Christos Nicholoudis as Robbie Hart and Lacey Knispel as Julia in "The Wedding Singer." Provided photo.

This week, the Sarasota Players opened its 96th season with the city-premiere of The Wedding Singer. The musical, which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical after premiering on Broadway in 2006, is an ode to the 1980s where big hair and even bigger emotions reigned supreme. The Wedding Singer, based upon the 1998 film of the same name starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, follows Robbie Hart, a wedding singer in 1985 New Jersey. Things are going well for Hart—his band is playing well and he’s about to get hitched to his fiancee Linda—until Linda leaves him at the altar, claiming that she wanted to marry “a rock star” and not just a wedding singer.

Hart is distraught and begins sabotaging every wedding he plays, until he meets Julia, a waitress, and quickly falls in love with her. Julia, however, is engaged to Glen, a smooth-talking Wall Street executive who cares more about finance than he does his fiancee. “This season’s title is Rebels and Dreamers: A Season of Bold Voices,” says Amanda Heisey, director of marketing at the Players. “Our five productions range from dreamers chasing love to rebels challenging society’s rules and each shows a story of resilience, ambition and a fight to be heard. The Wedding Singer follows mostly the same plot of the film—Robbie is left at the altar and has to get out of his funk and ends up falling in love himself.”

To those who aren’t familiar with the film, the plot may sound dire, but the story itself is lighthearted and funny. Hart’s emotions veer wildly from arrogance to desperation, propounded by original musical numbers such as Somebody Kill Me, Come Out of the Dumpster and Move That Thang. The Wedding Singer has also never been produced in Sarasota—the Players had the rights to the production for its 91st season, but had to cancel the production due to the pandemic.

“Just like the movie, the musical is also a really fun story. There are a lot of new songs that people may not have heard, but everything has that ‘80s flair,” says Heisey. “Every year, we like to put in a show that’s new to our area, so we chose to bring The Wedding Singer back into this season and produce it.”

The Wedding Singer, September 24-October 5, The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 200, Sarasota, 34239

Christos Nicholoudis as Robbie Hart and Lacey Knispel as Julia in "The Wedding Singer." Provided photo.

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