Carol is a 40+ year veteran of community theater and retired from DuPont.
Remarkably, as a musical theater geek, I was unfamiliar with The Drowsy Chaperone. Sure, I’d heard of it and was aware that the
protagonist was “Man In Chair." But I didn’t know the songs, the plot or
anything.
Well I’m a good student, so I Googled a synopsis of the plot
the day before. I figured, as a reviewer, my responsibility was to review the
production on stage, not the show itself. If I were trying to figure out the
plot, I might be distracted from the production I was tasked to review.
 |
| Connor McAndrews as "Man in Chair" in The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe. |
As it
turns out, the plot is both familiar and joyously random, so one has no choice
but to focus on the production and just go along with the ride.
And what a ride it is! The Drowsy Chaperone actually
refers to a fictional 1928 show within a show (or rather “a musical within a
comedy” as the tagline says) which features a cornucopia of stock characters
from the heyday of American musical theater. This includes the self-absorbed
romantic leads (Kevin Dietzler and Audrey Simmons); the very wealthy, very dim
matron (Lindsay Mauck) and her long-suffering butler (Anthony Connell); the
heavily accented Latin lover (Topher Layton); a pair of gangsters straight from
central casting (Victoria Healy and Max Redman) and many others.
These characters must be played in broad vaudevillian
style, vocally and physically. And every member of this cast delivers. There
are invigorating showcase numbers, such as
Simmons in Show Off, Layton in I Am Aldolpho as well as Dietzler and
Shaun Yates tap dancing through Cold Feet.
Tiffany Christopher shines as the Drowsy
Chaperone herself with As We Stumble Along, described as a “rousing anthem
about alcoholism." But what thrilled me even more was when the entire ensemble displayed
exquisitely coordinated comic timing. These moments were liberally sprinkled
throughout, but a particular dropped cane bit in Act II deserves special
mention. The choreography is stylistically spot on and superbly executed. My
highest compliment to a show is that it is “tight." Kudos to Director/Choreographer
Peter John Rios.
And so we come to "Man in Chair" (although, as my companion
remarked, he spends very little time actually sitting in the chair). On the
surface, Man is the quintessential wide-eyed uber-fan of musical theater, and Connor
McAndrews enthusiastically invites us to share his joy and passion. But there’s
also a great deal below the surface. While he seeks escapism via his favorite musical,
he cannot avoid the encroachment of the less ideal reality of his life. With a
masterfully nuanced performance, McAndrews more than meets this challenge. He
engenders warm affection for his character, which makes the somewhat surreal
final scene all the more affecting.
The production values are impressive. Jeff Reim’s clever set
seamlessly transforms from a somewhat dingy New York apartment to multiple
rooms of a mansion in the Hamptons. Timothy Lamont Cannon’s costumes and Lisa
Miller Challenger’s wigs & hair transport us to 1928 society. Light and
sound cues are intricate and demand split-second timing, so hats off to the
operators in the booth.
In sum, The Drowsy Chaperone — much like the Marx Brothers
comedies on which it is loosely modelled — is a madcap, raucous laugh-riot not
to be missed!
See www.candlelighttheatredelaware.com.