The year was 1985. Ronald Reagan was president. “We Are the World” was recorded by USA for Africa for charity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a blood test for AIDS. “Amadeus” won Best Picture at the 57th Academy Awards. “Back to the Future” opened in American theatres and ended up being the highest grossing film of the year. The first Nintendo home video game console in the U.S. was released. Wagon Wheel Theatre audiences will get to go back in time to the “Decade of Greed” when the theater presents the musical version of the 1998 movie “The Wedding Singer,” through July 27. The show is set in 1985. Matt Hill plays Robbie Hart (played by Adam Sandler in the film version), while Stephanie Cowan is Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore’s role). “Robbie Hart is a die-hard musician. He loves to play, he loves to write and he loves weddings,” Hill said. “Wedding singing is something he’s been doing for the past six years and he’s really enjoyed it. Up to this point, he’s loved everything about love. He writes songs about love, he writes songs about loving love. That’s kind of how he does his life.” Cowan said, “Julia is like a sweet and sassy girl who is a waitress. She’s engaged to Glen Guglia, who’s this rich man. He really doesn’t treat her right so it’s interesting when she figures out what real love is supposed to be.” Hill said he loved the movie when it came out and watched it recently several times for reference. The musical is similar in tone and style to the movie, he said. “So it’s definitely in the world of the ‘’80s.’ It’s kind of the extreme ’80s so everyone can get a good laugh out of it. There are a couple of things that are different, but for the most part it’s the same story line,” he stated. “One of the songs in the movie is in the show, which is always a crowd pleaser because people love hearing songs that also are in the movie. I think it’s similar. There are a lot of lines that are the same and a lot of temperament of the characters are similar. So it’s very similar,” Cowan added. “The good laughs from the movie are still in the musical, and more. It’s very three-dimensional. It has to be on the stage,” Hill interjected. Cowan said they did a designer run on the show Sunday. Those involved in the show who grew up in the 1980s were laughing at things that younger people like Cowan and Hill didn’t understand as much. “It’s been strange,” said Hill. “I’ve done a lot of research on this show. Finding what these references mean. There’s a lot of references to musicians and songs that, of course, I’m familiar with, but, I didn’t live during that period. I generally was not born at that time. And so trying to understand that world so I can portray the jokes correctly has been a fun little adventure, and I think it’s paying off well.” Performing in a show set in a relatively recent past has its advantages and challenges, Hill and Cowan stated. “It’s interesting. We actually just finished ‘Hello, Dolly!’ which takes place in 1890, so we’re going 100 years and then some forward. So it’s interesting because, I think, for a period piece it’s more difficult because we don’t understand how in the 1800s they would dress, how they would hold themselves and the proper etiquette. I think being able to watch a movie like ‘The Wedding Singer’ – that is really telling of the time – makes it easier for us because we’re more similar to the characters we are playing,” Cowan said. “For that reason it is easier,” Hill noted. “And at the same time, strangely, it’s more difficult because it’s so recent it’s so fresh in a lot of people’s minds, that you have to portray it exactly the way it is. ‘Hello, Dolly!’ there’s a little leeway because no one lived during the 1890s and we can kind of futz with it and make it up and play with it the way actors can. But there’s a very strict behavior that went on in the ’80s and a style of talking, a style of walking that we have to recreate to the best of our abilities. And we’ve been successful I think so far.” All the songs in the musical version of “The Wedding Singer” are originals written for the stage show, except for the song taken from the movie, Cowan said. “Almost every song has a beat that is very reminiscent of a specific song from the ’80s. They’re not so much parodies as they are drawn from ’80s material and there are quite a few songs that you’ll swear ‘I heard this before,’ when in fact it was written for the musical,” Hill said. “The Wedding Singer” also is the third show at the Wagon Wheel this season based on a hit movie. The two previous ones were “Shrek, the Musical” and “9 to 5, the Musical.” “I think it’s awesome,” Hill stated. “‘Shrek’ was a great one to start off with because we grew up on ‘Shrek,’ or I definitely grew up on ‘Shrek.’ I remember seeing all those movies at theaters and just loving those. So the chance to do that for an audience and just live in that world was fantastic. And the kids all seeing it, afterwards, was so rewarding.” Hill continued, “And ‘9 to 5’ was similar, even though I hadn’t really grown up on it in the same way. Knowing the movie and getting to create that world on stage is always a pleasure. ‘The Wedding Singer’ has been even more so because it’s again a movie that we knew as children and that is so ridiculous. It’s a little outlandish but still realistic and everything about it is just fun to play. So it’s been really really great. To know it and then create it.” Cowan agreed, saying, “I think it’s a great tactic to write a musical based on a movie because it already comes with a stigma, it already comes with a feeling towards it. So being in Warsaw, I think it’s a great idea to do musicals that also are movies because people have already seen it. We don’t have to sell them on a show that they don’t know. They can say, ‘I’m excited to come see “The Wedding Singer”’ because they’ve seen the movie. And I think that’s a great tactic especially for theaters outside of New York, because New York people will come no matter what. But being in Warsaw, we need a little help. It’s great for them to have the emotional attachment to ‘9 to 5’ or ‘Hello, Dolly!’, that movie. So I think it’s a great thing.” To watch the complete two-part video of this interview, visit the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com “The Wedding Singer” runs through July 27 at the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Tickets range from $16-$34. Discounts are available for college students and on designated performances for seniors. For more information, visit wagonwheeltheatre.org or call 574-267-8041.
