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The Drowsy Chaperone

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The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with

book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and
music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg
Morrison. It is a parody of American musical
comedy of the 1920s. The story concerns a
middle-aged, asocial musical theatre fan. As he
plays the record of his favorite musical, the
fictional 1928 hit The Drowsy Chaperone, the
show comes to life onstage, as he wryly
comments on the music, story, and actors.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Broadway production windowcard

Music Lisa Lambert

Greg Morrison

Lyrics Lisa Lambert

Greg Morrison

Book Bob Martin

Don McKellar

Productions 1998 Toronto

1999 Toronto revival
2001 Toronto revival
2005 Los Angeles
2006 Broadway
2007 West End
2007 First National
Tour
2009 Japan
2009 Second National
Tour
2010 Ogunquit
2010 Melbourne
2013 São Paulo
2015 Hamilton

Awards Tony Award for Best

Original Score
Tony Award for Best
Book of a Musical

The Drowsy Chaperone in Imatra, Finland 2016

The Drowsy Chaperone debuted in 1998 at The

Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1
May 2006. The show was nominated for
multiple Broadway and West End theatre
awards, winning five Tony Awards and seven
Drama Desk Awards. The show has had major
productions in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York,
London, Melbourne and Japan, as well as two
North American tours as well as Batemans Bay
in south eastern Australia.

History

Synopsis …

Man in Chair, a mousy, agoraphobic Broadway

fanatic, seeking to cure his "non-specific
sadness", listens to a recording of the fictional
1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone.
As he listens to this rare recording, the
characters appear in his dingy apartment, and
it is transformed into an impressive Broadway
set with seashell footlights, sparkling furniture,
painted backdrops, and glitzy costumes. Man
in Chair provides a running commentary
throughout the show from the stage, though he
is on the audience side of the fourth wall,
invisible to the players. This commentary
sporadically reveals aspects of his personal
life, such as his failed marriage and implied
attraction to Drowsy's leading man.

In the opening number, "Fancy Dress", the

premise and characters of the show are
introduced: it's the day of the wedding of oil
tycoon Robert Martin and Broadway star Janet
Van De Graaff, who plans to give up her career
for married life. Those in attendance include
aging hostess Mrs. Tottendale; her loyal
employee known only as Underling; Robert's
best man, George; Broadway producer
Feldzieg, who is hoping to persuade Janet to
forgo marriage and continue starring in
Feldzieg's Follies; ditzy flapper Kitty, who
hopes to take Janet's place in the Follies; two
gangsters disguised as pastry chefs; self-
proclaimed famed Latin lover Aldolpho; Janet's
alcoholic Chaperone, who is supposed to keep
her away from Robert until the wedding; and
Trix, an aviatrix.

The gangsters reveal to Feldzieg that their

boss has invested in the Follies and wants to
make sure the show is a financial success,
which it presumably will not be without Janet.
They tell Feldzieg that he must sabotage the
wedding and make sure Janet stays in show
business. Feldzieg enlists the vain, easily
manipulated Aldolpho to seduce Janet and
spoil her relationship with Robert. Meanwhile,
in his room, Robert realizes that he is nervous
about the wedding. To get rid of his "Cold
Feets", he tap dances, and George, who is also
nervous, joins in the dance. George notes that
tap dancing could be injurious, so he suggests
that Robert go roller skating in the garden
instead, while wearing a blindfold to keep him
from seeing Janet. Outside by the pool, Janet
tells reporters that she is happy to be getting
married and ostensibly doesn't want to be an
actress anymore ("Show Off"), but her song
evolves into a big production number.

In Janet's room, Janet is having doubts about

whether Robert really loves her, and she asks
the Chaperone for advice. The Chaperone
responds with the extemporaneous "As We
Stumble Along", a "rousing anthem to
alcoholism", which, Man in Chair explains, the
original actress playing the Chaperone insisted
on including in the show. More helpfully, the
chaperone tells Janet that she is feeling
"drowsy" and must take a nap, giving Janet the
opportunity to ask Robert if he loves her. Janet
leaves for the garden, and Aldolpho enters,
mistaking the Chaperone for Janet. The
Chaperone happily pretends to be Janet and
allows Aldolpho to "seduce" her ("I Am
Aldolpho"). Janet meets the blindfolded and
roller-skating Robert in the garden, and she
pretends to be a French woman, "Mimi," "from
ze middle part [of France], where zey make ze
toast." She asks Robert how he met his bride,
and he describes their lovestruck first meeting
("Accident Waiting to Happen"). Carried away
by his emotions, Robert kisses "Mimi" because
she seems just like Janet. Janet furiously
storms off because Robert has "kissed a
strange French girl".

