‘Wedding Singer’ Takes Audiences Back to the ’80s

By Kristen Keleschenyi
The Tube City Almanac
April 10, 2024
Posted in: Entertainment

Daniel Cipcic (Robbie Hart) and the cast of “The Wedding Singer” are ready to rock the house.

Break out the Aqua Net and your jelly bracelets, because “The Wedding Singer” is about to open at East Allegheny High School. The musical will take audiences back to 1985 and tells the story of Robbie Hart, a wedding singer, and how sometimes true love is right in front of your eyes.

Amanda Rosco, EA’s musical director, said the cast they had to work with this year is quite diverse with a variety of skill sets. It was time to take a break, she said, from the “Disney-esque” productions of the past few years and do something a little bit different.

“This is not a year where we looked at them (the cast) and went ‘Wow, we need to do something really serious,’” Rosco said.

Senior Alauna Carter plays one of the female leads, Holly, and she was excited to change things up after doing the musical “Anastasia” last year and “Newsies” the year before. “I feel like with it being a comedy it gives more freedom and there is less pressure on everybody,” Carter said.

“The Wedding Singer” is a bucket list show for Rosco, and the timing was finally right. “Any time we cast, we look at what are our strengths and our weaknesses of the kids that are in front of us — what is going to make them shine and excel? What are they going to enjoy? What are they going to feel good about?”

Senior Daniel Cipcic plays Robbie Hart and he really had to get out of his comfort zone this year and become a student leader. He is one of the more experienced cast members and has the lead role.

Almost half of the 36-student cast are starring in their first production. “It's been difficult to step up from always having a lot of people on stage with you to being all alone,” Cipcic said. “That’s been a challenge.”

Justice Murray-Young, Alaina More and Lily Bowman rehearse a scene from “The Wedding Singer.”

Another challenge with doing a show like “The Wedding Singer” is capturing the right mood, Rosco said.

“There is stuff that’s iconic, because it is based on the movie, people are expecting to see and hear and how do you balance making sure people’s expectations are met,” Rosco said.

While the plot of the musical is similar to the movie, there are some differences in characters and songs, but Rosco added, “it’s just a fun show. It’s a feel-good (show) — you’re going to laugh and it has a nice message.”

With an influx of new students in the cast and stage crew, plus a student costume assistant, this year has been a time of growth for EA’s musical department.

“There are going to be some students who surprise a lot of people in the community, somebody who is maybe a more quiet student walking the hallways who is really going to step out and shine on stage,” said Rosco. “Plus, with a pit of musicians that includes three electric guitars and three keyboards — the show is going to rock!"

Kristen Keleschenyi is a freelance writer in North Versailles Twp. and one of the hosts of the Kristen & Amber Show on Tube City Online Radio at 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 p.m. Mondays and 4 p.m. Thursdays. She may be reached at kbishop25@hotmail.com.

Originally published April 10, 2024.

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