Category Archives: Drowsy Chaperone
Drowsy Chaperone Reviewed!
Huntington Playhouse opens season with ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
Art Thomas, WestLife
When it arrived on stage a few years ago, “The Drowsy Chaperone” became an immediate hit. Huntington Playhouse in Bay Village is opening its season with the show. “The Drowsy Chaperone” works best with a cast that has proficiency in “style”. Huntington took great pains to get a cast that is successful in this area. They succeeded. This opening production is more memorable than most, and hugely successful because of the attention to casting.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is the best musical you’ve never heard of. Anyone who enjoys theater will have a good time. Those who like musicals will have another layer to appreciate in the show. Theater people go bonkers over it and with good reason. It is an amalgamation and celebration of what audiences perceive as “the world of theater.”
Half of the cast of 17 is new to the Huntington stage, and the Bay Village theater is the richer for all of them.
So here’s the premise. A man of indeterminate age is a fan of musicals of the 1920s. He listens to records (I mean the “old-fashioned” disks) and imagines the production in his mind. One of his favorites is “The Drowsy Chaperone.” As he plays the record, he sees the musical enacted in his kitchen.
In the Huntington production, Tom Meyrose is “the man in the chair.” He introduces the audience to the play. In “real life” Meyrose almost always introduces the current Huntington show and welcomes the audience in a pre-performance speech. I imagine long-time Huntington audiences wondered what was going on as this production began.
The “man in the chair” can pause the production and give background notes on the music, the play and the performers in it. “The Drowsy Chaperone” has dozens of hysterically clever moments when the creators “play around” with the conventions that they established, and the conventions of musical theater in general. I won’t spoil them by revealing them here.
Before we get to the cast, let’s recognize director-choreographer Monica Olejko. In some “director’s notes,” she acknowledges the “original and brilliant choreography” of Casey Nicholaw. She used this clever staging, modifying it for the abilities of the cast and the Huntington stage. How wonderful for a director to recognize the art of the original creators and to use some of it with attribution. Know also that there are many moments in this show that are complete creations of the current production.
Meyrose, partly because of his position in Huntington Playhouse, is well suited to the narrator role. He knows what can play well with his audiences, capitalizes on the more obvious movements and avoids much of the “darker” side of “the man in the chair.”
There’s a pair of young lovers about to be married, but not without complications. Shane Siniscalchi and Jen Walker, as Robert and Janet, look, sing and dance the role. The audience really perked up early when Siniscalchi and Jonathan O’Toole, as best man George, did “Cold Feets,” a dance number that melds African-American and musical theater styles.
A pair of thugs disguised as pastry chefs are part of the show, and Ian Atwood and Gilgamesh Taggett work with comedic precision, like The Three Stooges at their best.
Aimee Collier gets to play the title role. The Drowsy Chaperone is supposed to keep the bride away from the groom on the day of the wedding, but is drowsy because of a fondness for cocktails. Collier gets to sing the show’s “anthem,” a rousing tune called “As We Stumble Along” – “a song in praise of drunkenness” as the man in the chair says. She belts and poses, and the audience goes wild.
There are almost a dozen more wonderful performers taking roles, such as the “generalized European” Aldopho. Trey Gilpin perfectly nailed this role and had the audience in stitches with the romantic antics of a character who rose from vaudeville to the “legitimate” stage. Ditto for Kim and Gene Foster as vaudeville has-beens Mrs. Tottendale and Underling.
Rachel Spence has the unenviable and thankless role of Trix the Aviatrix. The only weak link in the show, this role is used as a deus ex machina, a character who arrives and solves all of the problems at the play’s end. God bless Spence for taking the role with gusto and aplomb.
In the spirit of the musical, recognize the hard work of this “ensemble” of four: Victoria DehMalo, Debbie Lenarz, John Peters and Jake Watkin play a variety of characters from servants to party guests to ace flyers.
Sometimes it’s a bit hard to hear the singers over the live orchestra conducted by Heidi Herzceg, but opening night was strong in just about every area – David Glowe’s costumes, for example. “The Drowsy Chaperone” is not as well known as “Guys and Dolls.” I guarantee that you’ll enjoy seeing it just as much – maybe more. The production runs through June 5 at Huntington Playhouse. Make an effort to see it. Huntington made a huge effort to realize the production for the audiences.
Examiner Interview – The Drowsy Chaperone
Looking for some theatrical fun this weekend? We talked with actor TREY GILPIN about THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, playing now at the Huntington Playhouse. Check it out!
Kate Miller: Tell me a bit about The Drowsy Chaperone.
TREY GILPIN: Billed as “a musical within a comedy”, it starts with the Man in Chair sitting in his apartment putting on a classic record and watching it burst to life in his living room. The show is about a young starlet who wants to leave the stage to marry her betrothed, the producer who tries to foil those plans, and the many mad-cap characters who throw things into hilarious confusion: the bride’s chaperone, jovial gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a flaky chorine, a Latin lothario, and an aviatrix. What more do you need for an evening’s entertainment?
