amdram.co.uk

• Oct 8th 2009 7:30 pm to Oct 10th 2009 7:30 pm

Event Details

• Type: Production
• Group: Micro Musicals

Address

• Address:
  
  Arts Centre, Devizes Road, Swindon, Wiltshire

Contact Details

• Contact: Box Office 01793 825645 or tickets [at] micromusicals [dot] co [dot] uk. Web site: www.micromusicals.co.uk

Extra Information

• Other Information: The Wedding Singer, a new musical! October 8-10th 2009. Ticket prices are £8, £7 for concessions.

It’s back to the eighties for a Swindon-based performance group. Micro Musicals are performing a The Wedding Singer at the Arts Centre in October. It’s a musical version of the 1999 romantic comedy film. “Just a couple of years ago, this was playing as a new musical on Broadway,” said Rob Burbidge, the show’s director. “and we are delighted to be putting on one of the very first amateur productions in the UK!”

Micro Musicals was founded by Rob and his wife Tina in 1997, and has put on a musical almost every year since. No stranger to firsts, they’ve produced local amateur premieres of Honk! (2002), Summer Holiday (2005) and Return to the Forbidden Planet (2008).

This year’s production stars Richard Parker as Robbie Hart, as played by Adam Sandler in the film, while Drew Barrimore’s role of Julia is played by Debbie Caddy. The youngest cast member, Becci Smith, is just 17. Rob, who at age 46 remembers the eighties the first time around, is struck by how much the world has changed since then – in 1985, a mobile phone was the size of a brick, the internet was something found only in universities, and CD players were a very expensive novelty. “Quite a few cast members are in their twenties or younger, and it comes as a shock when you have to explain to them how different the world was just 25 years ago! And of course, the 80s fashions … mullet haircuts and shoulder pads. A few of the older member of the cast have dusted off a few genuine 80s gems, too.” It’s been quite a challenge for Tina, who co-produces the show and organises the costumes, since the story requires no less than four brides and therefore four wedding outfits.

The Wedding Singer is cleverly composed in a 1980s style – there are homages to Spandau Ballet, American power rock, Billy Joel and Michael Jackson in the music. And like any decent rom-com, it has plenty of one liners and a happy ending!