Richard Kornberg & Associates: The Wedding Singer

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1985!

THE WEDDING SINGER,

A NEW MUSICAL COMEDY,

TO OPEN AT

BROADWAY’S AL HIRSCHFELD THEATRE

THURSDAY, APRIL 27

PREVIEWS BEGIN ON BROADWAY THURSDAY, MARCH 30

FOLLOWING WORLD PREMIERE ATSEATTLE’S 5^TH AVENUE THEATRE

The Wedding Singer, a new musical based on the popular 1998 New Line Cinema film, will open at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45 Street, onThursday, April 27, 2006. Previews beginThursday, March 30, 2006. The Wedding Singer, which is directed by John Rando, has music by Matthew Sklar, book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, and lyrics by Chad Beguelin. Rob Ashford is the choreographer.

The Wedding Singer will have its world premiere atSeattle’s5^th Avenue Theatre on Thursday, February 9. Performances begin inSeattle on January 31 and will run through February 19.

In The Wedding Singer it’s 1985 and rock-star wannabe Robbie Hart is New Jersey¹s favorite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party—until his own fiancée leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding he plays as disastrous as his own. Enter Julia, a winsome waitress who wins his affection. Only trouble is Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, and unless Robbie can pull off the performance of the decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever. With a brand new score that pays loving homage to the pop songs of the 1980’s, The Wedding Singer takes us back to a time when hair was big, greed was good, collars were up, and a wedding singer just might be the coolest guy in the room.

Singer and comedian Stephen Lynch will star as Robbie Hart opposite two-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti who stars as his love interest Julia. The cast also includes Matthew Saldivar (Atlantic’s Sea of Tranquility) as Robbie’s best friend Sammy and Richard Blake (Hairspray, Aida) as Julia’s fiancé Glen Gulia. Rita Gardner (Luisa in the original cast of The Fantasticks) is the wise and lovable grandmother Rosie, Kevin Cahoon (The Lion King, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) is outrageous band member George; Felicia Finley (Aida, Smokey Joe’s Cafe) is the ex-fiancée Linda; and Amy Spanger (Kiss Me, Kate revival; tick, tick…BOOM!) is Holly, Julia’s Madonna-wannabe cousin and best friend.

Growing up in the woods ofNorthern Michigan, Stephen Lynch always had music in his life. But it wasn’t until he saw the film This is Spinal Tap that he found his direction—to be a comedic singer songwriter. He moved toNew York in 1996 and began playing the city’s comedy clubs and alternative comedy venues disarming audiences with his sweet voice and blindsiding them with his sharp, clever lyrics. In 2000, Mr. Lynch released his own “Comedy Central Presents” special, which was one of the network’s highest rated specials, and shortly thereafter released his first cd, A Little Bit Special, which was labeled an “instant comedy classic” by CD-Now. In 2002, he released his second album, Superhero. In 2005 iTunes named the recordings two of the best-selling independent albums in the site’s history. His DVD, “Live at The El Rey,” was released in 2004. Mr. Lynch has performed at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival; has been featured on Comedy Central’s “The World Comedy Tour” and “The World Stand’s Up;” and has been a frequent guest on “Last Call with Carson Daly.” He completed a 44-city tour in 2004-05 and toured more than two dozen cities this fall to promote his new cd, The Craig Machine, which was recorded live at Symphony Space.

Laura Benanti was raised inKinnelon,New Jersey and graduated fromKinnelon High School. She started her Broadway career taking over as Maria in the recent revival of The Sound of Music at the age of 19. Her other Broadway appearances include Swing! (Tony nomination: Best Featured Actress), Cinderella in the revival of Into The Woods (Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, LA Ovation and Tony nominations) and Claudia in the revival of Nine. She also starred as Eileen in the Encores! concert ofWonderful Town. Off-Broadway, Ms. Benanti starred in Time and Again at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Regionally, she performed in My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly (Papermill Rising Star Award), Man of La Mancha, A Winter's Tale, and Jane Eyre, and spent several seasons at the Barn Theatre, performing in The Faces of Henry VIIII & His Wives, Into The Woods, Chopin and Sand, Follies, and Evita. She is featured on several Broadway cast recordings, as well as "The Stephen Schwartz Album" and "The Maury Yeston Songbook," and she is currently writing songs for her first album. On television she starred in the FX sitcom, "Starved." She was raised by her mother, the former Broadway performer Linda Wonneberger (with whom she studies voice) and her step-father; her father is the Broadway actor, Martin Vidnovic. Ms. Benanti is married to the Spin Doctor's lead singer, Chris Barron.

