The Bohemians Present The Wedding Singer @ King's Theatre, Edinburgh

One of Adam Sandler’s better movies (they do exist), 1998's The Wedding Singer does what romantic comedies do best – tell the story of someone falling for the right person at the wrong time. Two decades after its release, The Bohemians – one of Scotland’s oldest amateur dramatic companies – present a stage version of the film, directed by Malcolm J Burnett.

The plot itself is far from sophisticated – the year is 1985, and the soon-to-be-married Robbie Heart (Fraser Jamieson) is the titular wedding singer who comes to grips with heartache, unexpected love and of course, capitalism’s appeal to the struggling artist. After agreeing to perform for new friend Julia’s (Katherine Croan) wedding to Wall Street fixer Glen (Donald Randall), Robbie finds himself smitten with the wrong bride.

No one wants flat bubbly at their reception, and what we want even less are flat vocals. This, tragically, is a persistent issue with The Wedding Singer. The production should be vibrant, bouncing, echoing that 2am intoxicated karaoke buzz. But sadly, some numbers are drowned out amidst one-note performances.

The Bohemians are usually fine-tuned vocally, but in this production, it takes effort to make out the lyrics. However, there’s chemistry on stage, and a lot of this down to Kirsten Simpson’s wonderful turn as Holly, the sister of bride-to-be Julia. Her interaction with the other cast members heightens the drama, humour and her accomplished vocals close Act One on a high. Nowhere is this chemistry more evident than in Cathy Geddie's performance as Rosie, Robbie’s grandmother. With easily the best voice on stage, it’s a shame her role wasn’t larger.

Felicity Thomas and Dominic Lewis’ choreography provides a much-needed smack of fizz. The ensemble choreography is remarkable,  and quite often scenes are entirely redeemed through crowd pieces.

The Bohemians are usually maestros of over-the-top musical theatre but seem to have fallen short this time around. The foundations are all here, as are some cast members' vocals – it just needs a little more oomph.

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The Bohemians Present The Wedding Singer @ King's Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended