Ah, the wedding singer. Every wedding has one (well, almost). Whether it's during the ceremony or the reception, and whether it's a live person or even a CD, weddings almost always include music of some sort.

Tacoma Musical Playhouse brings music of the ‘80s to the stage with the musical The Wedding Singer, based on the Adam Sandler film. 

The main difference between Sandler's movie and TMP's production is the stage version is now chock-full of singing and dancing. The songs from the '80s are gone, but replaced with enough references to make you feel like you got your illicit Boy George fix. 

With music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and under the direction of TMP Managing Artistic Director Jon Douglas Rake, The Wedding Singer follows Robbie Hart and his friends through experiences in heartbreak - and then a new love. The story line is almost identical to the film, but there are a few necessary and acceptable changes.

The technical aspects of the play were creative. Instead of building an elaborate set, the main portion of the stage served as, well, a stage. This was where the wedding receptions happened. When the space was needed for something else, set pieces were rolled in to create a restaurant, bar, bathroom or whatever else was necessary. Stage left (the right side if you're looking from the audience) is Robbie's bedroom, complete with ‘80s posters and obligatory leopard print bedspread; and stage right is Julia's bedroom. The costumes and hair were also totally rad.

Now for the cast: The ensemble was made up of a talented group that sang and danced their way through the lighthearted script. Several students from various high schools are either debuting or returning to the TMP stage for The Wedding Singer, and all of them hold up well. Of the principal actors, all performed quite admirably. Some stood out more than others (either because they vamped it up or were effortlessly natural), but Robbie's Granny, Rosie, stole the show more than once. Granny, played by Marilee Johnson, not only had good comedic timing - but she could also get down! Julia (Elise Campello) and her cousin, Holly (Leah Wickstrom), were great leading ladies, and each brought their own attitude and style. Robbie's band mates, Sammy (Cameron Lewis) and George (Grant Troyer) were fun to watch and really captured ‘80s personas. Robbie (Matt Posner) was no Adam Sander, but he did get the laughs and was entertaining to watch - in retrospect, quite possibly because he didn't try to be Sandler.

In TMP's The Wedding Singer, there were only really two disappointing moments - and the most bothersome stemmed from sound issues with the actor's microphones.  If a theatre uses technology, it's frustrating when it fails. That being said, there are many factors that could have caused the mics to cut out - and many of those could not have been foreseen or remedied during the performance.

The other disappointment came toward the end of the production when Glenn (James Padilla), the epitome of '80s self-absorption, punched Robbie with a nowhere-close-to-being-believable stage punch. That kind of stuff always bothers me.

Of course, it is better to pull punches than to sock the lead in the jaw if he still has lines and songs to perform.

Here's the bottom line when it comes to Tacoma Musical Playhouse's production of The Wedding Singer: Even though derivative works aren't usually as good as the original, TMP pulls off an enjoyable, nostalgic show.

[Tacoma Musical Playhouse, The Wedding Singer, through March 28, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $18-$25, 7116 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.6867]