‘Wedding Singer’ eyes Broadway

On the heels of its success with the stage version of “Hairspray” -- its first outing on the Great White Way -- New Line Cinema is attempting to bring “The Wedding Singer,” the 1998 comedy hit starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, to Broadway during the 2005-06 season.

The lead producer on the show is Margo Lion, who also produced “Hairspray.” Tim Herlihy, the “Wedding Singer” screenwriter, will write the book along with Chad Beguelin, who will also write the lyrics. Matthew Sklar will compose the music. He and Beguelin are the team behind “Wicked City” and the upcoming stage adaptations of “Get Shorty” and “Aladdin.”

“Just like ‘Hairspray,’ which took you back to a specific time and place, ‘The Wedding Singer’ transports you to the 1980s -- an upbeat period ripe for nostalgia,” said Mark Kaufman, New Line’s senior vice president of music and theater. New Line co-chairmen “Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are throwing their support behind our stage projects, a way of breathing new life into a property. Still, for every ‘Hairspray,’ there have been seven that have failed -- ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ and ‘Footloose’ among them, so we’re taking baby steps -- choosing very carefully.”

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Elaine Dutka