Marry comedy and chaos with “The Wedding Singer”
Robbie Hart, played by Ian Ogden (12), makes a meager living, singing at weddings with Sammy and George, played by Leo Sobcyzn (11) and Luke Mehta (12), respectively. While celebrating the culmination of other couples’ love, Robbie struggles with his own. Electric dances, heartfelt duets and celebrity impersonations carry the narrative through his messy breakup with Bhavya Srinivasan (11)’s Linda, feud with Jason Shim (11)’s Glenn Gulia and slow-burn romance with Shareen Chahal (12)’s Julia Sullivan. The show ends with a long-awaited union between Robbie and Julia, coming full circle with Robbie singing at his own wedding.
“This musical is very lead-heavy,” Ian said. “It took me a while to get to know my character and all his mannerisms. Once I did just immerse myself in the mind of Robbie Hart, it was so fun to experiment and have fun with that character. Those final moments interacting with my friends’ solidified characters, those moments are what make theater.”
The 44-person cast began preparations last December, with vocal and choreography rehearsals taking place almost daily. Featured dancer Charlotte Ludlow (10) appreciated the emphasis on the score of the show. For her, learning the story through the music set a foundation for the next two months of dancing and acting. She commended the cast for how far they have come from the early days of rehearsal to the first live shows.
“Opening night was really fun since we saw it all come together,” Charlotte said. “Everyone could get to experience all the work we put in.”
The diverse settings and numbers required a 16-student crew to rearrange props and backdrops around the stage, sometimes in less than 30 seconds. Wheels were placed on the bottom of sets and some larger objects, like a bed and dumpster, to make it easier for the crew to move them around. During “Saturday Night in the City,” for example, a bucket from above the stage dropped water onto Selina Xu (12)’s Holly Sullivan as she closes the first act.
Assistant stage manager Sam Parapudi (11) noted the bucket scene was a new experience for the entire crew. After the curtain closed for intermission, the crew had to mop the water off the stage to prepare for the second act.
“With tech theater, there are usually two things that should never be on stage: number one is glitter, number two is water,” Sam said. “And especially in musical theater where everyone is dancing and singing. So it was really interesting that they asked us to put water on the stage while people were dancing on stage.”
Ian spoke about how the cast and crew were always busy even when not on stage, whether it be switching outfits, mics and hairstyles for the actors, or rearranging the stage for the next scene for the crew.
“There are a lot of moving parts,” Ian said. “You saw the water bucket dropping, all the costume changes. A lot of things behind the scenes that had to be sorted out. Right up to the show date we were figuring more and more out each run through.”