Matthew Sklar is writing a stage adaptation of Get Shorty for Clear Channel Entertainment and MGM-Onstage. Other shows include The Rhythm Club (Signature Theater),Wicked City (American Stage Company, Mason Street Warehouse), and many Disney projects being performed worldwide. Matthew has worked extensively as a pianist and conductor for many Broadway productions including Les Miserables, Nine, Titanic, Caroline or Change, Miss Saigon, and42nd Street. He is a recipient of the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award and the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award.

Chad Beguelin is writing a musical version of Get Shorty for Clear Channel Entertainment and MGM. His past credits include the book and lyrics for The Rhythm Club (The Signature Theater), Wicked City (The American Stage Company, The Mason Street Warehouse), and the book for Disney's stage version of Aladdin (Hyperion Theater). His awards include the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award, and the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award.

Tim Herlihy has written or co-written the films Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky and Mr. Deeds, and was an executive producer of the films Anger Management and The Longest Yard. A former attorney, he also served as head writer of the television variety series “Saturday Night Live,” for which he received an Emmy nomination.

John Rando is the Tony Award winning director of Urinetown. His Broadway credits include Neil Simon’s The Dinner Party, Dance of the Vampires, and the revival of A Thousand Clowns. Mr. Rando achieved prominence inNew York as director of the David Ives' comedies Mere Mortals (Primary Stages, John Houseman Theatre) and Ancient History/English Made Simple (Primary Stages), as well as Lives of the Saints (Philadelphia Theatre Company and Berkshire Theatre Festival). Mr. Rando also directed theNew York premiere of Ives' Polish Joke at Manhattan Theatre Club. ForCity Center's Encores! series, he directed concert versions of: The Pajama Game, Do Re Mi, and Strike up the Band. Additional Off-Broadway credits include Urinetown (American Theatre of Actors), Peter Ackerman's Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight (Promenade Theatre) and Comedy of Errors (The Acting Company).

Rounding out the cast of The Wedding Singer are Adinah Alexander, Matt Allen, Tracee Beazer, Cara Cooper, Ashley Amber Haase, Nicolette Hart, David Josefsberg, Peter Kapetan, Kevin Kern, Angelique Ilo, Spencer Liff, Michael McGurk, Tina Maddigan, J. Elaine Marcos, T. Oliver Reid, Christina Sivrich, Matthew Stocke, and Eric Lajuan Summers.

The set design for The Wedding Singer is by Scott Pask; the costume design is by Gregory Gale; the lighting design is by Brian MacDevitt; the sound design is by Peter Hylenski; the hair design is by David Brian Brown; the make-up design is by Joe Dulude. Orchestrations are by Irwin Fisch; the music director is James Sampliner.

The Wedding Singer is produced by Margo Lion, New Line Productions, Inc., The Araca Group, Roy Furman, Doug Meyer/James D. Stern Productions, Rick Steiner, Steve Traxler/Jam Theatricals, in association with Adam Epstein, Jay Furman, Michael Gill, Allan S. Gordon, Dr. Lawrence Horowitz, Elan V. McAllister, Marisa Sechrest, and Gary Winnick.

The Wedding Singer will play Monday through Saturday at8pm with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at2pm through April 29. Beginning May 2, the schedule is

Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm; Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm; and Sunday at 3pm at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45 Street. Tickets are $56.25 – 101.25 and may be purchased by phoning Telecharge at 212 239 6200 or by visiting telecharge.com. For group sales, phone 212 302 7000 or 800 677 1164. For information about The Wedding Singer, visit www.theweddingingerthemusical.com.