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| Happy McPartlin as the Drowsy Chaperone |
The Drowsy Chaperone, a light and bouncy show, is just what is called for during the waning days of August. The show has no message, no angst, it is just pure escapism. It's a nice way to divert ourselves from about the upcoming end of the Summer.
The show started out as a loose production amongst friends, performed at a party to celebrate the engagement of Bob Martin, a Canadian writer, actor and comedian and comedienne Janet Van De Graff.
The performance was a spoof of old musicals and the Marx Brothers movies of which Lisa Lambert, a friend of the groom was fond. Eventually they reworked the show to focus on one 1920's style musical and added a character, the man in the chair, to narrate. The finished show ended up winning five Tony® Awards on Broadway.
The show within a show takes place in the man in the chair's (Lennie Watts) apartment and in his mind. The "fourth wall” of theater is broken immediately as the man greets us and asks how we are doing. He speaks to the audience all evening, pointing out plot twists and making commentary on the actors careers.
The set design by Kimberly V. Powers is effective in conveying the man in the chair's personality and cleverly hides the entrance and exit points through refrigerators, bookcases a Murphy bed. (the exits are memorable). The man is a collector, you see it through his stacks of newspapers, and other items such as a Darth Vader mask. He is also a fan of musicals, a love passed down to him by his mother. He has a stack of records she left to him of her beloved 1920's soundtracks.
Throughout the show he laments modern conveniences like telephones interrupting his escapes. He's never seen the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” but it is one of his favorite records. The characters come to life in his apartment while he sits in his chair. He varies between quietly listening and visualizing to barging into the action to inject his opinions.
The “musical” itself is a parody of the madcap movies of the time with exaggerated movements, actors broadly playing to the audience waiting for the reaction and cheesy jokes and puns that elicit groans. However, like the ice skater who becomes a clown on ice or the pool player who accomplishes amazing trick shots, the actors have to have honed their skills to pull off “bad” acting.
This cast fills the bill from Sean Montgomery's (Robert Martin) fake weatherman/Presidential candidate grins to Happy McPartlin's (The Drowsy Chaperone) drunken/diva act. The actor who steals the show (at least for chewing the scenery) is Tony Castellanos as Aldolpho. According to the man in the chair he is a former silent film actor trying to adapt to the stage. With the pencil mustache, outrageous accent and cape, he overplays Aldolpho as every stereotype of the “Latin Lover”.
Two actors in the Theater's intern program are standouts as the Gangsters/Pastry Chefs (I'm not going to explain it – just go see it). James Wells, a recent graduate of Coastal Carolina University and Derek Johnson, a recent graduate of Northern Kentucky University were fantastic in their comedic turn that mirrored not only the Marx Brothers but the Three Stooges in a kinder, gentler fashion.
The talking out of the corner of their mouths and lifting their aprons to show their guns (don't ask) also touched a little on bad gangster movies in the 50's. Both are terrific dancers, with Wells making it appear effortless even with his hands in his pockets, and both should have great careers ahead of them.
Lennie Watts, back at Theatre by the Sea after 10 years, hits the right tone for the man in the chair. Content with himself and his hermit like life, yet nostalgic for what he perceives to be simpler times. He is a font of knowledge about the theater and the actors and makes no apologies for his routine of escaping into the musicals.
The sound design by Ryan P. McGinty is carried off effortlessly with the live band directed by Aaron McAllister providing seamless pickups where the recorded tracks of the static filled record leaves off. Some of the most challenging moments for the actors are the freeze frames that occur when the record stops or in one scene skips. To watch them have to sing, dance and repeat over and over until the man in the chair realizes the record is skipping is an amazing sequence and a testament to the cast's talents. The dancing is especially strong in this show and an absolute joy to watch.
The Drowsy Chaperone is a great escape comedy for a nice summer night out at the old barn in Matunuck. Tickets are available online or by calling 401-782-TKTS(8587).
This article is republished, with permission, from the South Kingston Patch.com.
The Drowsy Chaperone runs through September 4.
The Drowsy Chaperone runs through September 4.