THE DROWSY CHAPERONE: Each season for the past few years seems to have had a “little musical that could.” A few seasons back, it was Urinetown. Two years ago it was Avenue Q. Last year it was Spelling Bee. This season, it’s the oddly titled The Drowsy Chaperone.
Well, I’m thrilled to report that The Drowsy Chaperone is an unqualified joy. If you haven’t heard of it, it basically starts with an aging theater queen who invites the audience to listen to one of his favorite musicals from the 1920s. He puts the record (yes, the record) on the turntable and the musical comes to life in his stuffy little NYC apartment. The musical, of course, is fictitious, but the ensuing hilarity is not.
Much of the fun comes from the aforementioned theater queen, known only as “man in the chair.” His comments and asides are priceless. But there’s also much fun to be had in the performances by the wonderful cast, led by Tony winner Sutton Foster. It’s really unfair to single any one out, because the cast is uniformly hysterical. And just seeing Georgia Engle (“Georgette” from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) on stage is a treat in itself.
The show reminds me a lot of Urinetown, although they couldn’t be more dissimilar in subject and tone. The big parallel is that, as with the staff of Urinetown, the creative team on The Drowsy Chaperone are all on the same page. Everything is of a piece: the book, the songs, the choreography, the set, the costumes, etc. They all have the same affectionate edge to them, and that’s really what makes the show work.
Go see The Drowsy Chaperone. It’s terrific.
SCORE: A
Why, it's little Mr. Grace who does the social pages.
Posted by: Chris Mahoney | April 24, 2006 at 11:27 AM