'The Wedding Singer' hits Showboat stage

Jul. 19—CLINTON — The Clinton Area Showboat Theater presents the musical comedy "The Wedding Singer" beginning Thursday through July 31.

The show is based on the 1998 blockbuster film of the same name that starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore and sent up everything hilarious about the 1980s.

CAST Producing Artistic Director James Beaudry directs the production that stars Showboat favorite Grant Alexander Brown as Robbie Hart, the role made famous by Sandler. Daniel Gold, who choreographed this summer's "Sister Act", returns to stage this production's stunning dances.

"The Wedding Singer" tells the story of Robbie Hart, whose songs make everyone else's wedding dreams come true. But after he's stood up at the altar by his rock goddess fiance, he makes every wedding as disastrous as his own. When a sweet waitress named Julia (played by Sydney Jaye) pulls him out of the dumps, Robbie is smitten. But Julia is engaged to a Wall Street stock broker, so Robbie must pull off the performance of the decade or lose his one chance at true love.

"'The Wedding Singer' is one of the best musicals of the last 20 years — updating the Romeo and Juliet story to the 'I Want My MTV' world of 1985 New Jersey — with a thrilling and hilarious happy ending," Beaudry says of the show. "The show is pure joy, and this production explodes off the stage with talent from our amazing cast and design team."

Joining Brown and Jaye in the cast are Sarah Juliet Shaw as Holly, Anthony James as Sammy, Benjamin Michael Hall as George, Noah Wohlsen as Glen, Katelyn Murphy as Linda, Lisa Crosby Wipperling as Angie, and area favorite Nancy Teerlinck as Robbie's rapping grandma, Rosie.

"The Wedding Singer" ensemble includes Hannah Asay, Tiffany Beckford, Jordan Drake, Kiara Durbin, Jaheim Hugan, Carter Jargo, Sarah Lewandowski, Megan Grace Ludwig, Dan Rice, Brian Selcik, and Hannah Zieser. J.Kathleen Castellanos is music director. The design team includes Mollie Abkes, Montana Carlson, Sterling Oliver, Dylan Dutro and Brian Seckfort. Patrick Lee Johnson and Teghan Reed are stage managers.

"The Wedding Singer" will run Thursday through July 31. Tickets are available through the Showboat box office, at www.clintonshowboat.org, and by calling 242-6760. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. Adult tickets are $25. Seniors are $22 and students are $18. More information can be found on the company's website.

"The World Goes 'Round" will complete the Showboat's season Aug. 4 through Aug. 14. The all song and dance musical revue of songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb includes Broadway hits from their shows like "Chicago" and "Cabaret", as well as hit songs from the writing team, such as "New York, New York" and the title song.