The Wedding Singer: A quirky marriage of stage and cinema

MANILA, Philippines - Relatively young in the Philippine theater business, 9 Works Theatrical is shaping up to be quite the ambitious company. It was founded in 2007 by Robbie Guevara (director of repertory Philippines productions such as I Love You Because and Fiddler on the Roof) and Santi Santamaria (corporate executive) with the specific intention of bringing the musical The Wedding Singer to Philippine audiences. Unfortunately, the main setback was the need for a big budget: the production requires a huge number of cast members, sets and props. The Wedding Singer was placed on the backburner in the meantime, while the company staged Songs For A New World and Rent. This month, the idea behind it all has finally come to fruition: the play behind the creation of an entire company had its preview last October 22, and The Wedding Singer’s run officially started with a bang.

Title sound familiar? If you’re thinking about the 1998 romantic comedy film of the same name, you’ve got it right on the money. Admittedly, the idea of an Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore comedy making a successful transition to the stage is bizarre — but not completely unbelievable, knowing the actor’s talent for zany ballads. The musical then went on to garner nominations for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Choreography (among others) at the 2006 Tony Awards. Four years later, it’s finally making a splash in the Philippines, transporting audiences back 25 years, jean jackets and dazzling colors included. With the tagline “Let’s party like it’s 1985!”, the play clearly has something it needs to prove: that the ’80s did have awesome celebrations and people had more fun back then. It ends up undertaking that challenge with much-deserved enthusiasm.

He’s got heart: Gian Magdangal rocks the stage as Wedding Singer Robbie Hart in “It’s Your Wedding Day.”

The plot is pure romcom material taken straight from the movie: Robbie Hart (Gian Magdangal) and his band have gained a reputation as a wedding band that is extremely accommodating — he not only sings but counsels married couples, settles fights that arise, and doubles as a makeshift emcee during wedding receptions. Seemingly perfect for the job, he is a romantic at heart whose views on marriage are suddenly shattered by his bride-to-be Linda (Myrene Santos). Meanwhile, his newfound friend, wedding waitress Julia Sullivan (Iya Villania), is having doubts about her boyfriend Glen Guglia (Jeremy Aguado); you get the idea.

Admittedly, there’s not much to be said concerning the play’s predictability. The character archetypes remain firmly in place all throughout. Robbie is a generally kind-hearted guy, with Magdangal portraying the famed Adam Sandler role with a more earnest, doe-eyed approach and smooth, crooning vocals. He finds his counterpart in Julia, with Villania taking on Drew Barrymore’s original role as a kind waitress. Her boyfriend is a slimy businessman. Robbie Hart’s grandma Rosie (Pinky Marquez) is hip as can be. His band mate Sammy (Lorenz Martinez) and Julia’s co-worker Holly (Nikki Valdez) still have lingering feelings for each other despite having broken up a while back.

The play avoids succumbing to movie conventions in clever ways. The humor takes center stage most of the time and balances the romance, avoiding the typical romcom cliché of romance absorbing most of the comedy only to end up being chuckle-inducing at best. Since it lives up to its label as a “musical comedy,” there are plenty of funny gags to entertain the audience, as well as biting comments on marriage and love, innumerable references to pop culture, and some hilarious, zany antics that could not possibly work in the movie version.

Waiting on love: Iya Villania stars as Julia Hart, joined by Nikki Valdez who plays her riotous cousin Holly

Nevertheless, The Wedding Singer remains loyal to the source material. One of its biggest strengths is maintaining a cinematic feel that is difficult for other plays to attain. It truly does transport you back to the ’80s: to reception halls, nightclubs and dreary offices. The gaudy colors and overabundance of jewelry are brought back in full force. The sheer number of sets, props and clothing changes is astounding, especially considering the number of scenes and locations that the play offers. What makes everything all the more surreal is the crisp dance numbers that make each scene memorable.

The large cast trained for all of two months in order to master nine scenes, 20 songs and two acts riddled with wowing choreography managed by Francis Matheu. The group numbers are given much of the spotlight — as they should — in rousing numbers such as It’s Your Wedding Day, Pop!, Casualty of Love and All About The Green. Effectively summing up the ’80s as both cheesy and thrilling, certain dance moves that are replicated are well-known even to ’90s babies and prove to be extra fun to watch.

It is clear, in all its glittery shades of glory, how much effort was put into ensuring that The Wedding Singer is a play well worth watching. Even those who know next to nothing about the movie will find themselves being pulled in by both electric guitar solos and the classic acoustic gem, Grow Old With You. In short, the musical dreams big, and like any true romantic, succeeds in making such fantasies happen.

The Wedding Singer runs on Nov. 13 and 14 at the Meralco Theater. For tickets, contact TicketWorld at 891-9999.