It's time to party '80's style as Broadway's The Wedding Singer comes to The Bushneel June 17-22
(Hartford, CT, May 9, 2008) NETworks Presentations are proud to announce that the Tony nominated Broadway musical comedy THE WEDDING SINGER will open June 17-22, 2008 for one week at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford as part of The Hartford Financial Services Group Broadway Series. THE WEDDING SINGER, called “One Big Party! A good-natured, high-energy musical” by Newsday, is based upon the 1998 hit film that starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore that grossed over $120 million worldwide.
It’s the ‘80’s, you know, junk bonds, MTV, “Dynasty,” Duran Duran, leg warmers. Robbie Hart lives in his grandmother’s basement in New Jersey and sings in a wedding band. His dreams of being a singer/songwriter are long gone, replaced now by a burning desire to find the right girl and settle down. When his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar, he becomes a wedding planner’s worst nightmare, taking out his bitterness on stage until his eye and heart turn to a new friend, Julia, but she’s engaged to a wealthy Wall Street broker.
“Awesome! Audiences haven’t had this much fun since ‘Mamma Mia’ says Jess Cagle, WCBS TV/People Magazine. And much of that fun comes from the tuneful and funny original score by two of Broadway’s freshest young award-winning talents, composer Matthew Sklar and lyricist Chad Beguelin. Plus, THE WEDDING SINGER has a hilarious and romantic book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, the screenwriter of the hit movie and former “Saturday Night Live” head writer.
THE WEDDING SINGER with original Broadway direction by Tony © Award-winner John Rando, recreated by Paul Stancato; original Broadway choreography by Tony © Award-winner Rob Ashford, recreated by Chris Bailey and Tony © Award-winning set designer Scott Pask.
THE WEDDING SINGER was nominated for Five Tony Awards including Best Musical, nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical, nominated for three Drama League Awards including Distinguished Production of a Musical, and nominated for four Broadway.com Audience Awards including Favorite New Broadway Musical.
Tim Herlihy wrote the screenplay for the film THE WEDDING SINGER and also made a cameo appearance in the film as a bartender. A former head writer for “Saturday Night Live,” he also penned the screenplays for “Mr. Deeds,” “Little Nicky,” “Big Daddy,” “The Waterboy,” “Happy Gilmore,” and “Billy Madison.” He was executive producer for the Jack Nicholson/Adam Sandler film, “Anger Management” and served in the same capacity for the hit comedy, “The Longest Yard.”
Chad Beguelin wrote the lyrics and co-book for THE WEDDING SINGER (Tony Award Nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Lyrics.) He also wrote the book and lyrics for The Rhythm Club (Signature Theater), Wicked City (American Stage Company, Mason Street Warehouse) and wrote the book for Disney's stage version of Aladdin (Hyperion Theater). He is the recipient of the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award and the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award. His plays have been produced at Playwrights Horizon, The Avalon Theatre Company and HOME for Contemporary Theatre and Art. Chad received his Masters of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Matthew Sklar composed the music for THE WEDDING SINGER (Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music). He also co-produced the show’s cast album for Sony/BMG Masterworks Broadway. Matthew is a recipient of the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theatre Award and the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award. His original musicals include The Rhythm Club (Signature Theatre), Wicked City (American Stage Company, Mason Street Warehouse), and various projects for Disney. Since the age of 18, Matthew has worked extensively on Broadway as a pianist and conductor for a dozen productions including Caroline, or Change, Nine, 42nd Street, Titanic, Miss Saigon, and Les Miserables.
THE WEDDING SINGER director John Rando is the Tony Award-winning director of Urinetown. Last year, he directed The Downtown Plays, the centerpiece of the inaugural Tribeca Theater Festival. Other Broadway: Neil Simon’s The Dinner Party and Tom Selleck in A Thousand Clowns.
THE WEDDING SINGER choreographer Rob Ashford is the Tony Award-winning choreographer of Thoroughly Modern Millie. He has staged the dances for dozens of New York and London productions including the recent Kander and Ebb musical, Curtains and the West End revival of Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor.
THE WEDDING SINGER set designer Scott Pask won the Tony-Award for his design of The Pillowman. Other Broadway: The Coast of Utopia, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, The Vertical Hour, Take Me Out, Urinetown, La Cage aux Folles, Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors, Nine, and Amour.
With all that talent, no wonder The Wall Street Journal’s theatre critic Terry Teachout called THE WEDDING SINGER “A huge hit! An ingenious and amusing musical with a blue-chip pedigree. Crammed full of ‘80s pop-culture references, most of which are very funny. The show delivers what it promises, and if you long to laugh yourself silly, it’ll do the trick.”
To join the party, tickets can be purchased by visiting The Bushnell Box Office at 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, or by calling the Box Office at (860) 987-5900. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.bushnell.org. Groups of 12 or more can call (860) 987-5959. Tickets are priced from $63 - $22. The performance is part of The Hartford Financial Services Group Broadway Series.