‘The Wedding Singer’ opens at Del Norte High School

A musical stage version of the movie “The Wedding Singer” is playing at Del Norte High School for the next three evenings.

It can be seen at 7 tonight (Thursday), plus 7 p.m. Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 in the DNHS Performing Arts Center, 16601 Nighthawk Lane in 4S Ranch. Tickets sold at the door are $7 for students and $10 for adults.

Set in 1986, the show is about Robbie Hart (played by Brandon Papineau), a wedding singer who is dumped at the altar by Linda (Liz Smith) and consequently torpedoes his career due to his now sour opinion of love. During this tumultuous period he becomes friends with Julia Sullivan (Angelica McDaniel) who is engaged to Glen, a Wall Street banker and jerk (Cory Lane).

As time passes, Robbie’s feelings of friendship for Julia turn into love and he must race from New Jersey to Nevada in time to stop her Las Vegas wedding. In the process of trying to intercept her before the vows, Robbie gains the assistance of a group of Vegas impersonators, including those for Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna.

“We had a dark (play) in the fall, a serious drama so I wanted something lighter ... a good ensemble piece,” said Director Stephanie DeYoung. “The movie came out when I was in high school. I loved the romantic story and growing up in the ‘80s; these were fun memories.”

With 30 students among the cast and ensemble plus 16 in the orchestra, DeYoung said the musical is a good opportunity for collaboration between the school’s drama, vocal and instrumental music departments.

“I like collaboration within the performing arts departments,” she said. “(Being in a show’s orchestra) is good practice for our student musicians.”

Papineau, a junior, said he is happy to be portraying the title role during his last show at Del Norte since next year he will be living in England.

“This is my 25th production and I’ve had a lead role all three years at Del Norte,” Papineau said. His other performances, mostly musicals, were through a community theater in Escondido and The Church at Rancho Bernardo. “I like the showmanship aspect (of musicals),” he said.

Papineau said Robbie is a really insecure character, but as the show progresses discovers his self-worth.

“It’s a big challenge because the music is so rock and roll-y and I’ve been trained as a classical (singer),” he said. “I’m also not playing the sweet prince charmer that I’m used to playing.”

McDaniel, also a junior, plays Julia, a young woman who plans to marry Glen, but eventually becomes Robbie’s love interest. McDaniel said her character is “a person in love with being in love. I’m pretty optimistic that it will all work out in the end.”

McDaniel said she has appeared in several musicals at Del Norte and in community theater, and found this role challenging because of the many songs she had to learn, including one that has three versions, each sung in a different key.

Junior Emma Dorn, another long-time stage veteran, plays Julia’s match-making cousin Holly and serves as the show’s dance captain, which requires her to assist the cast in learning its choreography.

Dorn said her character “is self-confident and likes men more than is socially acceptable.” She added, “What I like best (about Holly) is that she is very over the top and really fun to play — a little wild and crazy.”

As for the show’s villain, that role went to senior Cory Lane, who plays Julia’s fiance Glen. “I treat the lovely female lead like trash and everyone hates me,” Lane said, whose first time on the stage was during last year’s musical. “What I like best is I’ve not gotten to play a bad guy before.”

The cast members are Brennan Bunn, Ariel Crabbe, Glenn Donaldson, Emma Dorn, Liam Dryden, Eric Elizondo, Greta Heidrick-Barnes, Cory Lane, Angelica McDaniel, Brandon Papineau, Madison Parker, Cassie Schaefer, Liz Smith and Aidan Turner.

Those in the ensemble are Piper Abrigo, Deema Alsaied, Iqbal Badar, Makena Bar Mettler, Ben Carter, Nick DiPrima, Lindsey Kirkwood, Cindy Mai, Caleb Maranian, Nikki Moallemi, Nick Ninkov, Alex Peterson, Lauren Santos, Ryan Simeon, Elizabeth Soares and Joselle Vega.

The orchestra will be conducted by Louise Titlow. The musicians are Kevin An, Atte Ahmavaara, Joey Alegre, Arman Arbab, Tristan Chung, Andrew Clepper, Adam Garriott, Meghan Gaur, Christian Hotaling, Richard Kim, Pattie Kleist, Vincent Ngo, Ari Shiller, Nick Wong, Danielle Xie and Emily Zhuang.