stealer. Husband liked Holly a lot too.

The cast worked hard, maybe too hard, but somehow the show didn't click with Fiorella. On the other hand, she didn't insist they leave at intermission.