Casting Announced for Broadway-Bound The Wedding Singer

Kevin Cahoon will join previously reported stars Stephen Lynch, Laura Benanti, Felicia Finley, Matthew Saldivar, Rita Gardner and Richard H. Blake as part of the principal cast of The Wedding Singer. The show is scheduled to open at a yet-to-be-announced Jujamcyn Theatre on Broadway on April 27, according to a production spokesperson.

Cahoon is currently playing the sinister Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He was featured as Ed the hyena in the original company of The Lion King and has also appeared on Broadway in The Rocky Horror Show and The Who's Tommy. His off-Broadway credits include Hedwig and The Angry Inch in which he also starred in Boston, San Francisco and Scotland, The Wild Party, Encores! mountings of Hair and Babes in Arms and The Foreigner. In addition to his theatrical work, Cahoon frequently performs with his band Ghetto Cowboy at venues throughout New York. In The Wedding Singer, he will play George, a character that dresses and sounds like Boy George.

The ensemble of The Wedding Singer will consist of Adinah Alexander, Matt Allen, Tracee Beazer, Cara Cooper, Ashley Amber Haase, Nicolette Hart, Angelique Ilo, David Josefsberg, Peter Kapetan, Kevin Kern, Spencer Liff, J. Elaine Marcos, Michael McGurk, Christina Sivrich, Matthew Stocke and Eric Lajuan Summers. Tina Maddigan the first Sophie in the Broadway production of Mamma Mia! will serve as the standby for Julia. The character of Jimmy, which was played by Jon Lovitz in the film and was expected to be portrayed by Jason Antoon in the stage version, has been cut from the show.

The Wedding Singer, which is based on the 1998 film of the same name, features music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin and a book by screenwriter Tim Herlihy and Beguelin. The plot centers on Robbie Hart Lynch, the ultimate master of ceremonies… until he is left at the altar and becomes a newlywed's worst nightmare: an entertainer who destroys other people's weddings. Enter the warm-hearted waitress Julia Benanti who becomes Robbie's dream girl--if he can save her from marrying someone else.

The Wedding Singer, which will be directed by John Rando and choreographed by Rob Ashford, is scheduled to have a pre-Broadway tryout at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle from January 31 through February 19.