‘The Wedding Singer'
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 10-11; 2 p.m. Feb. 12
Admission: $17, $15 seniors, $12 students in advance, additional $2 per ticket at the door
Where: Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road
Details: 724-836-8000 or gctheatre.org
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Updated 34 minutes ago
Based on the 1998 hit movie starring Adam Sandler and the 2006 Broadway musical, Greensburg Civic Theatre's stage production of the romantic musical comedy, “The Wedding Singer,” spreads the message that “love will always find you,” says Alex Conte of Springdale, who puts his own spin on Sandler's role as hopeless romantic Robbie Hart.
Conte says the feel-good music of the '80s alone is a good enough reason to see this show.
“Not only is the music catchy, but it is meaningful,” he says. “And with all of the wonderfully written characters in this show, the message comes through in many different perspectives.”
Conte's character is New Jersey's favorite wedding singer whose own wedding was a failure when he was left at the altar by his fiancée. His hopes for becoming lucky in love are dimmed again when he finds out the waitress he has his eye on (Julia Sullivan, played by Alexandra Swartz of Delmont) is engaged to a Wall Street shark.
“My biggest challenge is finding a good balance between being a hopeless romantic and losing my mind,” says Conte. “I also have to keep in mind that my character's parents were in an accident when he was a child and that's part of the reason why he is searching for security through love, rather than money.”
Conte is familiar with the role of a teen heartthrob who can sing and dance, having played Ren McCormack in three different productions of the musical “Footloose,” staged at Penn State New Kensington, The Lamp Theatre in Irwin and Springdale High School.
Swartz says “The Wedding Singer” is a fun show to perform and she is working hard to create a full and complete character portrayal of Julia.
“Because a lot of her focus in the show is on her relationships, it would be easy to allow that to be my focus as I develop her character, but it is very important to me that I know and convey — as much as the scenes allow — her dreams, her back story, and the fullness of Julia as a character and a person,” she says.
Her recent credits include performing in Apple Hill Playhouse's production of “Violet Sharp “ and music director for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh's production of “Legally Blonde Jr.”
Jessica Savitz of Squirrel Hill, who directs the production, was drawn to the show because it's a love story, “and more than ever we need more love and pure entertainment in our world, and I want to bring that love to the stage,” she says.
Even though the plots of the stage and film versions of the musical are similar, the director says the stage show is filled with original '80s songs, more than the movie. The love interests in the musical also are heightened for dramatic and comedic effect.
The cast of “The Wedding Singer” also includes Alicia DiPaolo of Irwin, Pam Eyler of Irwin, Jimmy Gashchler of Springdale, Mallory Hayden Grantz of Apollo, Samantha Harris of Pittsburgh, Shannon Riley of Greensburg and Chris Speranza of Pittsburgh. Carissa Hardy of Greensburg is stage manager, David Minda of Saltsburg is music director and Rori Mull of Irwin is choreographer.
Candy Williams is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
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