The Drowsy Chaperone

Synopsis

To chase the blues away, a modern day musical theatre addict known simply as 'Man in Chair' drops the needle on his favourite LP - the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. From the crackle of his hi-fi, the musical bursts to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to get married, her producer who sets out to sabotage the nuptials, her chaperone, the debonair groom, the dizzy chorine, the Latin lover and a pair of gangsters who double as pastry chefs.

Our Review:

7 June 2007

The idea behind The Drowsy Chaperone, a mixed box of delights spoofing the 1920s musical comedy genre, is that you get to see the show of your dreams instead of the one you have to see most of the time. “Your” – our – representative in this quest is Man in Chair, whose opening lament of “I hate theatre” sums up the frustration.

Man is Bob Martin, co-author of a surprise Broadway hit that started out as a private party joke in Toronto; not, one has to say, the most promising of premises. Seated to the side of the stage in his cluttered, faintly seedy apartment, the Man reaches for his collection of show albums and plucks out the vinyl cast recording of a fictional 1928 musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. It comes to life in his hands.

Myself, while not exactly having an uncut version of the Oresteia or the omnibus edition of Arnold Wesker at the top of my wish list, would dream of something a little more, well, charming, as well ...

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Latest User Review

JD - 2 August 2007:

Went to see this tonight on a whim as I was in London and wanted to see a show, and I was SO glad I got the chance to see this before it closed... I hadn't laughed so much in ages!!! It's a completely zany mix of spoof musical, slapstick comedy and narrative with some really stand-out performances thrown in for good measure - most notably Steve Pemberton as man-in-chair, Summer Strallen as Janet, Selina Chilton as Kitty, Nickolas Grace as Underling and of course Elaine Paige who really did herself justice in the title role!! I found the show to be an absolutely hilarious way to spend an evening, and I'm just sorry I won't get the chance to repeat the experience during this run....

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