A familiar ring

Knowledge of the movie “The Wedding Singer” is not required for enjoying the touring Broadway musical version of the story, according to the female lead, Erin Elizabeth Coors.

Nor do you even have to be a fan of Adam Sandler, who starred in the 1998 film.

But it does help to remember 1985 and its cultural milestones, such as “Miami Vice,” Van Halen and Wham!

“What I love about this story is that it takes place in that extravagant time of the ‘80s,” said Coors. “But amidst all of the mullets and all of the parachute pants, there are some really touching moments.”

“The Wedding Singer” is, essentially, a love story. It’s about Robbie Hart, played in this touring version by Merritt David Janes, who is the lead singer in a cover band that plays wedding receptions.

When he gets left standing at the altar, he finds consolation from his good friend, a waitress named Julia (played by Coors). Even if you haven’t seen the movie, it’s not hard to guess what happens next.

Coors said the show, which ran for a little less than a year in Broadway in 2006, sticks closely to the plot of the movie. What the live version adds, of course, is a whole lot of singing and dancing.

“This show is very fast-paced from the beginning,” said Coors. “And it has a first-act closer that people really love – but I can’t tell you what it is.”

It works best as a surprise, she explained.

This tour, which has been on the road for six months, uses most of the sets, all of the costumes and most of the staging from the Broadway version. Coors said the 24-person ensemble is “Broadway-caliber.”

In keeping with the Broadway version, the show even has its own celebrity impersonators. You’ll see Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Ronald Reagan and Imelda Marcos.

New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley called the Broadway version an “assembly-kit musical” and a “singing, dancing version of Trivial Pursuit: ‘80s Edition.”

As for the music, the movie’s soundtrack of ‘80s hits has been replaced by original songs by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin.

“You’ll hear nods to early Madonna and Prince and a whole lot of cheesy synth lines,” Amazon.com reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli said of the Broadway soundtrack. “Think of it as the ‘80s answer to ‘Hairspray.’ “

Coors is from Cincinnati and is a 2005 graduate of Kent State University, which means that she experienced the ‘80s only as a small child.

Yet she’s happily living in that decade, every night on stage.