Kitty, hoping to take Janet's place in the

Follies, tries to demonstrate her mind-reading
talents to Feldzieg, but he is unimpressed. The
gangsters confront Feldzieg, threatening him
with a murderous "Toledo Surprise" because
he has not yet succeeded in cancelling the
wedding. Feldzieg distracts them by insisting
that they actually have singing and dancing
talent, and they turn "Toledo Surprise" into an
upbeat dance number. Aldolpho, with the
Chaperone on his arm, announces that he has
seduced the bride and the wedding is therefore
cancelled, but Feldzieg angrily tells him he has
seduced the wrong woman. Janet announces
that she is cancelling the wedding, and Robert
protests in vain that he only kissed "Mimi"
because she reminded him of Janet ("Toledo
Surprise").

Man in Chair announces that this is the end of

the first act and the first record of the two-
record set. He puts on another record, saying
that the audience can listen to the opening of
the second act of The Drowsy Chaperone, and
leaves for the restroom. A scene set in an
oriental palace appears onstage, with
characters in stereotypical oriental costumes
and the chaperone costumed as an
Englishwoman in a hoopskirted dress
("Message from A Nightingale"). Man in Chair
hurriedly stops the record, explaining to the
audience that that was the wrong record—it
was the musical The Enchanted Nightingale,
not the second act of The Drowsy Chaperone.
He finds the right record, and The Drowsy
Chaperone continues.

In a musical dream sequence, Janet laments

her lost romance and decides to return to the
stage ("Bride's Lament"). Mrs. Tottendale tells
Underling that the wedding will proceed as
planned because "Love is Always Lovely" in the
end. She reveals to Underling that she is in love
with him ("Love is Always Lovely in the End").
The Chaperone announces that there will be a
wedding after all: she and Aldolpho are getting
married (which Aldolpho helplessly protests).
Mrs. Tottendale announces that she and
Underling are getting married as well.

Robert tells Janet that he loves her, and Man in

Chair announces that one of his favorite parts
is coming up. The chaperone gives Janet
advice on what to do as someone drops a cane
and the Chaperone says "l-ve while you can,"
leaving out the middle syllable of the word.
Man in Chair has an emotional monologue
where he expresses his wonderment about the
phrase, asking if it says "live while you can," or
"leave while you can." He shares a brief
backstory about his unsuccessful marriage and
about how you should never leave, only live.
The scene transforms back to Janet where she
admits that she was really the French girl and
agrees to marry him. To appease the
gangsters, Feldzieg tells them that he has
discovered a new star: Kitty. He asks her to
demonstrate her mind-reading talent, and
when she "reads Feldzieg's mind", she
announces that he is asking her to marry him.

George, now best man for all four weddings,

realizes that he has failed at his most important
task: finding a minister. Trix lands her plane in
the garden, announcing she is about to depart
for Rio. Because a captain on board a ship can
perform marriages, everyone rationalizes that
Trix, as a pilot, can perform marriages on board
a plane, and she can fly them all to Rio for their
honeymoons ("I Do, I Do in the Sky").

As the record is about to play the show's final

chord, the power goes out in Man in Chair's
apartment, and a superintendent arrives to
check the circuit breakers. The power returns,
the final chord plays, and the show is over.
Alone again, Man in Chair sadly expresses his
deep love for a musical that he has never
actually seen. He begins to sing "As We
Stumble Along" and the cast members, for the
first time, acknowledge his presence, join in,
and cheer him on ("As We Stumble Along
(Reprise)").

Musical numbers

Show-within-a-show
structure

Parodies of musical
comedy

Productions

Cast recording

Principal roles and casting

Awards and nominations

Film adaptation

References

External links

Last edited 1 month ago by Dawnsee…

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