Drowsy Chaperone Tour A Tad...Drowsy

This past Thursday, I caught the Boston stop of the national tour of The Drowsy Chaperone. Regular readers will no doubt recall my deep affection for this sweet and funny show, which I adored both times that I saw it on Broadway. (Read my reviews here and here.)

And while I remain a devout fan of the show itself, I have to say that the pacing for the tour production was a bit slow. The Broadway running time was 1:40, while the tour ran about 1:50. And when you're talking about comedy, those ten minutes make all the difference in the world, especially when there's no intermission.

There's something about tours, particularly when you've seen the original Broadway cast, that inevitably disappoints. I know this sounds elitist, but for some reason it's true. I think it's that people tend to prefer what they're used to. So perhaps it's not the fault of the admittedly talented cast of the Drowsy tour that I found most of them serviceable but undistinguished, with the notable exception of Jonathan Crombie as "Man in Chair." Crombie had just the right amount of quirkiness and vulnerability to make the part humorous and appealing.

The delightfully talented Nancy Opel was terrific as the eponymous chaperone, and employed some nice original touches during "As We Stumble Along," but for me no one will ever compare to Tony winer Beth Leavel. One original cast member who has joined the tour cast is Georgia Engel, who's just as adorable and ditsy as ever as Mrs. Tottendale.

There are some improvements that the tour makes over the original Broadway production. "Cold Feets" somehow never worked for me with Eddie Korbich and Troy Britton Johnson performing it, but Mark Ledbetter and Richard Vida, as the tour's Robert Martin and "best man" George, respectively, give Casey Nicholaw's tap choreography a looser and more fluid interpretation, and the result is much more freewheeling and energetic.

The tour has made some inevitable changes to the script and the staging. The joke about the Marquis Theater is gone: the one about the Morosco Theater being torn down and replaced by a hideous hotel, ironically the one in which the Marquis Theater is ensconced. And for the dumb-but-funny joke in which Aldolpho mispronounces "airship" as "airchip," someone has inexplicably changed the pronunciation to "airshit." It's not necessary and not funny. Also, the "Show Off" reprise no longer features the line "disappear through the floor," which is understandable because the Janet character doesn't. I've performed in the Opera House, and I know there's room below the floor, but perhaps the requisite hydraulics were too expensive for the tour.

But I remain a steadfast admirer of of this wonderful little show. It has many detractors, including a large number who felt the need to spew invective on Amazon.com. But, to quote the Man in Chair (a part I eagerly hope to play one day), "It does what a musical is supposed to do. It takes you to another world and gives you a little tune to hum for when you're feeling blue."

The Drowsy Chaperone runs at the Boston Opera House until May 4th.

Comments

[Onderly]

The "airshit" variant was in the London run as well, and made me a little sad -- you're right, it's not funny and doesn't add anything.

I saw the tour in Toronto with my mother. I found that the tour Kitty amused me more than the Broadway Kitty, but neither of them made me laugh quite as hard as Jennifer Irwin in the role pre-Broadway. In fact I think each version I have seen made me miss Jennifer Irwin and Paul O'Sullivan (who played George) for their comic prowess.

[Esther]

I really enjoyed "The Drowsy Chaperone," although I agree that it did drag a bit. The vodka disguised as ice water, for example, was funny once. But I did laugh at each and every one of the silly puns. And Jonathan Crombie was wonderful. He just created such a sweet, funny, sympathetic character. For me, Man in Chair was the best part of the show. Plus, it was my first time at the Opera House. What a beautiful building! And a much more fitting place for a musical about the 1920s than the ultra modern Marquis!

By the way, it's funny that you mention how tours can be disappointing after you've seen the original cast on Broadway. "Drowsy" marks somewhat of a watershed for me. I've never seen a show on tour that I've also seen on Broadway. But that'll change next year, when "Spring Awakening" comes to Providence. In the future, I'll hopefully get to see many more shows on Broadway first. It'll be interesting to see whether it changes my perspective on the touring productions.

[Esther]

One other thing, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Jonathan Crombie differed from Bob Martin as Man in Chair.

[chris caggiano]

Hmm, I guess Martin seemed a lot more confident in his quirkiness, whereas Crombie was more overtly neurotic, less self-assured. Both effective interpretations, but certainly different.

[Esther]

Thanks! I think I can picture what you mean. I actually liked the fact that Crombie was overtly neurotic and insecure. It made him very sympathetic, very human. I felt like I could relate to him. ;-)