DROWSY WILL TAKE THE MARQUIS!- Page 4

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 9:01pm

Just you wait to see Sutton in her big number. It's one of the most inventive and original pieces of musical business you're ever likely to experience. And it's one of those numbers that keeps topping itself in unexpected ways.

WIT!! When was the last time you heard and saw genuine wit on stage?

Posted: 2/8/06 at 9:34pm

besides your shows? Not lately!



best12bars...you made me tear up.......hold on to your hearts indeed...it will melt the coldest of hearts and renew your faith in God, humanity and the Broadway stage.

Updated On: 2/8/06 at 09:34 PM

[nycdncr]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:34pm

saw the show in LA.....can't wait to see it in NYC! beth leavel could read the phone book and make it funny! she's a gem in this show. sutton's great, but don't look for a huge star turn here....this is certainly an ensemble show! her big number is great, but don't expect another millie.

this show is so clever and cute. i think audiences will fall in love with it. i haven't laughed so hard in a show in a long time!

[Sasha3]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:52pm

Maybe I'm missing something, but does Drowsy really have enough widespread/commercial appeal to warrant as large a space as the cursed Marquis? As far as I understand it from my colleagues on the west side, this is more of a show for showpeople -- people who know broadway, like most of us on this board, but certainly not the masses that a large scale show needs to stay alive.

Anyway, as for Foster, I've seen her in a number of things and still don't get the hype. She relies almost completely on schtick -- something that burned her in Little Women. She has comedic chops, and she can bellow throughout any song with ease (and apparently without vocal nodes thus far) but Patti Lupone she ain't.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 2/8/06 at 11:52pm

Well, the Tonys are officially swept.

Sorry, new musicals this season, we have a winner.

Posted: 2/9/06 at 12:56am

Yup! Can't wait to hear "and the Tony goes to.....THE DROWSY CHAPERONE!"

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:07am

I'm so excited! I saw this show in LA and loved it! Good times at the theatre. Congrats Drowsy! Much love and success to the cast and crew! :)

~Rosalynn

[SahDu]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:27am

With this show definitely getting a Broadway run...would you assume chances for a cast recording are pretty high? I doubt I'll get much of a chance to make it to NYC anytime soon and I'm very curious. Plus Sutton is...Sutton.


Updated On: 2/15/14 at 01:27 AM

[ThE nEw KiD]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:43am

I'll also say it was a wonderful show. My friend turned to me in the middle of it and said "It can't be this good!?"

[eslgr8]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:03am

I'm happy that New York will get to see this show which I saw three times in L.A.!

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 8:37am

I think all the Tony talk is premature. It might pan out, it might not. But it's worth remembering that the Tonys no longer have ANY grounding in artistic merit and are all about the business and the money. And that's where Chaperone may come unstuck.

[freeadmission]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 8:40am

I don't know what the show is about per se, but the title alone makes me want to see it. I don't know why people are worried about the title. I think it may be one of the biggest draws of the show . . . right up there with it's impressive word-of-mouth.

I mean, think of all that happened when your were dating your first (or maybe not even your first ) boyfriend/girlfriend and your parents left the room. Be it only for a few minutes, you KNOW you took advantage of that. So just the title made me crack up.

I think this will be a suprise hit.

That and I'm in love with Sutton in an almost completly non-homosexual way, so this better succeed.

Updated On: 2/9/06 at 08:40 AM

[AuditioningWaitress]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 9:38am

This is great news! I've heard such good things...I'm looking forward to seeing this!

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 10:13am

Forbidden Broadway has been running for over 20 years now (granted in small theatres)... but FB is MUCH more geared to people who "know specific Broadway shows" than The Drowsy Chaperone is. It's also enjoyed successful runs outside of New York.

You don't have to KNOW any Broadway shows to enjoy The Drowsy Chaperone... anymore than you must be a dancer to love A Chorus Line. (...or an African animal or a puppeteer to enjoy The Lion King.) Chaperone is a valentine for anyone who loves musical theatre... which should include most of its audience members (and EVERYONE on BWW), since they bothered enough to buy a ticket.

