I just saw the matinee on New Year's Eve -- I gotta tell you -- I saw "The Drowsy Chaperone" 68 times -- I loved that show soooooooooo much. And it's a pure stroke of luck that brought me to Chicago and my only free time was NYE afternoon and there happened to be a peformance -- and rush tickets available.
I LOOOOOOOOOVE this show! I can't wait for it to come to New York. When I knew that Robert Martin was part of the creative team for "Gotta Dance" (he wrote the book of "Drowsy" and was the original "Man In Chair"
-- I had high hopes -- and they are justified. It's funny, it's sweet, and like "Drowsy," at a certain point the audience just gives their hearts to the show -- you care about all the principle characters -- some of the dialogue is really really funny -- that song in the second act by May about the 'waters rising' -- I got teared up and it was so unexpected. Georgia Engel is such an original, indelible actor -- I remember on the Mary Tyler Moore Show when she sang, "Steam Heat" and could hear the studio audience respond with shocked delight -- she is at the top of her game here, in every way. Mrs. Tottendale Busts A Move!
Like Drowsy, this is a musical that men who think they hate musicals are going to love. But there's one thing they can do that will make them all millionaires: a "Gotta Dance Workout Video" -- imagine a cigarette girl going up and down the aisles during intermission selling them (or maybe a 60+ year old cigarette woman). And it can be the simplest kind of workout video: Five minutes (with each major character getting their own 30 second spotlight). The first week you dance along once a day. The second week you dance along with it twice (10 minutes). The third week three times (15 minutes) etc etc etc -- til you know all the routines and you've lost so much weight you qualify for a 2-for-1 ticket to the show.
After awhile they'll have hundreds of people who know the routines, who could then be cast in the road company. I can also see this show becoming hugely popular with community theaters everywhere. I think it is going to have a long, long happy life, and I'm so grateful that on the last day of 2015 I got to see it.
If you live anywhere near Chicago, get tickets -- but it's only happening here til the 17th. I have to fly back to NYC in a few hours -- I feel so lucky that I got to see it. If you know any actors in their 50s/60s/70s who are in good shape (or need a reason to get in shape) -- tell them about this show! You'll all be dancing out of the theater in the best of all possible moods.
