By Crystal Hayduk
Summer is for weddings, friends, laughter, music — and air conditioning. You’ll find all of this at the Purple Rose Theatre Company (PRTC) right now. Emma’s Wedding(s) is the latest comedy by award-winning playwright Carey Crim, making its world premiere for the final production of PRTC’s 35th season.
Emma is frustrated because her former college roommates haven’t gotten together in two years. When Sallie Ben and Robyn receive Emma’s wedding invitation, they drop everything to support Emma, despite their skepticism about her latest love interest following three failed marriages.
The friends reminisce, traveling through decades to past weddings. It’s not all wine and roses, but there’s plenty of sidesplitting dancing.
PRTC regulars may remember Emma, Sallie Ben, and Robyn as the outdoor campers in Crim’s 2024 comedy What Springs Forth. Emma’s Wedding(s) stands on its own, enticing fans of the original and drawing new audiences.
Actresses Sarab Kamoo, Sonja Marquis, and Dwandra Nickole brilliantly reprise their roles as Emma, Sallie Ben, and Robyn respectively in Emma’s Wedding(s).
Kamoo portrays Emma as scattered and wild on the outside, but with a giant, caring heart. She introduces her distant friends to the Marco Polo app to help them remain connected. (I looked it up, and yes, this app is real.) Her apparent neediness seems to be the glue that binds the group.
Marquis as Sallie Ben, a modern Southern belle, made me laugh the most of the female leads. She tries to hide her fears, but they come out to comical effect. Be prepared for her conversational use of the latest teen vernacular, “bruh.”
Robyn is played by Nickole, who skillfully pulls compassion and empathy out of the audience, even while the laughs keep coming. Between her physicality and dialogue, she is that one friend everyone needs in their life.
Zach Fischer makes his PRTC debut as Bob, Emma’s first three husbands, and all of the other unnamed male characters. He fit right in as the hysterical support to the female leads, while playing each bit with a unique brand that displays his range.
Sarah Pearline designed a simple set with a simulated marble floor and draped fabric walls that double as a projection screen. Be sure to look at both the actors and the screens so you don’t miss a single laugh.
Costumes by Suzanne Young and sound by Suzi Regan are crucial to the comedy.
The details and nuance included in Crim’s plays show that she possesses keen observational and listening skills, and artistically translates life to the script. She writes hysterical scenes with zingers, and then while we’re laughing and off guard, hits us with something deeply profound or philosophical that sticks with us.
In her program notes, Director Kate Thomsen Savina wrote, “There is something so positively liberating when we accept our former selves as necessary … I like to imagine a world in which we understand both ourselves and those around us … as perhaps needing the mistakes we are all about to make. May our futures be richer with the wisdom of our former (and perhaps present) follies.”
Emma’s Wedding(s) is hilarious. When it ended on opening night, the audience immediately rose from their seats with rousing applause. Dance on over to PRTC and join the fun.
Content advisory: This show has adult language and subject matter and may not be suitable for children under 13.
Technical Effect Advisory: In compliance with Actors’ Equity Association Safe and Sanitary Standards, this production includes both water-based low-lying fog and projections and moving video.
Emma’s Wedding(s)
- What: World premiere comedy; performance with no intermission.
- When: Now playing through Aug. 30.
- Where: The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
- Playwright: Carey Crim
- Director: Kate Thomsen Savina
- Cast: Sarab Kamoo, Sonja Marquis, Dwandra Nickole, and Zach Fischer
- Designers: Scene and projections by Sarah Pearline, costumes by Suzanne Young, lighting by Noele Stollmack, and sound by Suzi Regan
- Production staff: Stage manager – Ryan Carlson, assisted by Stefanie Din; managing director – Katie Hubbard
Tickets
Tickets are available online at The Purple Rose Theatre Company or by calling the box office at 734-433-7673. If a performance is sold out, you may join a waiting list by calling the box office.
About the Purple Rose Theatre Company
Founded in 1991 by actor, director, playwright, musician, and Chelsea native Jeff Daniels, The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a professional, unionized theatre and creative home for local Michigan artists to produce original American plays. At the PRTC, patrons experience an intimate encounter with live theatre without breaking the bank. Broadway quality at Midwest prices.
Continuing this season, The Purple Rose is leading with smart comedy: plays that allow audiences to feel good, laugh, and just maybe get a message out of it too.
