Drowsy Chaperone Reviews

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:13pm

Broadway.com is a Rave:

"Don't let the title fool you. The last thing the delightful new musical The Drowsy Chaperone will do is put you to sleep. Besides being short and sweet, it's also fast-paced and very funny. Best of all, it's not based on a movie and it's not a jukebox musical. In fact, this inventive show boasts a clever concept that is fully realized in its witty book and cute '20s-style songs. Add a dazzling production and an ideal cast to the mix and you have a musical that's as sparkling, fizzy and refreshing as a glass of topflight champagne.
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For now, the wonderful cast is making The Drowsy Chaperone one of the sprightliest, funniest shows on Broadway. Martin co-wrote his role, so it's no wonder it fits him as comfortably as his cardigan. Foster doesn't get to tap dance, as she did in her Tony-winning turn in Thoroughly Modern Millie, but she does display comic flair along with her singing and dancing talents. It's Leavel who steals the show, however, hamming it up magnificently in her uproarious solo "As We Stumble Along." Burstein gets nearly as many laughs as lovable Lothario Aldolpho ("a man of a thousand accents, all of them insulting," according to the Man in Chair). Engel (of Mary Tyler Moore Show fame) and Hibbert (from Frasier) make an adorable comic pair, and Lewis-Evans belts impressively as Trix the aviatrix whenever she appears (which isn't often enough).
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For all its winning qualities, The Drowsy Chaperone may be too frothy and whimsical for some tastes. Although it lasts just an hour and forty minutes, without an intermission, I began to tire of the '20s-inspired music by the time Engel and Hibbert sang the cutesy duet "Love Is Always Lovely in the End." Most of the songs are better than that one, but Lambert and Morrison's perky pastiche may not appeal to everyone.

Nonetheless, this affectionate tribute to musicals should have theater buffs returning for second helpings of its engaging narration, cheerful tunes and faultless performances. Unabashedly escapist, it's musical comedy with the emphasis on comedy. As the Man in Chair says of the 1928 show he happily shares with us, "It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?" Yes, we know. And that's why The Drowsy Chaperone is likely to be a big fat nostalgic hit."



http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=528491

[Benzy92]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:16pm

PLEASE let this pattern continue.. this show DESERVES it!

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:17pm

Yay! So glad to hear it.

Thanks for starting this "reviews" thread, Margo.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:19pm

it better continue....it's the one show with hope for the last part of the season.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:22pm

If good reviews means it will still be playing when I finally get back to NY, I hope the raves continue.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:24pm

I'm so glad I decided to see this on a whim.

I loved it.

Good for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:27pm

YES!! Hopefully the first of many.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:35pm

*HUGE sigh of relief*

I hope the raves keep rollin' in! This one's a winner!

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 7:40pm

Fantastic! I feel so cool to have seen this in previews.

While reading new reviews, I keep trying to read for things that would go well on the marketing items, i.e. flyers, signs outside the theatre...that review has a ton that could be used.

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:34pm

I love this show, and I hope the reviews stay as positive as this one. Because, damnit, this little show deserves to be a hit!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:37pm

Even if he has reservations, expect some kind of money review from Brantley. His cup of tea? Maybe it's too silly, but he leans anything that smacks of the heyday of musical comedy.

And: Not based on a film, cartoon, or collection of top 40. Lots of wink-wink irony to keep those darned earnest vibes at bay. No power ballads sung by steel-throated divas. No Disney investments or on-stage aesthetics. No ambitious art songs with eliptical melodies and lyrics loaded with poetic pretention. No serious thematic elements that make it a downer.

He's the perfect critic for this show. If only Dona Murphy had the eleven o'clock spot

[Benzy92]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:47pm

where are these reviews?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!! i'm getting way too anxious!!!

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:50pm

YAY DROWSY! I'm so excited!

[boxers7]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:54pm

What time did the show begin tonight? Didn't we have a few BWWers there? Surely it's long over!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:55pm

It should be over at about 9:15ish.

[boxers7]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:57pm

Don't Opening Night's usually begin at 6:30?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:58pm

the performance was at 7:30.

[James2]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:58pm

Is that Bob Martin in your picture, Yankeefan?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 8:58pm

Yeah....the day he filmed the commercial.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:15pm

http://breakingnews.nypost.com/dynamic/stories/T/THEATER_DROWSY_CHAPERONE?SITE=NYNYP&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT

At first glance, the APE seemed to like it.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:17pm

The AP is a Rave:

"If you want to get some idea of what it means to be over the moon for musical comedy, pay a visit to Broadway's Marquis Theatre, where a disarming, delightful souffle called "The Drowsy Chaperone," is making a strong case for song-and-dance obsession.

We are in the world of the true believer, in other words, a fan, a fellow simply called Man in Chair (portrayed by the engaging Bob Martin), who champions the world of musical theater.

"I just want a story and a few good songs that will take me away. I just want to be entertained. I mean, isn't that the point?" he says directly to the audience at the beginning of the evening.

Well, yes. And "The Drowsy Chaperone," delivers, not only as sparkling entertainment but, on another level, as a touching tribute to those often lonely folks out there in the dark who cheer on their favorite shows and stars.

In this case, the show within the show is called "The Drowsy Chaperone," a fictitious 1928 musical that comes to life when our cardigan-wearing narrator, sitting quietly in his dumpy apartment, lovingly puts the original-cast album on his record player.

One of things that makes this production so enjoyable is that it is unexpected. We haven't seen anything quite this original in a long time. "The Drowsy Chaperone," co-authored by Martin and Don McKellar, began life as a small fringe show in Toronto, gradually getting bigger before it was expanded for a production late last year in Los Angeles by the Center Theatre Group.

Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw must be a Broadway baby because he has captured the giddy (some might say silly) world of 1920s musical theater, a time before shows got serious and often self-important.
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Even the look of the musical is fun. Designer David Gallo's drab apartment magically transforms into the perfect musical-comedy setting. And Gregg Barnes' costumes are not only gorgeous visually but witty as well.

While all this frivolity is going on, Man in Chair gleefully watches the proceedings. He sings along, mimes dance routines and occasionally gives us personal histories on some of the performers who starred in that 1928 production, including one whose unfortunate demise involved a couple of man-eating poodles (don't ask).

Man in Chair clearly loves what he is listening to. It takes him out of the dreary real world that occasionally intrudes on the show he is celebrating. He wants us to enjoy "The Drowsy Chaperone" as much as he does. You know what? We do.
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/news/wire/sns-ap-theater-drowsy-chaperone,0,2731169.story?coll=sns-ap-entertainment-headlines

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:28pm

I'll bet anything Nytheatre.com will hate it. For some reason that site always seems to love what gets panned and hates what gets raves.

[Crazy_for_the_Q]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:28pm

Oh fantastic!! I'm SO glad it's getting great reviews. I saw it twice in LA and I've been doing the lottery every weekend here and I just haven't won yet! I miss it! Congrats Drowsy!! They totally deserve it

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:29pm

http://www.nydailynews.com/05-02-2006/entertainment/col/story/413848p-349858c.html

Kissell calls the Man In Chair "Bob."

And he still manages to get a dig in at Lestat, Wedding Singer, and Hot Feet. And Woman in White. Updated On: 5/1/06 at 09:29 PM

[Qfan2.0]

Posted: 5/1/06 at 9:32pm

he actually slays Hot Feet at the end