By Marilyn Jozwik
Several years ago, my husband and I attended a wedding at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. These little marriage-to-go places are as prevalent in Vegas as corner bars are in Milwaukee.
It was fun to see how Sunset Playhouse would handle its Vegas wedding chapel setting in its latest offering, “Four Weddings and an Elvis,” and the multiple couples’ stories created by Nancy Frick. Michael Pocaro directs.
They are stories filled with lots of opportunities for comedy, as Sandy (Colleen Hart), a wedding chapel proprietor for many years, helps several couples try to tie the knot – even though she herself has been married four times to the same man, Ken, who is supposed to be the chapel’s wedding officiant but is rarely sober enough to do his job.
Frick’s writing has some wonderful moments, but sometimes leaves characters onstage with little to say and do for long stretches.
Hollywood stars Vanessa (Sandra Hollander) and Bryce (Karl Miller) strike a surfing pose to emphasize the success of their well-known TV series in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Four Weddings and an Elvis.”
Each of the first three of the four scenes features a couple wanting a Vegas wedding for various reasons with proprietor Sandy offering bits of wisdom to the couple. The most entertaining is Scene 3, in which Marvin (Jim Mallmann), a nerdy Nebraska postal worker, plans to marry Fiona (Tanya Tranberg), a tough ex-con he met online while she was doing time in an Arizona prison for a botched bank robbery. After arranging for her early release, Marvin drives to Vegas to get married.
Everything about this scene hits all the right comedic notes, from Tranberg’s gum-chomping, ready-for-a-fight Fiona to Mallmann’s spot-on portrayal of the dry-as-toast Marvin, who mechanically recites postal codes as easily as his own phone number. Fiona, dressed in tight-fitting black leather and festooned in tattoos, curses and flies around the room at the least provocation, but turns soft and pliant when she’s next to Marvin. Somehow, these disparate characters connect thanks to the marvelous performances of Tranberg and Mallmann. To make the scene even better, Fiona’s robbery accomplice and boyhood friend, Fist (Rob Kuhnen), appears at the wedding chapel, creating even more fireworks. Kuhnen perfectly inhabits Fist with his gangster-like mentality, meshing beautifully with the hijinks in the scene.
Frick put her best foot forward in this scene, sending the post intermission portion of the show on a fast-moving wild ride to the satisfying conclusion.
In Scene 1, we meet Sandy, who welcomes Bev (Sarah Briana Monahan) and Stan (Cory Klein) to her wedding chapel. Bev’s and Stan’s spouses have left them and plan to marry each other. In a fit of rage, Stan wants to stick it to his wife and marry Bev, who has grown quite fond of Stan, is all-in for the wedding and wants to have an Elvis theme. Sandy’s friend, John (Michael Fantry), an Elvis impersonator, arrives arrayed in sequined white bellbottoms and shirt and an overdone black pompadour to capably croon a few of the King’s tunes.
The cast of Sunset Playhouse’s “Four Weddings and an Elvis” includes, from left, standing, Bob Hirschi, Cory Klein, Michael Fantry, Jim Mallmann and Rob Kuhnen, seated, Colleen Hart, Sarah Briana Monahan, Sandra Hollander and Tanya Tranberg.
In Scene 2, two washed-up Hollywood stars, Vanessa (Sandra Hollander) and Bryce (Karl Miller), try to infuse life into their dying careers by getting married. They swoosh into the wedding chapel like a mighty wind, expounding their career highlights and striking arrogant poses to an unseen audience. When Sandy is unable to get her usual officiant, over-the-hill Elvis impersonator Lou (Bob Hirschi) fills in, much to the dismay of the vain couple.
I enjoyed all the portrayals in these scenes and the snappy repartee of the characters, who all come together for a very special wedding at the end.
Enhancing the show is Matt Carr’s set, awash in red and hearts, looking like a Valentine’s Day party about to take place. A perfect setting for all the couples’ shenanigans.
If you go
Who: Sunset Playhouse
What: “Four Weddings and an Elvis”
When: Through Feb. 6
Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove
Tickets/Info: 262-782-4430