Even a jolt of caffeine wouldn't help 'Drowsy'

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 7:30pm

http://www.nypost.com/theatre/63195.htm


I was just reading this review. Barnes gave Drowsy one star out of four and gave Lestat just half star out of four.

http://www.nypost.com/theatre/65058.htm

He also gave Sweeney Todd, four out of four stars.

http://www.nypost.com/theatre/56814.htm

Updated On: 7/9/06 at 07:30 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 7:32pm

Drowsy was cute - nothing major. Entertaining fluff. To me, Lestat had more going for it. It was meatier

If I could have a video of either show, it would be Lestat

Updated On: 7/9/06 at 07:32 PM

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 9:52pm

Are you guys crazy?! I'm been going to NY shows for 25 years and thoroughly enjoyed Drowsy--one of the highlights of my theater-going life. It is clever, funny, and touching. This is the show for true musical fans. The "Man in Chair" speaks to so many of us. I love this show and will see it mulitple times. Sutton and Beth are truly amazing. I can't imagine anyone doing "Man in Chair" except for Bob Martin--fantastic performance! The night I saw the show was magic--I have never seen so many members of the audience smiling as they left. There was an unspoken feeling as we left the theater that we had all experienced something very special. What can I say? I love Drowsy!

[GodIHopeIGetIt]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 9:55pm

Nothing to add to that sondheimfan. Seriously, Drowsy was one of the shows that made me remember why I love theater in the first place. Lestat made me want to stuff my ears with cotton and go hide in a ditch far, far away from 42nd street.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 9:57pm

Whatever. It's his opinion. I personally LOVED Drowsy. As for Lestat? Well, I've just heard bad things about it. :P

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 9:59pm

I hardly give Barnes' review any credibility given he works for the NY Post. The Drowsy Chaperone is a purely escapist show, it never sets out to be anything else, and it thoroughly succeeds in its goal. The score is probably the major flaw in that the songs are not very memorable, Stephen Sondheim wrote a pastiche score for Follies and still made each song as brilliant as can be, this is not the case with the Drowsy score. However, it's easy to get caught up in the story if you're aware that this is an escapist show that is trying to emulate an old-fashioned Broadway show. The performances are great across the board, after watching this show I understood for the very first time why people liked Sutton Foster (perhaps Thoroughly Modern Millie and Little Women were far too mediocre for me to care about the leading lady), and Beth Leavel and Danny Burstein gave such spectacular performances. The company has so much chemistry and it's really an ensemble piece that works very well. However, I believe without this cast and without Casey Nicholaw's flawless direction the show might not have been a hit.

EDIT: I completely agree about Lestat, it was one of the worst shows I have ever seen. However, I'd pick Lestat over The Wedding Singer and Tarzan any day. I mean, it's like picking what STD you'd rather have, but still, at least Lestat had Carolee Carmello. Updated On: 7/9/06 at 09:59 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:04pm

Drowsy doesn't NEED a "jolt of caffeine." It's full of life already. It has to be the funniest, most clever show I've seen.

[GodIHopeIGetIt]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:05pm

it's like picking what STD you'd rather have
*snorts* Amen, Foscas.

Again, he works for the Post... do we care?

[courtnyj]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:06pm

The Drowsy Chaperone left me with sore cheeks from laughing and smiling too much!

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:08pm

count me as ****LOVING**** DROWSY.

it works on so many levels, makes fun of the staples & stereotypes of theatre yet adores them @ the same time.
& the audience can choose to see it as a happy fun musical or a depressing story about a man who cant function outside of the confines of his apartment & his fantasy world.
i love it for both aspects!!!!

not to mention the gorgeous costumes & sets!

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:10pm

lol, Fosca! I think I peed myself a little when I read your edit!

[TomMonster]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:14pm

Gotta love "Drowsy"... as for which STD I'd pick...wow, that's a sore subject isn't it?

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:17pm

i'd rather have an STD than a subscription to the NYPOST.

but how would i know the difference?

[picturetaker9211]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:22pm

Wow that guy was kinda harsh

[Dre2387]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:26pm

loved Drowsy! it really does speak to all of us. and I do love that their is no intermission. and I sort of fell bad for the Man in the Chair, but it's true. Musicals take me away and that is why I love theatre so much. I love it!

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:28pm

Thought Drowsy was just boring. Waste of my 90 minutes and $30

[Broadwaylady]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:29pm

I just saw Drowsy Chaperone Saturday and must say I was not that impressed. It was original, not another remake of something. I though Danny Burstein and Bob Martin were brilliant. I like Sutton Foster in everything she has done but I just did not get into it as much as my friends. They loved it. I did like the fact that there was no intermission. It takes you away from the show too much. A cute scene was when they showed the oriental scene because the maid put the wrong record in the wrong jacket. That was very clever.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:47pm

Not only is it brilliant. Not only is it drop dead funny. Not only are Sutton and Beth amazing. But for many of us, the performance by Bob Martin is SO sad and touching. He's bringing to life so many men who have gone far too early. I personally knew half-a-dozen guys who could easily have been the prototype for Man in Chair. And they're all dead. We seem to forget the entire community that AIDS wiped out in the 1980's. I really believe there is an subtle, underlying message in that character. You don't get it while you're watching the show, but when it does hit you (as it did me) you find yourself saying "Oh damn..."

A comedy with brass knuckles at the core.

That's just great theater. THAT'S the shot of caffine our hilustrious (sic) reviewer missed.

[respeck]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 10:53pm

Five Tony Awards speak for themselves.

Why are we having this fight months and months after it opened?

[boxers7]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:10pm

Tiny-Toon - When I'm on my deathbed I'll regret the 90 minutes I spent watching Brooklyn. I'm very happy to have paid full price to see The Drowsy Chaperone, one of the best shows on Broadway.

respeck - Seriously! What's the point of this thread?

[Kungaloosh1937]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:10pm

<>

Well, not every musical can be as spectacular as Brooklyn.

Please.

[respeck]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:14pm

Rumblin through my body like a subway traaaaain!

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:14pm

Just my opinion..
And yes Kungaloosh, I enjoy Brooklyn MUCH better than whats playing at the Marquis right now.

[respeck]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:15pm

Brooklyn in the blood!

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/9/06 at 11:15pm

My two pennies:

The Man In The Chair was me in thirty years. I identified with him on so many levels, even though he has a different personality. We both share a passion. And a passion to share that passion. A genuine love. We can sit alone in our living room listening to a cast recording and be content.

The problem with the show was the score. It's an average score by today's standards. If "The Drowsy Chaperone" (not the Broadway show at the Marquis Theatre, but the show within the Broadway show at the Marquis Theatre) had come out in the '40s or early '50s it would have been a hit. But it has no historical significance to us because it never existed.

Now what if "The Man In The Chair" was listening to Anything Goes? It's reverse - Cole Porter never existed except as a creation of a name for a 2006 musical. The score was created for this 2006 musical. We, the audience, never heard of Cole Porter nor his music nor his shows because he never existed. So for the first time ever in 2006 we hear these songs and "Anything Goes" is chopped up into fragments. The Man In The Chair narrates the story and in segments it becomes alive before our eyes. I think everyone would have mix reactions.

(Cole Porter's music has become famous. If the songwriters of "The Drowsy Chaperone" had written more songs back in the day they would have become just as famous (remember, because The Drowsy Chaperone would have been a hit back then)). It's sooo hard to get my point across because a) how dare I compare the music in Drowsy Chaperone to that of Cole Porter's and b) you really have to have an open mind to understand what I'm trying to say in order for it to make sense.

Whew - my brain is racked. Just go see the damn show - it's sweet!