'The Wedding Singer' – Opening Night

I can’t believe it is opening night! I am so excited and ready to have an audience, as is the rest of the cast and crew. The show is ready to entertain audiences with toe tapping music, great dance and costumes, phenomenal lead vocals and a rockin' pit orchestra.

Wednesday and Thursday we had full rehearsals with the pit orchestra, or should I say pit rock band, costumes, wigs and make-up. Each run through was better than the last. Costumes are all finally in place and everyone is coordinating their quick changes and helping each other where needed. Stage crews, lights and sound are running like a well-oiled machine. The auditorium and dressing rooms are blissfully cool in this unusual heat. We even had special guests in the house so we were able to feed off some audience reaction.

We also got some amazing press yesterday. It’s tough to get attention in Ann Arbor during Art Fair week, but the AnnArbor.com, Dexter Leader, and all gave us great space on their webpages. Special thanks to Alana West of Dexter Patch, who came out to rehearsal, watched some of the show and interviewed many of the cast members.

The cast is bringing in cookies to have available for concessions at intermission. I have a friend who makes amazing cupcakes (www.scrumptious-cupcakes.com) and she will be bringing in mini cupcakes for concession. The house staff is in place ready for the at-the-door ticket sales. We had show shirts made for the cast with The Wedding Singer logo. The extra shirts will also be available at intermission. 

The show runs about two hours and two minutes including a 15-minute intermission. It might be a little longer with an audience as we pause for laughter and applause.

Plans to go out after the shows are in place. One of the best parts about being involved in a production is the comradery and the cast parties that follow the show. I will be hosting one of the cast parties, so I also have to find time to clean the house and prep for the party.

After Sunday’s show, the cast and crew must “strike”. All the set pieces need to be dismantled and put away, along with costumes and props. The drapery must be folded neatly and returned to Tobin Lake Studios. Sound and light equipment must be dismantled. Dressing rooms and the green room need to be cleaned and everything returned to its place.

There are costumes that need to be dry cleaned before being returned. It takes many hands to undo in hours what took six weeks to prepare, and everyone is required to participate and additional strong hands are needed.

As producer, my responsibilities don’t end with the show. Crew heads (costumes, make-up, etc) have spent their own money and need to be reimbursed. There are a few professionals that were hired for the show and they need to be paid at closing.

The cast needs to turn in their rented scripts with all the pencil marks erased so they can get their script deposit returned and the scripts returned to Music Theatre International. I need to collect any outstanding money from sponsorships or other payments.

Shortly after the close of the show, the production staff meets for what is called a “post mortem." It’s a pretty gruesome term (after death) but it is what it is. This is where the crew heads and representatives from the theatre company get together and discuss what went right, what went wrong, and discuss areas for improvement.

It helps to improve the production process and address issues that arose during the production. We also are able to determine if the show made any profit which can be used for the next production. It is an unfortunate reality that productions are so expensive and community theatres are usually just getting by. Please support your local community theatre by attending shows. It’s a wonderful experience for all involved.

Please get out of the heat this weekend and come be entertained by The Wedding Singer tonight at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Dexter Center for Performing Arts in , 2200 N. Parker Rd.