Review of the Broadway Musical The Drowsy Chaperone

If I could hand out Tony Awards, I would give this year's Best Musical Award to The Drowsy Chaperone. This Broadway musical was fun, entertaining and original. That's right, original. It isn't based on a catalog of music or movie or a book. It is based on a love for 1920's jazz musicals and a great sense of comedy.

Originally written years ago as entertainment for a stag party (Canadian for bachelor party), The Drowsy Chaperone was a long musical skit for Bob Martin and his bride-to-be Janet Van De Graaff. The bride and groom were fans of old musicals and Mr. Martin’s friends, Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison and Don McKeller, who are comedic veterans and worked with Mr. Martin on many occasions (including my favorite Slings and Arrows) , wrote this for them. Mr. Martin joined them for rewritings and the group took the show to Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival, where it became a cult favorite.

To give the musical a framework, Mr. Martin plays Man in Chair, sitting in his studio apartment sharing with you his thoughts on theater. He is feeling a little blue, and puts on the album of one of his favorite musicals, The Drowsy Chaperone, to cheer himself up.

The musical has all the tradition elements of a classic musical. The plot is very simple and full of stereotypes from older Broadway musicals. It is the 1920’s and prohibition is the law of the land. Today is the wedding of Janet Van de Graaff to Robert Martin. She is a famous star giving up the role in the Follies to marry the love of her life. Feldzig, the producer, wants to keep her in the show, as does one of his investors. His gangster investor has sent a couple of his "boys", thinly disguised as pastry chefs, to convince Feldzig that Janet must stay on the show. The Drowsy Chaperone, of title, is Janet's maid-of-honor, who has been given the job by the best man to keep Janet and Robert apart until the wedding. Janet is torn about getting married and asks advice from her chaperone. Her chaperone says she is feeling “drowsy” and will take a nap. While she is sleeping, she informs Janet that she is “not to go into the garden where her fiancé is and ask him if he loves her.” Which, of course, Janet does. Janet finds Robert in the garden blindfolded and pretends to be a French girl. Robert kisses Janet thinking she is the French girl, so she calls off the wedding because of his betrayal.

A simple plot for a musical, but what makes this different and wonderful is the Man in Chair. He is a huge fan of the show, and occasionally pauses the record (and action) to give you little tips about who the actors were in this “original cast recording” and what happened to them. His annoyance when the outside world interrupts the show is completely understandable.

The cast is wonderful. Mr. Martin is terrific as Man in Chair, taking you through the show and sharing trivia about the show, the cast and perhaps a little too much information about his own life. Sutton Foster as Janet Van De Graaff is absolutely fabulous. Her show-stopping number "Show Off", in which she proceeds to tell the audience she doesn’t want to show off no more, is punctuated with those very same show-off moments. Stage veterans Georgia Engel and Edward Hibbert are excellent as Mrs. Tottendale and Underling (the butler). They have a fun vaudeville scene together in which they clearly are having a great time. One of the things that I enjoy about a show is when the cast is having fun, and this cast is having a marvelous time with this show.

The dancing was fun. It was an old fashioned musical, and the choreography reflected that. I particularly liked the tap duet between Robert and George, the best man. The last time I saw a male tap dancing duet is when I put on my DVD of Singin' in the Rain. I enjoyed the music while in the theater, but I didn't find myself humming tunes on the way out. I thought the music perfect for the show, but forgettable. On the other hand, the next day, as I was telling a friend about the show, I found myself humming tunes, so clearly they did stick with me.

The set and costume designs were perfect. The set slowly transforms in bits and pieces from Man in Chair's drab studio apartment to a fabulous country house. You never quite leave the apartment, but you are still transported to a magical place. The costumes are impeccably designed with enough glitter and sparkle to bring the era alive.

All in all, I would highly recommend this show to everyone. I don't think you need to be a musical buff to enjoy the show. The Man in the Chair shares his love of The Drowsy Chaperone with you and that is all it takes.