![]() Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. For tickets and information, see Center Theatre Group - Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director Charles Dillingham, Managing Director Gordon Davidson, Founding Artistic Director - presents The Drowsy Chaperone. The Drowsy Chaperone runs at the Ahmanson thru December 24, 2005. If you're reading this, you should probably step away from the keyboard and do the same. There is so much to see and appreciate in The Drowsy Chaperone, I eventually put down my pen and just let myself get swept up in the fun of it all. (If there is a weak link at all, it is Kecia Lewis-Evans in the underdeveloped role of Trix Lewis-Evans is given precious little to work with, and what she has is frequently drowned out by the orchestra and sound effects.)Ĭasey Nicholaw's choreography and direction are visual treats - with several moments requiring perfect timing pulled off without a hitch. Georgia Engel brings her usual soft-spoken, good-hearted, dim-wittedĬharacter to the party - with impeccable timing and delivery. Danny Burstein is wonderful as the egotistical Latin lover, creating for his character a unique delivery that got solid laughs out of this often-mocked stereotype. Eddie Korbich plays the best man in smooth song-and-dance-man style. Beth Leavel, as the chaperone, is also outstanding, attacking her role as an aging diva with gusto. Her first act song is a big, bold production number, performed with a gorgeous voice and a no-holds-barred enthusiasm. The bride, shows Los Angeles audiences what she got that Tony for. In fact, nearly everyone in this ensemble show is perfectly cast, fitting their dual roles impeccably. ![]() ![]() Martin plays a part in the show himself, and gets laughs on nearly every line. The book, by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, is even richer. Their lyrics, especially, are quite witty and they score again and again with songs that lovingly parody standard musical number types that we know so well. Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison have written a great set of songs. A rousing Broadway anthem is one thing, an aging diva upstaging the up-and-coming starlet is another, but when attention is directly called to the fact that we are watching an aging diva take her standard rousing anthem moment - well, that makes every oversung note and overemphasized gesture downright hilarious.īut even a clever concept can fail if it isn't executed properly, and The Drowsy Chaperone delivers. Even more than that, The Drowsy Chaperone is brilliantly self-aware. But since we know a little something about the (fictional) actresses playing the chaperone and the bride, the number is also a moment when we watch a fading Broadway actress steal a little limelight back from For example, when the bride's chaperone (who isn't so much drowsy as drunk) sings her advice to the bride, it takes the form of a rousing Broadway anthem. In addition, we're watching the actors who perform it. The Drowsy Chaperone takes a play-within-a-play form, so we aren't just watching this quaint little piece unfold. Surprisingly articulate gangsters who show up at the wedding seem to come straight from Central Casting.īut in reality, it's so much more. Just from that one-sentence description, you can probably fill in most of the blanks yourself - the bride's attempt to discover (using some form of deception) if the groom really loves her, the more worldly woman who attempts to advise her, the dim chorus girl who hopes to take over her job, the seductions and mistaken identities, and so forth. Nominally, The Drowsy Chaperone is a goofy musical set in the Prohibition era, in which a bright young starlet prepares to give up her life of glitz and fame in order to marry a handsome young man she hardly knows. then get your theatre-lovin' butt down to the Ahmanson, because they've got a two-hour long present with your name on it. Heck, if you love musicals so much that you regularly read and post about them on the Internet. If you've tried to share your passion for that musical by showing a friend a clip, and you realize you have to make excuses for how it must look to them. If you've recorded every televised performance clip from your favorite musical. If you know what it is to be moved by a song even though the lyrics aren't that great. If you get excited over a zippy tap number, even though you know it was plopped into the story with the merest thread of a justification. If it breaks your heart that you missed out on the horribly misconceived dance number that was cut during the first week of previews. If knowing some juicy tidbit about the actors somehow enhances your appreciation of a show. If you get misty-eyed over a happy ending even though you know that it's corny as hell. It's a love letter to people who love musicals. The Drowsy Chaperone is not a love letter to musicals.
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