I saw the show last night as it wrapped up in Cleveland. The performance was great. I have also seen Drowsy on Broadway, and the touring production lives up to the original. Everything was the same and brought back memories from when I first saw it. I loved the cast. They worked well together and made the audience laugh a lot. The few flaws I noticed didn’t mar the show or performances. This tour is great, and I encourage everyone to see it if they can. Here’s a review of the actors:
Andrea Chamberlain—She is a wonderful Janet! I love her voice. She had a cutesy tone and a pretty belt. In the encore to “Show Off,” she walked off stage instead of descending through the trap door. They changed the line from “Disappear through the floor no more” to “Make the audience roar no more.” I actually prefer this change. The floor thing never made sense to me. There were a few things I didn’t like, though. In “Show Off,” the tempo was slower and she didn’t do as many impressive tricks. For example, she used the rope, but didn’t jump in and out of it, and walked on stage and did one cartwheel after the lock-up. The other thing I didn’t like was that she cut her final note short in “Bride’s Lament.” It left you with a disappointed, what-just-happened-to-the-ending feeling. I was so happy with Chamberlain’s performance. (I’m a big fan of Sutton Foster, so I definitely went in with a bias!).
Jonathan Crombie—I saw the original cast and Bob Martin really is irreplaceable. When I first bought tickets for the tour, I hoped that Martin would still be playing MIC since Cleveland was one of the first tour stops. When I found out he was only playing Toronto, I was disappointed. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Crombie’s performance. He nailed all the laughs. Although, I felt his interpretation was off-kilter. Crombie didn’t garner as much sympathy; he wasn’t endearing. The ending didn’t move me like it did on Broadway. I suspect this is because Crombie played MIC as grumpy and bold. He came across as sardonic and disdainful towards the audience in some of his jokes. He also was too assertive. For example, in the “aviatrix, what we now know as a lesbian” joke, he just said it and didn’t recoil from the statement in a nervous, “don’t attack me for not being PC” way. Still, Crombie was very funny and I was happy with his performance. Strangely enough, he didn’t do the greeting card joke, which was disappointing.
Nancy Opel—How old is she? My boyfriend remarked that at times she looked like she was 50 and at other times she looked like she was 20. It was kind of odd. Anyway, Opel was OK. She didn’t get many laughs partly because she wasn’t “drowsy” enough and partly because she played the role too seriously. For example, she acted like she really wanted to get married and like she was in love. “As We Stumble Along” wasn’t as funny because, again, she played it too seriously.
James Moye (Adolpho),
Cliff Bemis (Feldzieg), and
Robert Dorfman (Underling)—I don’t like the Adolpho character, and Moye didn’t change my opinion. He did OK, just not very memorable. Bemis didn’t have any stage presence. He wasn’t as invested in keeping Janet in show business, and he didn’t get as annoyed with Kitty. He seemed to be walking through the motions. Dorfman’s humor wasn’t subtle at all. He didn’t seem like a butler. The spit take scene was only funny because Georgia Engel is fabulous as Mrs. Tottendale.
I don’t have much to say about
Mark Ledbetter or
Marla Mindelle. Their performances were great and reminded me of the original actors.
Fran Jaye was so-so. Her voice wasn't very powerful; it wavered and she didn't enunciate.
Go see this show! It’s in wonderful shape. You won’t be disappointed.
As a side comment, I didn't realize how casual the Palace Theatre staff was about food and drink. A woman in front of me was eating a big pretzel, and next to her was a couple enjoying their wine and beer. I even saw ushers before
and during the performance going around the theater with serving trays serving drinks to people! Wtf.
Updated On: 10/28/07 at 02:52 PM
