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The Drowsy Chaperone
A Musical within A Comedy
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin & Don McKellar
Directed & Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Musical Director/Conductor Robert Billing
Produced by Broadway in Chicago
At the Cadillac Palace Theatre
Call 312-902-1400, tickets $25 - $75
Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 4 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 5 at 2 & 8 pm
Sunday, April 6 at 2 & 7:30 pm
Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, April 9 at 2 & 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 11 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 12 at 2 & 8 pm
Sunday, April 13 at 2 pm
Running time is 105 minutes without an intermission
Through April 13, 2008
“A musical should start on earth and end in the heavens.”
–Kevin McCollum, producer
Rush to get your tickets to a completely original musical within a comedy—The Drowsy Chaperone
One of the best nights of theatre I have ever spent! Wow! Hilarious! Original musical with fantastic 1920’s style dancing. What’s not to like? The Drowsy Chaperone is fantastic! So funny. So smart—pure entertainment.
I see how The Drowsy Chaperone won 5 Tony’s in 2006—for Best Book (Bob Martin and Don McKellar); Best Original Score (Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison); Best Scenic Design (David Gallo).
This unique musical is an ode to those old 1920’s musicals that were light on plot and heavy on comedy, with rousing music with catchy rhythms and loads of up-tempo dances and several “take-home” songs you’ll be humming for a while. The Drowsy Chaperone is long on exuberance and showstoppers. It is a musical-inside-a comedy. It is far more than an era piece or simply a fake musical. Besides being a fully original musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, contains a contemporary framework: an iconic character—a pure musical theater queen whose life revolves around Broadway musicals. This guy, ‘Man in Chair’ (Jonathan Crombie) narrates and comments on the action as he entices us to escape the blues of our lives with him as he drops the needle on the LP of his favorite show—The Drowsy Chaperone. Wow, his dreary apartment explodes into a colorful set as the show comes to life.
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Man in Chair, played with empathy and charm by Jonathan Crombie, has many stinging barbs as he breaks the fourth wall and hooks us into the fantasy of pure old-time Broadway. It is refreshing to witness new tunes and hilarious bits with the accurate flavor of classic musicals.
Of course, the formula of a classic Broadway musical necessitates a big initial dance number to introduce us to all the stock players. “Fancy Dress” does that nicely. The Drowsy Chaperone is tale of a pampered Broadway starlet, Janet Van De Graff (the talented triple-threat, Andrea Chamberlain), who wants to give up show biz to get married to pretty boy, Robert Martin (Mark Ledbetter). Her producer, Feldzieg (Cliff Bemis, a Mike Ditka look-alike) plots to sabotage the wedding plans with a wacky Latin lover, Aldolpho (the talented James Moye in a side-splitting comic turn). We meet the dizzy chorine, a pair of gangsters who double as pastry chefs and smug butler among the players.
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Martin and his best man, George (Richard Vida) land a smart tap number that stops the show in “Cold Feet.” Next, Janet dazzles in the ambitious, colorful and terrifically staged ensemble number “Show Off.” Keep in mind the Man in Chair comments on the scenes, the actors and songs in the true spirit of a theatre queen turned musical trivia buff.
The chaperone (Nancy Opel), a drunken Ethel Merman type performs her trade mark anthem in the funny “As We Stumble Along.” The idiot Aldolpho storms on stage in all bravado with the tango “I Am Aldolpho.” Of course, we need a cute love duet so why not have a blind-folded Robert, on roller skates, meet his girl posing as a French lady? Result: “Accident Waiting to Haven” that hints of a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers dance tune in the style of Gershwin or Berlin.
We must have a big vaudeville style dance number and “Toledo Surprise” sure pleases. There must be a “Wife’s Lament” as Janet decides to stop the wedding. But Man in Chair comments that the show must have a happy ending so “Love Is Always Lovely in the End” and “I Do, I Do in the Sky” are performed. The show ends with a reprise of “As We Stumble Along.” Several marriages result.
There are a few surprises along the way as this clever show keeps the laughs coming. You’d be hard pressed to see a finer sung, danced and staged musical. Crombie offers a cute presence and loads of wit and deft aplomb as Man in Chair. We grow to love this show as much as he does. The 90 minutes were glorious entertainment proving that musicals are much more than a name—this Drowsy Chaperone is wonderful. Don’t wait—it’s only here until April 13th. You’ll be glad you saw The Drowsy Chaperone.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2008
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