The Wedding Singer

The 2006 Broadway musical version of The Wedding Singer tells the same story as the agreeable 1998 Adam Sandler flick: Left at the altar by his fiancée Linda (Britni Tozzi), struggling wedding singer Robbie (Eric Lindahl) falls for Julia (Rachel Quinn) and aims to woo her from her own betrothed by climbing the career ladder.

But unlike the film, the musical’s as charmless as they come. Though one or two of the show’s 20-plus songs have a compulsive, ’80s-synth catchiness, most resemble the mirthless “Note from Grandma,” sung by Robbie’s grandmother. “You’ll find a girl who loves you, sure as waves will find the shore,” goes the number, “and when you’re sad, remember, Linda is a skanky whore.” This smart-mouthed grandma is lifted right from the film; here, unfortunately, she’s given lyrics that hinge on a sour punch line you can spot a mile away. Swearing senior citizens, Ebonics-spewing white men and oversize car phones (Singer’s set in the ’80s) all feature heavily in this musical, as in the film. But slapdash (re-)writing zaps them of their onscreen charm.

Bellie makes good use of Circle’s spacious, shabby-chic temporary venue in Oak Park: Though one set serves for a handful of locales, the story never gets confusing. The three-piece band fills the theater surprisingly well.

The cast features Circle’s signature combination of next-hot-things and the merely enthusiastic. Tommy Thurston (who emanates weird, watchable energy) and Tozzi, in particular, make the background intriguing even when the downstage action isn’t.

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