The Drowsy Chaperone tour...- Page 3

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 10:05pm

Patash, no worries! In the larger sense, in the broader sense, this is not a big deal!

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 12:03am

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 12:03 AM

[LouieLovesTheater]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 1:34am

Love love LOVED this tour when it stopped in MN a few months back.

We had Opel's understudy (Alicia Irving) and she was excellent.

They must have just updated that website because I visited it probably Wed/Thur and James Moye was still on there.

I actually really enjoyed Fran Jaye as Trix...HUGE voice with some great riffs.

So many great moments. I loved this tour so much more than I thought I would.

[D2]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 1:55am

I just got back from tonight's performance, and it was just as enchanting, magical and funny as it was when I saw it in New York two years ago. Great cast, great energy, great show.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:03am

After the final performance in NYC, my son (then 5) turned to me and said, "Now what are we going to see when we come to New York???" It's really that special. And nothing has taken its place for us.

I truly miss it. So happy to loved it all over again, D2!

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:05am

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 02:05 AM

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:12am

Fromage, where do you get discount codes for shows on the West Coast?

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:28am

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 02:28 AM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:39am

LePetite, if you end up going to a lot of shows by the Center Theater Group, consider getting a passport. It costs $100, but you are entitled to buy two tickets, almost any where in the Taper, Douglas or Ahmanson (except the orchestra through row Q) for 1/2 of face.

I split the cost of the passport with a friend, and it ends up saving you money, and getting much better seats than those available through hottix.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:49am

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 02:49 AM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 3:24am

I felt the same way.

Where in LA are you?

[BobPopa]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 3:04pm

I saw the tour in Raleigh back in February and loved it..

The Mike Ditka reference is hysterical because that's also exactly what I saw up there...a singing Mike Ditka

I got to tour the set afterwards (my friend is an ASM on the tour)and loved what they did..

BTW The Road House in Raleigh, NC is a weird theatre

[toddlisatyriem]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 4:03pm

LOVED LOVED LOVED the show last month when the touring cast came through KC!

Aldofo was having a GREAT night and even my 11 year old son loved the show.

He has even started saying ALLLLLLLDOLLLLLLFO at me to make me crack up when he's getting into trouble. GREAT SHOW and touring cast!

[ExceedinglyPeculiar2]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 4:38pm

I saw it Friday night and absolutely loved Jonathan Crombie as Man In Chair. He was hysterical. I missed some jokes though, because people were laughing so much!

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 5:08pm

I love this Tour! I saw the show on Friday night with a friend. We both flew in from different locations because we felt we waited long enough to see this show. For me, to see the show again and for my friend, to finally see it for herself. I need to say that we stayed at the Omni Hotel because it was recommended by the Ahmanson Theatre. Despite finding out that my room number was 1408, ( I just saw the Cusack/King Movie two weeks before my trip), everything there was just wonderful for me. My friend had it harder because she checked in luggage and then rented a car. I took the Prime Time shuttle which had wonderful service. Plenty of good Restaurants nearby, so walking around wasn't a problem. The staff at the Ahmanson were very kind and helpful. I'm not fond of LA but I have to admit everyone I met working on this trip was great.

The first thing I noticed was how much they had to shrink down the sets to fit them on touring stages. Yet, the new cast danced and sang so well! No one seemed to have any difficulty acting out their parts or were tripping over the scenery. They made it look so easy!

Jonathan Crombie as the MIC is still putting on an excellent performance. He still causes a riot of laughter from the crowd and gets us all out of our seats for a standing ovation. Andrea and Mark make such a cute couple. I loved Sutton Foster in the role of Janet. I love Andrea Chamberlain just as much. She was beautiful and in those costumes, completely lovely. She put on a flawless performance and I loved every minute of it.

Mark Ledbetter and Richard Vida were having too much fun tap dancing in "Cold Feets". This number was changed I guess because these two were having so much fun dancing around on the stage? I love this part of the show and was so tickled that they extended it some for our entertainment. I always loved it too, the way Robert Dorfman,(Underling), catches the cue and does his own little two step in and out of that set. Such a ham but I loved it.

I hadn't seen Georgia Engel as Mrs. Tottendale in New York but I was so happy to see her last night. The understudy that I saw in New York did a wonderful job so I wasn't disappointed at all when I first saw the show. Seeing Georgia play the part though was a special treat. She plays these ditsy characters so well and she is such a funny comedian in her own right. I admit though, one of my favorite parts is when Underling spits back at her. I don't remember that from the first show but it was funny and fit the show.

Nancy Opel was fabulous. To me, she played the Drowsy Chaperone as her own. I love Beth Leavel, she is amazing but Nancy proves why she has so many nominations herself. I'm not the type of person who has to have everything done exactly the same way, so for me, she put on a great performance that night and made me laugh.

It was Aldopho that had me a little nervous about the Tour. Danny Burstein was so great in that part. James Moye played the character on Friday night. As soon as that man started singing, I could understand why he won over the part. He was silly and flamboyant, as Aldopho is suppose to be.

I enjoyed the supporting cast just as much as on Broadway. I missed some of Kitty's lines from New York. Marla Mindle plays a funny Kitty though and Cliff Bemis looked properly unimpressed with her silly comments. I enjoyed Fran Jaye as Trix. She sang wonderfully on Friday night in LA so I didn't feel deprived by her performance. The gangster's being played by twins Paul and Peter Riopelle were having too much fun on stage that night. It's great having brother's cast in these parts because they are so use to annoying each other for sport.

The Theater was almost sold out and the crowd was fun. We did get some comments from the Audience that night during the show. I think in a smaller setting it is more difficult not to feel like you aren't a part of the show? It was hard not to sing along when my favorite songs were being sung out on stage! I think too, the way the MIC address the audience, it seems like he is having a conversation with them, so they just normally want to respond to him? It works I think because MIC is often bringing the audience into his rather cloistered existence with this show. It keeps the audience more engaged I think? It's what makes Drowsy more unique to me?

The Drowsy Chaperone is just fun to me. This show is kind of a tribute to all those silly choices we make. How dumb it makes us look but how much fun it is to live in the moment. The characters are fun and infectious. So many things happen in life that make no sense at all? Many people just act on impulse? You just try something new and hope it all works out fine in the end? Some times it does? It was fun while it lasted.

I always have to have a little bit of fun in my life. So we are very excited to have The Drowsy Chaperone in San Francisco for almost a month! We have tickets for July and I know we will just have to see it again in August. Then later we have Sacramento, if I really feel adventurous? We'll see but I'm so happy to see some of that great Canadian humor live here in California. I am very grateful to SHN in San Francisco and the Drowsy Production Co. for thinking so well of us out here on the left-coast. I have been waiting impatiently for my chance to once again see this funny and entertaining show move out here, finally! I look forward to seeing it again up here in the Bay Area.

*** An aside for that miserable LA Times review, what a snot! Don't pay attention to a word he has to say. You cannot expect a complete Broadway Show to fit onto a Tour perfectly. Obviously, he wanted a repeat of the NY show and was very unhappy to not get that. Too bad because his comments were absurd. Of course, his own opinion but I completely disagree with his observations. The Touring Cast is doing wonderfully. Most of the actors are experienced Broadway performers. His comments were very unthoughtful and not well deserving to me. I'll settle with how the audience reacted when I was there in LA. They were engaged and laughing hardly. The show,(as it usually does), ended with a standing ovation and well deserved. McNulty can go back to his own chair, fuming much like MIC would, over how much he wishes things to be the way that they were. I myself, am enjoying the opportunity to see this very funny show once again.***
Updated On: 7/14/08 at 05:08 PM