1/11/2024 0 Comments Drowsy chaperone broadway 2007The musicals of the Roaring ‘20s always had a sinister edge – a shadow following the blazing frivolity. Jamie Grayson’s present-day Man in Chair interacts with Greg Hunter’s Aldolpho, a fictional Latin lover stereotype with a dubious accent. For example, a Rudolph Valentino-by-way-of-Pirelli-in- Sweeney Todd lothario named Aldolpho, the man of “a thousand accents, all of them offensive,” was found, the narrator informs us, after his untimely death, “partially consumed” by his pet poodle. The broad humor is funniest when refracted through today’s cynical lens.įor instance, we get numerous mentions of the gruesome ends various cast members met later in life, the addictions to which they succumbed. The old-timey nostalgia serves as a glitzy foil for present-day disillusionment. The Drowsy Chaperone features song and dance numbers that dazzle, but the show also skates the razor’s edge, as Thornton Wilder put it, between present and past. But in this production, when that happens, the focus and pacing are so off, it’s blink and you might miss it. Having seen the sublime Broadway run in 2007, I know the musical can feel like a nonstop magic trick when done with purpose and creativity.įor instance, what wonder and delight when suddenly, during one of the climactic ensemble showstoppers, the record begins to “skip,” forcing the performers to keep repeating the same kicks and arm flaps over and over. It progressed to the Toronto Fringe Festival, followed by a successful run in Canada and a staging in Los Angeles, finally making its victorious lap around Broadway in the early aughts. The show was originally concocted in the late ‘90s as a fun, raunchy spoof among friends at a party. More often than not, the music almost completely drowns out the singing, particularly during the ensemble numbers. But they’re bogged down by lackluster stage design, limp, repetitive choreography and unimaginative direction. The fact that this staging fails to capture the intelligence and hilarity of The Drowsy Chaperone’s original vision is not the fault of the cast, most of whom are talented and clearly doing their best to capture the energy and pizzazz of the period in which this fictional show- within-a-show is set. The “drowsy” in the title is old-timey code for “constantly drunk,” as the titular character remains throughout the show, despite being charged with supervising Janet before she says, “I do.” The story serves mostly as a device for queueing up the next big number, and along the way we’re treated with wry nods to every classic trope in the book - improbably disguised gangsters (here posing as pastry chefs with some hot crossed puns ), vaudeville-style comedy routines with spit takes, mistaken romantic identities, blindfolded roller skating, and a deus-ex-machina that literally falls from the sky. In classic, overwrought 1920s style, the plotline of the fictional show revolves around preparations for a grand wedding - that of oil tycoon Robert Martin and Broadway star Janet Van de Graaff. In the show’s strongest and most energizing dance number, Michael Persson and Colby Howell, as groom and best man, respectively, channel some pre-wedding jitters into the toe-tapping song “Cold Feets.” As he spins the vinyl, the musical, setting and characters spring to life all around his drab apartment. The play-within-a-play begins with a narrator, called only Man in Chair, sitting at home alone grappling with a “non-specific sadness,” who decides to cheer himself with a re-listen to a beloved old recording of the (made-up) 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. Sadly, the return lands clunkily while also prompting safety concerns for anyone who’s even remotely aware of the current surge in Covid cases. Anderson Theatre, Chaperone is the first production that the Marietta-based theater has staged in 18 months due to the pandemic. Running through September 5 at the Jennie T. It’s written in a dry, tongue-in-cheek way, of course, but after sitting through Atlanta Lyric Theatre’s take on the Tony Award-winning work, you may be mulling the sentiment sincerely. Well, it’s so disappointing, isn’t it?” begins the parody musical The Drowsy Chaperone.
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