Plays in the Park opens its second offering this season, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer. We were invited to a preview Tuesday night and just like their recent ‘1776’ offering, make sure you don’t miss this one. Opening night is July 14 at 8:30pm and runs through July 24, 2010. The Wedding Singer is a musical with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. It is based on the 1998 film The Wedding Singer.
Wednesday, Jul 14 through Saturday, Jul 24
Showtime: 8:30 pm (No Sundays)
Roosevelt Park, Edison NJ
Sound Designed by Chris Woolley
Lighting Designed by Roman Klima
Stage Managed by Gina Lupi
Asst. Stage Managed by Melissa Thompson
Set Designed by Mike D’Arcy
Costumes Designed by Karen Resto
Music Direction by Tony DiDia
Choreographed by Dante Sterling
Directed by Chris Patterson
Produced by Gary P. Cohen
Cast: Robbie Hart BRAD SARBOUKH, Sammy ANTHONY YOUNES, George BRIAN HART, Julia Sullivan HOLLY CURRAN, Holly CASEY MUHA, Glen Guglia DREW CYBURT, Rosie ARLENE BRITT, Linda BRE CADE, Angie LYNDA DICKSON, Mookie ROMAINSON ROMAIN, Crystal TENIN BABA NDANANI
Ensemble: DANA BERNARDI, LEO DA SILVA, ANJA LYNN DEITMER, DAVID CHRISTOPHER, CATHRYN DODGE, JARRETT FRANCAVILLA, ALONZO HALL, MICHELA IMBESI, LAUREN KOLMER, JOSHUA LEVIN, SAMANTHA MATARANTE, GREGORY OSBORNE, MIKE PATIERNO, ALICIA M. PIENTEK, CHRISTINA RAK-SAMSON, KAITLIN SOLTYS, M.A.TAYLOR
MARISSA UR, MIKE YOSON
This show was much more than entertaining! It was clever, well-choreographed, eye-catching….the actors are so talented! BUT, and this is a big BUT….I am sorry to say that Plays in the Park deviated from family fare with this one. As a fan since I was a teenager, I raised my own kids with plays in the park. This one, sadly, is one that I can not take my grandchildren to see due to the language and sexual content. This play could have been done with inuendos instead of being so explicit. In times when children should be exposed to wholesome family content, this play falls very short. I hope that plays in the park will clean up their act for the remainder of the 2010 season and certainly for next year. We need family entertainment and plays in the park has always been something that was safe for children.
The show, the acting, choreography, singing was great. I was planning to bring my grandchildren to see the show this Thursday, but after seeing the show last night, that’s not going to happen. It was the first show I can recall that is un-acceptable for the ‘whole’ family. The language and the sexual overtones were a bit over the top Mr Director, and I’m surprised that Plays in the Park should produce such a performance. Disappointing since children are generally a good part of the audience.
I agree that the show was very fun, but I have to disagree with the other comments here. Did you see the hit movie? Did you see PIP’s signs advertising it as PG13? Have you lived under a rock? Plays-in-the-Park did Company last year, which is NOT family show. they’ve done Miss Saigon (which deals with prostitution and suicide), Kiss Me, Kate (sex), Jekyll & Hyde (sex and practically rape), Cabaret (everything under the sun), and too many more to count. Plays-in-the-Park does 1, count ’em, ONE family show a season. They’ve done this for years. If you have doubts about a show, if you don’t know about a new muscial coming to the theather, do your own research and make an educated decision. All shows can’t cater to 5 year olds– in fact most don’t. Furthermore, I know children who came to see the show. Guess what? Most of the jokes went right over their heads. And what they see on television isn’t worse? God forbid one mentions sex in a song, but let’s turn a blind eye to violence? Being punched out? Getting drunk? Really? REALLY?!
I have to agree with what Jim says above. I do not believe that theater as a medium is necessarily family-oriented. With the exception of children’s theater, and Disney, a cross section of the shows in NYC right now would reveal that the great majority are PG-13 or R rated. In fact, children under 4 are not even allowed in a B’way theater. An example: INTO THE WOODS, based on fairy tales, tells of murder and adultery. And GREASE, everyone’s quintessential favorite musical, performed in high schools and communities theaters everywhere, is about teen pregnancy, teenage drinking, and contains the lyrics in the song Grease Lightning: “You know it ain’t no s**t I’ll be getting lots of t**” and “You know that I ain’t braggin’, it’s a real “pu**y-wagon”. One must look at theater as an “after 8 p.m. entertainment”, similar to the way television shows place their more risque/violent/adult programming in the evening slots. And why must theater consistently cater to children? What about the young couples through seniors who just might want to see something mature, intelligent, thought-provoking and without jokes that only pre-teens would find funny. I, who have grown children, would stop going to the theater if that were the case. No one is forcing you to refuse to hire a baby sitter and leave the kiddies at home. Lastly, it is also curious that violence is embraced while sex/language is abhorred. No one complains about SWEENEY TODD (murder and cannibalism), SOUND OF MUSIC (Nazism), RAGTIME (racism, bigotry and murder), CAMELOT (adultery), WEST SIDE STORY (racism, murder) but heaven forbid there’s an off-color joke, then there are those ready to burn the scripts, as well as the theater. There is all sorts of theatrical entertainment out there — stuff for kids, teens, adults, seniors — people who prefer dance or opera or horror or Lassie. The day that everything must conform to a few people’s standards will be a sad day indeed.
Though I do agree that theater might not be the medium for children entertainment with few exceptions, what at the center of discussion here is Plays in the Park specifically. It is a ‘community theater’ after all, holding productions In a Public Park. With that there would be some assumptions that what will be shown are acceptable to all ages. What kids see on tv and what parents allow them to see is another point. Overall, the wedding singer was entertaining and fund for young people, what I thought was inappropriate were pretty minor by today’s standards, but then again, and Like I mentioned, we are talking about a community theater here in a public park.