Drowsy Chaperone 8/20/06 Review

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/21/06 at 7:42pm

As with any review - SPOILER WARNING!

I had the chance to catch the 3 pm performance of Drowsy Chaperone on Sunday. About an hour and a half before showtime, I went to the stage door to see if I could meet Sutton. It was like clockwork - she came exactly an hour and a half before the show. I was mad I didn't bring my camera, and I didn't have any Drowsy stuff yet, so I had her sign a picture of the NYC City Guide that featured a picture of the Drowsy cast on it. I was finally excited to meet her. Ever since I saw her in Millie, she has been one of my favorite performers on Broadway.

Anyways, I had rear mezz seats, and was asking if I should bother with lotto because I was worried about selling my tickets. Some of you told me to avoid the drama, but my mom and I tried lotto anyway and won! As soon as I won I made an announcement that I wanted to sell my tickets, and before I got the words out, two people wanted them, so I gave it to the guy who asked me first.

I had a great time, and honestly, after sitting up close, I don't think I would've felt as connected to the show if I sat in the rear mezz. Granted, I didn't go up there and see the view, but I would recommend sitting in the orchestra or front mezz for this show.

Anyways, the whole cast was hilariously talented! Bob Martin as the Man in the Chair was an absolute riot! He had the whole audience cracking up every second. I think any regular musical theatergoer can relate to the Man in the Chair...especially with hating those interruptions that ruin the show's moment (phone ringing, someone knocking on the door, power going out). When the show starts, Bob Martin sits in complete darkness and talks for a couple of minutes about musical theater. One of the things I loved was how the overture started playing on his record player, and then towards the end of it the music built up and instead of playing in the record player, the live orchestra finished up the overture...almost as if the audience was being pulled into the world of "The Drowsy Chaperone." Had "The Drowsy Chaperone" existed as just a musical without Bob Martin or any of his comments, I believe the musical would've been stupid, pointless fun. Bob Martin ties the whole show together with his humerous commentary and makes the book worthy of the Tony nomination it received.

Sutton Foster, as we know, was another definite standout. She is certainly a triple threat. She acted the part of Jane Roberts aka Janet van de Graaff very well, and she was also deserving of her Tony nomination. Her singing and dancing are also top-notch. Sutton has so much going on onstage for her(cartwheels, splits, knee-high kicks), even though this is an ensemble show, especially during "Show Off." Although I know her costume change happened through the umbrella, the timing for the change was impeccable and I still wonder how the heck they pulled it off so fast.

Beth Leavel as the Drowsy Chaperone deserved her Tony win for Best Supporting Actress. The woman has an amazing voice. I loved how she pulled off the drunkedness of the chaperone - definitely one of the more talented actresses out there on Broadway today.

One of the funniest acting characters in the show was Adolpho (Danny Burstein). His accent had the audience laughing, and his infamous "Whaa-aat???" and facial expressions had them laughing even more. He was a highlight of the show.

Georgia Engel - what can I say? She acted the part of Mrs. Tottendale sweetly, her strongest scene being the spittake scene ("That's pure vodka, you poop!"). Anyone who has seen the show will know what I'm talking about, and I'll just leave it at that.

I thought Troy Britton Johnson has an unusual sounding voice, but I loved him as Robert Martin. You can see he is a talented dancer especially during "Cold Feets." And I thought the scene with Sutton Foster, "An Accident Waiting to Happen," was very good - especially with him roller-skating around onstage with a blindfold...that must've taken a lot of practice!

To keep things short, there wasn't a weak link in the cast - Eddie Korbach, Garth and Jason Kravits, Kecia Lewis-Evans (despite her small part she successfully showcased her big belting voice), Noble Shropshire, Jennifer Smith, and Jay Douglas (on for Feldzeig) are all talented actors.

Overall, I loved the show. I was worried about the show being too short, but it was actually a nice length - not too too long and at the same time it wasn't over with the snap of a finger.

I waited at the stage door after and the only people who came out were Garth and Jason Kravits, Beth Leavel, Danny Burstein, Troy Britton Johnson, and Jay Douglas. Danny even treated us with an, "ADOLPHO!" that had a group of girls laughing. The cast is very nice and approachable. Go see this show with as much of the original cast as you can!

Updated On: 8/21/06 at 07:42 PM

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 8/21/06 at 7:46pm

So glad you enjoyed the show. :) And I know what you mean with Troy Britton Johnson's voice, but it was meant to be like that. That's very cliche of the old musicals of the 1920's-ish era. I can assure you, he's putting on an accented voice for this role. :) He doesn't sound that goofy normally.
Updated On: 8/21/06 at 07:46 PM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 3:00am

Bumping this up!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 7:26am

i'm glad you enjoyed it!
i truly loved it!

[Dre2387]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 7:30am

I think with the blindfolding, its a material that is see-through for him, but for us, we see it as dark and don't see his eyes so we assume he can't see. They wouldn't risk the chance of him falling into the orchestra pit.

glad you liked it. I love the beginning in the dark. cause it is pitch black. And I think when it's like that, you really connect with the actor onstage and forget about all the other people in the audience (although, when i was there, people kept talkiing. They had no idea that the show had started until the lights went up.)

Updated On: 8/22/06 at 07:30 AM

[Anthony3]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 8:08am

im glad you liked it! I think it is one of the best shows on Broadway!

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 8:35am

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I'm surprised Bob Martin didn't come out the stagedoor. I was there last Sunday @ 3:00 and he came out...

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 8:59am

A group of people were at the stage door after the show...and eventually after a few people came out, the stage door manager said he would go up and check to see who was still there. He checked, came back out, and said that everyone had left. Either he lied, or they all went out another exit. Bob Martin, Sutton Foster, Jennifer Smith, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Noble Shropshire, Eddie Korbach, and Georgia Engel didn't come out.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 9:10am

Yes, it's a see through blind fold.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 10:14am

I think it's strange that Sutton broke her arm in rehearsals for "Accident Waiting To Happen" in LA:

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=520682

I was amazed to see the old videos of her performing "Show Off" with the cast on her wrist and doing the number with the one-handed cartwheels. I'll bet that they'd be regular cart-wheels in the show now if she wouldn't have broken her arm.

[azeller]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 10:29am

They are regular cartwheels in the show now. I think she only did the one handed cartwheels maybe through the month of May or June.

Updated On: 8/22/06 at 10:29 AM

[brokenumbreller]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 2:07pm

You saw it this day too? I went the 20th, and I preshowed as well (To meet Sutton). :)

[jennykett89]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 3:05pm

I went on the 20th as well!!

[brokenumbreller]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 3:11pm

Wow, haha, go us!

Did you SD at all?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 6:13pm

I love the crazy Chinese scene after Man in Chair changes the record...

And the silly monkey song!

[Hank]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 6:35pm

Glad you liked it too.
I can relate to "the man in chair" in so many ways it's scary, except for the cardigan, and my place isn't all that shaby, but we're both obsessed with 1920's musicals, and they both star that triple threat, and then some (she's also quite an accrobat) Sutton Foster!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 9:19pm

This was an amazing review. I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/27/06 at 12:14am

Jenny and Broken, were you at the SD the 20th??? I was the person with no sharpie...or perhaps one of you was the girl with the huge gift for Sutton.

Updated On: 8/27/06 at 12:14 AM