Jory and Riel Fidler-Jukes married in September, 2025. Less than two months later, they’ll be on stage for another wedding – sort of.
The couple stars in the lead roles of Saskatoon Summer Players’ (SSP) production of The Wedding Singer, the musical adaptation of the 90s comedy classic featuring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The show runs from Nov. 13 to 16 at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon.
There are plenty of differences between the movie and the musical, but for this particular production the biggest one might be the newly-married couple playing the romantic leads.
“It was very method of us to get married during rehearsals for the show,” Riel said with a laugh.
The plot of The Wedding Singer largely follows that of the movie: Robbie Hart (Jory Fidler-Jukes) is a professional wedding singer who gets left at the altar for his own wedding. He’s supported by his new friend Julia (Riel Fidler-Jukes) who is soon to be married herself, and a relationship blooms between the two amid many wedding-related hijinks.
Jory and Riel celebrated their own real-life wedding in September, after the rehearsal process had begun for the show. It’s not as if one can plan to be romantic leads across from each other – and as the newlyweds put it, it was Riel who convinced Jory to audition – but the endeavour has been a tremendous amount of fun for both of them.
The pair described the process, from getting the calls informing them they earned the roles right through to the verge of taking the show to the Broadway Theatre, as an incredible experience.
Jory commented that there were times that they had to remind themselves that they weren’t “Jory and Riel,” but “Robbie and Julia” – but said the chance to play a role like this across from his wife was an unforgettable opportunity.
“I thought (my own wedding) would change my mentality more than it did, and maybe that’s a compliment to our production team to be able to treat this as any other show, given the circumstances,” he said. “Initially, in the first couple of rehearsals, that was the moment it felt surreal to be doing a show with my future wife that’s all about weddings.”
SSP is a community theatre organization that both Jory and Riel have been involved with before, and both of them lauded the company, the production team and the cast of this show for making The Wedding Singer stand out as a fun-filled show.
Jory said that the comedy is incredibly funny and the show has its fair share of ridiculous moments – but beyond that, he called the character of Robbie surprisingly complex and someone he was eager to embody.
“I was very excited to audition for a role that wasn’t an extreme. A lot of the characters I’ve had the opportunity to play have a specific archetype, they’re mean or villainous or they’re extremely kind or goofy,” he said. “With this, you get to be realistic, you get to be funny and heartbroken and sad and angry and happy… it’s a cool character to play.”
Riel said she felt drawn to playing Julia because she saw aspects of her past self in the character, and could relate to the decision-making and growth she experiences through the show.
But being onstage, Riel noted it was fun to have to learn to flirt with her husband again for the sake of the performance. And despite all the fun the show has to offer, she said her favourite parts of the show didn’t even include her – they were when her husband was onstage, being goofy and performing with his onstage bandmates.
As Riel puts it, it’s a musical with a lot to offer for all sorts of different viewers
“I hope the audience leaves having laughed a lot and having a renewed sense of love for theatre,” she said. “This show is just a lovely example of taking a movie that’s really well-loved and revitalizing it for a whole new genre or niche of people. I hope we get Wedding Singer fans and musical fans alike.”
There’s a definite (and probably unsurprising) mutual admiration between the newlyweds for their performing skills in the show, and it’s impossible to say if they’ll ever get this rare opportunity to be romantic leads opposite each other in a musical again.
For now, both of them are excited for The Wedding Singer to hit the stage, and are letting their real-life wedding help encourage the onstage marital mayhem that will ensue.
“I will treasure this experience for a really long time, because it not only lets me spend more time with Jory in doing what we love, but it lets me be silly, happy, goofy with him on stage,” Riel said. “It’s a wedding present I didn’t expect to get, but I treasure just as much.”
Saskatoon Summer Players’ production of The Wedding Singer directed by Braden Moore runs from Nov. 13 to 16 at the Broadway Theatre. Tickets can be found through saskatoonsummerplayers.ca or broadwaytheatre.ca.