That said, this isn't a FAMILY show... It's not one of those "bring the kids, grandma, and the family pet" musicals like Beauty and the Beast, or The Lion King. Not that it has offensive or "adult" material in it either... it's just written for adult minds and sensibilities. To that, I say THANK GOD. I have nothing against family shows, but I need to "aim higher" than that every now and then. We all do. But I will say that younger minds may not grasp the concepts and humor, even if they're not offended by any of it.

It will be a sad commentary on the state of Broadway if a "grown up" show like The Drowsy Chaperone (or even the revival of A Chorus Line) can't succeed "widely" on today's Great White Way. It will mean that we are doomed to have future live musical choices between Freaky Friday or Lilo & Stitch.

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 10:23am

>>Maybe I'm missing something, but does Drowsy really have enough widespread/commercial appeal to warrant as large a space as the cursed Marquis? As far as I understand it from my colleagues on the west side, this is more of a show for showpeople -- people who know broadway, like most of us on this board, but certainly not the masses that a large scale show needs to stay alive.

You know, I really don't care (not to sound disrespectful to you). As they say, that's not my problem. One of the biggest problems we have with Broadway is the mindset of producers hedging their bets by worrying whether something is commercial or not. That's why we end up with such sick, pathetic junk.

I want producers who will stage a show because they themselves LOVE THE SHOW. I finally had the privilege of meeting Michael Richie who runs the LA theatre venue where it played and I can tell you this man LOVES MUSICAL THEATRE. He's not an accountant wonk, a lawyer who wants to be in show biz or a guy who's second guessing himself to figure "what the public wants." He is a veteran of the Surflight Summer Theatre where he sat at the feet of Joe Hayes and learned musicals by sweeping floors and apprenticing.

I honestly do not remember the last time I laughed so hard and so long at a show. And best of all, when I went to see it a second time, I laughed even harder. Multiple viewings only increased my antipation for what was about to appear on stage. There are so many delights in this show, you honestly cannot get them all from one visit.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 10:33am

"One of the biggest problems we have with Broadway is the mindset of producers hedging their bets by worrying whether something is commercial or not. That's why we end up with such sick, pathetic junk." ~ steveshack

Amen, steveshack... Amen.

[ken8631]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 10:53am

Wow - guess I'm going to have to get tickets to this!

Loved Sutton in her Joe's Pub show recently....

[eslgr8]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:25am

Anyone who says this show is just for "showpeople" is completely 1oo% WRONG! I saw it three times and was surrounded by people who knew no more about musical theater than your average visitor to New York and they clearly loved it. This show is a real crowd pleaser, yet one which doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience. That's what makes it so special!

Posted: 2/9/06 at 11:35am

Just go see it! :)

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:46pm

>>Anyone who says this show is just for "showpeople" is completely 1oo% WRONG! I saw it three times and was surrounded by people who knew no more about musical theater than your average visitor to New York and they clearly loved it. This show is a real crowd pleaser, yet one which doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience. That's what makes it so special!

Steven, I totally agree. Yes, there are 'injokes' galore, but they're not disrespectful of others who don't get them. I compare them to "adult jokes" in a kid's cartoon. The kids won't get them but they don't have to. They're there for the poor adult who has to sit through the movie because the kids want to see it.

Drowsy Chaperone is the kind of show that wears its heart on its sleeve and the lead character is someone you end of up falling in love with. People keep saying it's a parody, but it's really not a parody. It's a show that contains parody. There's a difference. The "20's musical" that gets sent up in the course of the story is not the whole show. What makes the piece work is that we have a narrator who lovingly and hilariously shows us WHY this old show means something to him. Consequently, we are guided along on HIS journey and that's what makes the heart connection. It's really a work of genius in that respect.

Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:49pm

I heart steveshack!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:04pm

i hope all this hype doesn't leave me disappointed with the end result.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:06pm

I plan on getting tickets the day they go on sale.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:07pm

ummmmm, no *i'm* getting them!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:20pm

ummmmmmmmmm, you're right!