Yough grad takes director's reins for Grand Theatre production of 'The Wedding Singer'

After graduating from Yough High School, South Huntingdon native Nik Nemec pursued his passion for theater at Point Park University.

After spending several years working as a stage manager for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, Nemec is taking the director’s reins for Mon River Arts’ production of the musical “The Wedding Singer,” which opens Friday, Oct. 14.

“As a stage manager, you’re sort of the right hand for the director,” said Nemec, 30, of Clairton. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really wonderful directors.”

Nemec will channel that experience into the story of Robbie Hart, the go-to wedding singer in 1980s New Jersey, with all of the big hair and neon colors that entails. The play is based on the 1998 Adam Sandler movie of the same name.

The titular “Wedding Singer” loses his panache after being dumped by his fiancee.

Penn Hills native Tracy Rudzinski will play that “skanky ex-­fiancee,” in her words.

“There are some great gags, and the costumes are so very 1980s,” said Rudzinski, 36, of Moon. “They’re very rocker-chick and Madonna-inspired.”

That aesthetic carries over into the set design, Nemec said.

“Any show based on a movie is a challenge, because you have the movie in your head, and you have to honor that while making it your own,” he said. “The adaptation for Broadway was very realistic: lots of backdrops and set-pieces. We don’t have the luxury of space to do that.”

Nemec designed a set that leaned into the tacky side of the era’s fashion, building out a 1980s-era reception hall as the main set.

“We were able to create this kind of liminal space that the show can live in,” he said. “And that way, we can add set dressing to show that, ‘Oh, we’re in the mall now.’ We had to create something that feels big without having a lot of space.”

The show will be staged at The Grand Theatre in Elizabeth. Rudzinski said the cast of 19 has been rehearsing since mid-August. She’s said her biggest challenge is her character Linda’s song, “Let Me Come Home.”

“It’s a very athletic number in the second act that involves a lot of acrobatics and singing at the same time,” she said. “The music is great, and I’m really looking forward to everyone catching the ’80s vibe.”

“The Wedding Singer” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14-15 and Oct. 21-22, with 2 p.m. matinees Oct. 16 and 23 at The Grand Theatre, 207 S. Second Ave., Elizabeth.

For tickets ($18-$22), visit MonRiverArts.ticketleap.com.