KM: What’s your role and what you associate with most/least about him?
TG: I’m playing the role of Aldolpho. As far as character studies go, there’s not a lot of depth. He’s just plain fun. It’s a role I’ve wanted to do ever since I was first introduced to the show, but we don’t have a whole lot in common. I guess we both have an affinity for ridiculous accents, but that guy takes ‘confidence’ to an extreme I could never muster in real life.
KM: What you like most about this production?
TG: The people. Rarely do you see such a collection of talented, professional, hard-working artists having this much FUN putting a show together. With the indefatigable Monica Olejko at the helm, knock it up a few more notches to a one-of-a-kind experience.
KM: Why is this one “special” or “different”?
TG: I’m going to have to call out a few people on this one: Ian Atwood and Gilgamesh Taggett are the funniest Pastry Chefs you’ll ever see. I’ve been told I’m hilarious (even if it’s just the hair). And Amiee Collier in the title role is worth any ticket price and any amount of gas. That girl is amazing.
SLIDESHOW HERE
DETAILS:
Remaining Dates/Times:
Friday, May 20 – 8:00
Saturday, May 21 – 8:00
Friday, May 27 – 8:00
Saturday, May 28 – 8:00
Friday, June 3 – 8:00
Saturday, June 4 – 8:00
Sunday, June 5 – 2:00
Location:
Huntington Playhouse
28601 Lake Road
Bay Village, OH 44140
Ticket Prices:
Adults: $20
Seniors: $18 on Fridays and Sundays, $20 on Saturdays
Students: $10
Box Office:
440-871-8333
Hours Tuesday-Saturday after 1:00pm with 24-hour vmail
Directed by:
Director: Monica Olejko
Music Director: Heidi Herzceg
Huntington Playhouse is a licensed affiliate of the Cleveland Metroparks.
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Do you have a Cleveland area performing arts related story or event? Contact CLEVELAND PERFORMING ARTS EXAMINER, KATE MILLER at KateMillerExaminer@yahoo.com.
The Drowsy Chaperone Opens at Huntington Playhouse
Huntington Playhouse presents The Drowsy Chaperone
Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert ande Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar
Director/Choreographer – Monica Olejko
Music Director – Heidi Herzceg
Thirteen Performances:
Thursday, May 12 – 8:00
Friday, May 13 – 8:00
Saturday, May 14 – 8:00
Sunday, May 15 – 2:00
Friday, May 20 – 8:00
Saturday, May 21 – 8:00
Sunday, May 22 – 2:00
Friday, May 27 – 8:00
Saturday, May 28 – 8:00
Sunday, May 29 – 2:00
Friday, June 3 – 8:00
Saturday, June 4 – 8:00
Sunday, June 5 – 2:00
At Huntington Playhouse
28601 Lake Road
Bay Village, OH 44140
View Larger Map
For reservations, call the Box Office at 440-871-8333
(Hours Tuesday-Saturday after 1:00pm with 24-hour voicemail)
Adults: $20
Seniors: $18 on Fridays and Sundays, $20 on Saturdays
Students: $10
The Drowsy Chaperone: A Musical within a Comedy
To chase his blues away, an agoraphobic musical theatre enthusiast known simply as ‘Man in Chair’ drops the needle on his favorite LP – the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. From the crackle of his hi-fi, the uproariously funny musical magically bursts to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to run away with her debonair groom and her producer who sets out to sabotage the nuptials. Throw in an absent-minded hostess, a pair of gangsters trying to pass themselves off as pastry chefs, a chaperone who drinks herself into a consistent ‘drowsy’ stupor, a Latin Lothario whose seduction techniques primarily involve repeatedly singing his own name, and many others; you have yourself an amazing night of entertainment!
Cast:
Tom Meyrose – Man in Chair
Jen Walker – Janet Van de Graaff / Jane Roberts
Shane Joseph Siniscalchi – Robert Martin / Percy Hyman
Amiee Collier – the Drowsy Chaperone / Beatrice Stockwell
Trey Gilpin – Aldolpho / Roman Bartelli
Ian Atwood – Gangster 1 / John Small
Gilgamesh Taggett – Gangster 2 / Peter Small
Kevin Kane – Victor Feldzieg / Jack Adler
Travis Dwyer – Kitty / Sadie Adler
Kim Allison Foster – Mrs. Tottendale / Ukulele Lil
Gene Foster – Underling / Noel Fitzpatrick
Jonathan O’Toole – George
Rachel Spence – Trix the Aviatrix / Gwendoline Hall
Ensemble:
Victoria DehMalo
Debbie Lenarz
John Peters
Jake Watkin
My Next Show – The Drowsy Chaperone
Happy Birthday to me!
I was just informed I will be playing Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone at Huntington Playhouse this May!
I AAAAAAMM ALDOOOLPHOOOOOO!
