'The Wedding Singer' Opens in Dexter

Dexter Community Players' upcoming production of The Wedding Singer is a classic boy meets girl love story set to the music and nostalgia of the 1980s.

"It's Grease for adults," Ron Baumanis, the show's director and choreographer said.

Based on the 1998 Adam Sandler movie, The Wedding Singer tells the story of Robbie Hart, a New Jersey wedding singer until his fiancee leaves him at the altar. Heartbroken, Robbie is forced to reexamine the meaning of love and marriage with the help of Julia, a waitress from one of his wedding-singing venues.

Baumanis said that this is the first time the musical will be performed in Washtenaw County.

"There are nice subtleties of clothes (from the 1980s)," said Baumanis, who said that the show was put together in about six weeks.

The show is Baumanis' 37th production.

"I'm a journeyman director who directs all over Southeast Michigan. This is my first production for Dexter," he said.

Baumanis said The Wedding Singer is one of the best shows he has seen in a long time.

"It's a show I absolutely love. I saw it in New York years ago, and I was looking for something nostalgic and fun to do this year with community theater," he said.

Actors Andrew Buckshaw of Canton and Tally Chomic of Dexter also saw the show in New York in 2005 and 2006, and fell in love with the characters and the music.

"I saw it with the original cast," Chomic said. "I was so thrilled when they said they were going to do it (here.) I've been dying to do it since high school. I jumped at the chance, and made my work schedule work around it."

Kyle Patton of Ann Arbor, who plays Glenn Guglia, the chief antagonist, said that the musical was a lot of fun to work on.

"I don't normally get to play the bad guy," he said.

Katy Kujala of Novi, who plays Julia Sullivan, said that she enjoyed making the musical.

"It's a lot of fun. Everyone will enjoy it. It's been a joy working with people," she said. "There's nothing like theater. It makes you feel alive."

The cast and crew — which includes a seven-piece pit band — will be ready to rock the two-hour show Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $12 in advance and can be ordered online at DexterCommunityPlayers.com, or from . They are $15 at the door. Groups of 10 can buy tickets for $10 each. The musical will be held at the Center for Performing Arts.