What Happened to "The Drowsy Chaperone?"

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What Happened to "The Drowsy Chaperone?"

Posted: 4/2/08 at 5:41pm

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, so I apologize for those who liked this show.

Anyway, why did it close early? Actually, I should, as does anyone know? LOL! My sister bought tickets for my parents for Christmas, but got an email a few days before she was supposed to give them the present, saying that all performances of the show were cancelled from January to June. Was that also supposed to be the last performance for it, or does this mean it will come back in June?

My sister is mean and joked that Bob Saget, who was supposed to be in it at the time, backed out. LOL! She only said that because she doesn't like him.

"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005 "You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy. Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 5:43pm

No, the show isn't coming back. It officially closed because ticket sales just weren't up to par. When it opened, it did very well but faded since and never really got out of the 60ish percentage range attendance-wise.

I personally didn't like the show very much at all and thought it should have closed way before it actually did.

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 5:47pm

Went to see this on my last trip to New York with great expectations and have to say I was very disappointed. Might have just been me but I didn't find it particularly funny or memorable.

Luckily I saw Doyle's Company the following night which more than made up for the disappointment.

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 5:47pm

Wow, I thought it was really popular. Guess I was wrong. Maybe that's why it was easy for my sister to get the discount tickets then. LOL! I forget where the tickets were for, but it was the orchestra section.

"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005 "You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy. Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 5:58pm

the COMPANY revival sucked.

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 6:03pm

Not to me it didn't. I thought it was amazing.

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 6:10pm

Doyle is overrated.

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 7:44pm

When it opened the producers were worried that it wouldn't sell because they were worried that people wouldn't buy tickets to a show called The Drowsy Chaprone. But, word of mouth did get out quite well ( I am sure those quirky ads helped out too) and the show ended up recouping its investment. That was why they were able to change the marquee of the Marquis Theatre. But, after it recouped sales started do die down. They brought in Bob Saget as stunt casting (saw the closing night performance and he was actually good in the show) and then ended up closing it.

A great little musical it was but a flop it wasn't.

You have to realize that when it opened up almost every musical on Broadway was either based on some sort of movie or novel. There really wasn't any that was a pure original idea. So, it does say something both for the show and for the current state of Broadway. That there was a show that was truly original and that it managed to sell well and recoup.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 7:49pm

You think he's overrated. I think he's brilliant. To each his own.

"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."

The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.

#10

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 7:53pm

"You have to realize that when it opened up almost every musical on Broadway was either based on some sort of movie or novel. There really wasn't any that was a pure original idea. So, it does say something both for the show and for the current state of Broadway. That there was a show that was truly original and that it managed to sell well and recoup."

What about aveneue r and spelling Bee>

#11

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 7:53pm

Nothing happened. Shows have to close, even successful ones. It had a solid run, turned a profit (a miracle for any show), and is not surely turning a bigger profit on tour.
From the Mouth of Mary Martin: On the Writing and Selecting of Roles

#12

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:01pm

Yankeefan,

I said almost every show not every show. Spelling Bee is a given and Q was based on Sesame Street. That goes in the same category of musicals that were based on something else and not 100 per cent original.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

#13

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:02pm

Went to see this on my last trip to New York with great expectations and have to say I was very disappointed. Might have just been me but I didn't find it particularly funny or memorable.

If you saw Drowsy anytime in the months that Company was open, you saw it at a pretty dreary point in its short life. It seems the show really lost something when the OBC left. It was a really joyful little show in its first 6 months or so. (Granted, I never saw the show again after the last time I saw the OBC...but I heard plenty of word of mouth about the newer cast and saw them at Broadway in Bryant Park this summer. Their performances were nothing special.)

"If there is going to be a restoration fee, there should also be a Renaissance fee, a Middle Ages fee and a Dark Ages fee. Someone must have men in the back room making up names, euphemisms for profit." (Emanuel Azenberg)

Updated On: 4/2/08 at 08:02 PM

#14

re: What Happened to 'The Drowsy Chaperone?'

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:02pm

What about aveneue r and spelling Bee>

I perfer Avenue T!

He's a faker, and you've been taken in by his con. And in doing so, you are enabling him. He is doing more damage to aspergers than papa's words ever could. -Chane/Liverpool on me having asperger syndrome.

#15

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:04pm

Okay Winston, I challenge you to come up with a list of 20 musicals (not counting anything that opened this season) not based on source material.

#16

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:07pm

I was lucky enough to see the original cast 2 days before the Tony awards and then again at the awards. I thought it was one of the best shows I have seen. It is coming to Denver and I am not sure I want to see it with the touring company. And speaking of Company, I very much enjoyed the Doyle revival.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

#17

Drowsy

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:11pm

I saw this quite early in its run...with OBC and thought it was simply adorable. Lively, quirky and clever.

I then saw it about a year ago...and couldn't have been more dissappointed in it. Just blah. It just didn't have staying power.

