"The Drowsy Chaperone"
May 03, 2006
It's a new Broadway musical that actually started out as a little show performed for the show's star at a party celebrating his upcoming wedding. NY1's Roma Torre filed the following review of "The Drowsy Chaperone."
The Drowsy Chaperone is a valentine to theatre fans– a lovely confection that has audiences swooning in sweet rapture. This unlikely little musical plays on a number of levels and succeeds beautifully on each of them.
To insiders it's a validation of theatrical tradition. To general enthusiasts it's solidly entertaining; and even to the very young like my 10-year-old daughter, it's a discovery of how magical legitimate theatre can be.
At show's open we meet a retiring theatre buff who has an affinity for old musicals. Along with his yearning to hear Cole Porter and the Berlins, he tells us his favorite show is a 1928 ditty called the "Drowsy Chaperone" by Gable and Stein.
It's all fictitious but that's where the magic comes in. When the man in chair, as he's called, starts to play his vintage recording of the show, it springs to life around him.
The creators ingeniously crafted a show that in every way seems authentic, and yet they've injected just enough silly antic humor to appeal to modern audiences. The Man in Chair serves as a framing device interrupting the show from time to time to supply hilarious little asides.
It couldn't be more charming thanks in large part to its inspired cast of characters: Among them - Sutton Foster plays Janet Van De Graaf, a star of the stage who's quitting Broadway to marry the wealthy Robert Martin. Keeping her chaste before the big day is her chaperone who's not only drowsy but tipsy from too much champagne.
The show piles on the comic relief with a pair of gangsters posing as punning pastry chefs; and Danny Burstein as the absurdly big-headed, ham boned Latin lover, Adolpho is classic
Bob Martin as the man in chair and the show's co-book writer along with Don McKellar delivers divinely on both fronts. And composers Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison create some truly exquisite gems that are as melodious as they are clever.
The criminally gifted Beth Leaval sets the house on fire. And just when you thought you knew the extent of Sutton Foster's talents she dazzles us with stunning versatility.
Director Casey Nicholaw who choreographed "Spamalot" maintains a marvelously unified vision. The beauty of this show is that it's universally appealing in spite of its seeming limitations– a hokey, phony old musical with no big stars or familiar tunes.
Sounds doomed, almost as bad as its lackluster title, but then what's in a name. With The "Drowsy Chaperone," Broadway is waking up to a bona fide original.
- Roma Torre
It's a new Broadway musical that actually started out as a little show performed for the show's star at a party celebrating his upcoming wedding. NY1's Roma Torre filed the following review of "The Drowsy Chaperone."
The Drowsy Chaperone is a valentine to theatre fans– a lovely confection that has audiences swooning in sweet rapture. This unlikely little musical plays on a number of levels and succeeds beautifully on each of them.
To insiders it's a validation of theatrical tradition. To general enthusiasts it's solidly entertaining; and even to the very young like my 10-year-old daughter, it's a discovery of how magical legitimate theatre can be.
At show's open we meet a retiring theatre buff who has an affinity for old musicals. Along with his yearning to hear Cole Porter and the Berlins, he tells us his favorite show is a 1928 ditty called the "Drowsy Chaperone" by Gable and Stein.
It's all fictitious but that's where the magic comes in. When the man in chair, as he's called, starts to play his vintage recording of the show, it springs to life around him.
The creators ingeniously crafted a show that in every way seems authentic, and yet they've injected just enough silly antic humor to appeal to modern audiences. The Man in Chair serves as a framing device interrupting the show from time to time to supply hilarious little asides.
It couldn't be more charming thanks in large part to its inspired cast of characters: Among them - Sutton Foster plays Janet Van De Graaf, a star of the stage who's quitting Broadway to marry the wealthy Robert Martin. Keeping her chaste before the big day is her chaperone who's not only drowsy but tipsy from too much champagne.
The show piles on the comic relief with a pair of gangsters posing as punning pastry chefs; and Danny Burstein as the absurdly big-headed, ham boned Latin lover, Adolpho is classic
Bob Martin as the man in chair and the show's co-book writer along with Don McKellar delivers divinely on both fronts. And composers Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison create some truly exquisite gems that are as melodious as they are clever.
The criminally gifted Beth Leaval sets the house on fire. And just when you thought you knew the extent of Sutton Foster's talents she dazzles us with stunning versatility.
Director Casey Nicholaw who choreographed "Spamalot" maintains a marvelously unified vision. The beauty of this show is that it's universally appealing in spite of its seeming limitations– a hokey, phony old musical with no big stars or familiar tunes.
Sounds doomed, almost as bad as its lackluster title, but then what's in a name. With The "Drowsy Chaperone," Broadway is waking up to a bona fide original.
- Roma Torre
posted by musicaltheatreaudition.com at 4:00 PM
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