Saget did not back out...he was already doing the show when they pulled the plug.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#18

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:13pm

Yankeefan, The point I was trying to make about Drowsy is this. That at a time when Broadway was full of movies turned musicals Drowsy was a show that wasn't based on anything and was truly original. I am trying to say that there were a lot of Broadway fans including myself who were looking for something original in the mess of movies turned musicals and Drowsy was the answer to that.

Many people on this forum cheer when new and original shows like Passing Strange or In The Heights open because it is something new and fresh. It's not another jukebox musical or a movie turned musical. It's a musical that shows that there are people out there who care about the creative process of musical theatre and not just throwing up a well known movie on stage or using the songs of a pop band to formulate a Broadway show.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

#19

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:21pm

"Q was based on Sesame Street"

Eh, that's a stretch. Influenced by or parodies, yes. But to say it's "based on" implies that they took an episode of "Sesame Street" with a similar plot and raced it up, which they didn't. They came up with an original story.

"Your lyrics lack subtlety! You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!"

Updated On: 4/2/08 at 08:21 PM

#20

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:37pm

When I saw it, my best friend here in Denver went on vacation with me (And we both survived! Barely!). He had only seen one show on Broadway and that was West Side Story years ago. He doesn't even really remember much about it. So he left it up to me to pick the shows we were to see. Among the shows we saw were Spring Awakening at the Atlantic, he saw the Sweeney andRevival I saw Hot Feet (no comment). I wanted his 1st real NYC experience to be special. So I chose Drowsy as the 1st show to see. We arrived in NYC at 6:30 in the morning, dropped our bags at a friends and hit the city. That evening we saw Drowsy and when we were leaving, he turned to me and said, "Even though I haven't seen the rest of the shows, this (Drowsy) had to be just the best choice for my 1st vacation and theatergoing" (We saw 8 shows). He fell in love with the show (as did I) and I was really happy that I chose it for our first show to see on vacation.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

#21

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 8:46pm

Q is very loosely based on Sesame Street just like Wicked is loosely based on the novel.

What I mean by that is that the creators took odds and ends of Sesame Street and turned them into Q. While the book writer of wicked took odds and ends of the novel and sugarcoated them to fit into a family friendly musical.

"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

#22

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 9:04pm

Hey, I'll take that challenge...

Caroline, or Change
Urinetown
Avenue Q
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Bells Are Ringing
Fade Out, Fade In
Hallelujah, Baby
Curtains
Follies
Pacific Overtures
How Now, Dow Jones
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Finian's Rainbow
Flahooley
Anyone Can Whistle
Bye Bye Birdie
Allegro
No Strings
Kwamina
Baby
City of Angels
The Rink
The Life ...

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

#23

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 9:04pm

Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less of an original musical.

"Your lyrics lack subtlety! You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!"

#24

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 9:05pm

Good show, Smax. But I knew you'd be able to!

#25

I Challenge Winston

Posted: 4/2/08 at 9:06pm

"Wow, I thought it was really popular. Guess I was wrong. Maybe that's why it was easy for my sister to get the discount tickets then."

So because two people didn't like it, you assume it wasn't popular? It was very popular, it was a hit, it ran for years, it recouped it's investment... When a show dies down and puts up a closing notice, everyone with tickets after it's final performance is contacted. This is protocol.

"It's a musical that shows that there are people out there who care about the creative process of musical theatre and not just throwing up a well known movie on stage or using the songs of a pop band to formulate a Broadway show."

I'm ALL for original musicals, but this statement really rubs me the wrong way. There are plenty of creative teams and writers and producers who care very much about musical theatre and creating a worthy product... whose projects are based on a movie or existing music. It's ridiculous to assume that just because a product has source material, the creators are sell- outs who could care less about what they're "throwing up" on stage. Regardless of level of success, there are plenty of movie- based musicals and jukebox musicals that were created with all the heart, effort, and genuine belief afforded any project.

"Okay Winston, I challenge you to come up with a list of 20 musicals (not counting anything that opened this season) not based on source material."

Well there ARE plenty of those. YankeeFan, I bet you could name 20 too. But just for kicks, ones I can think of: A My Name Is Alice, The Act, [title of show], Allegro, Baby, Starting Here Starting Now, Closer Than Ever, Last 5 Years, Songs for a New World, John and Jen, Brownstone, Follies, Brooklyn, In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, Falsettoland, Elegies: A Song Cycle, A New Brain, Elegies for Punks Angels and Raging Queens, Thirteen, Bare, A Class Act, The Thing About Men, I Love You You're Perfect Now Change, Fade Out- Fade In, Hair...

Obviously those are off the top of my head, because I got on a William Finn tangent at one point...

The main point is that this thread makes my head hurt. But it was interesting to try to think of completely source material- less musicals... like Drowsy...

[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.

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