Wheaton Drama Season Opener a Sure Hit

Theater fans won't have trouble staying awake during Wheaton Drama's performance of The Drowsy Chaperone.

The musical, which premiered at the 111 Playhouse on Hale Street Sept. 17, is uproariously funny. From the moment the lights dim to the final curtain, audiences will laugh at the tongue-in-cheek humor of the story.

Director Craig Gustafson said his goal is for the audience to "get their money's worth"—a goal Gustafson and his cast of 17 achieved in spades. 

The Drowsy Chaperone is an homage to musicals of the 1920s, but also explores the effect it can have on fans who adore them.

The musical, which is really a play within a play, begins in the apartment of a New Yorker who enjoys listening to recordings of old Broadway musicals when he's feeling blue. The New Yorker, dubbed "Man in Chair" breaks the fourth wall and shares both his passion and cynicism for musicals with the audience. He invites the crowd to listen to one of his favorite records, a recording of the original cast of the fictitious The Drowsy Chaperone. Stuart Vance's "Man in Chair" is an absolute delight. Channeling a more subdued version of the late Paul Lynde, Vance provides the audience with details about the musical, but also readily admits the plot is quite thin and only exists to advance the musical numbers.

As "Man in Chair" starts the recording, the play unfolds in what was once his dingy apartment, but is now the theater of his mind. Man in Chair quickly introduces the characters to his friends in the audience.

As Man in Chair said, the plot is quite simple. A Broadway actress, Janet Van De Graaff, performed by Sara Malloy, plans to give up her career and marry Robert Martin, the son of an oil Tycoon, played by Andrew Dameron. From that moment on the romp through the 1920s begins. Both Malloy and Dameron dive into their characters with gusto and ham it up.

Fans will discover scenes in The Drowsy Chaperone that remind them of other musicals about that era, including Singing in the Rain. One particular scene that includes a vigorous tap dance deftly performed by Dameron and Garrett Ard, who performs the role of George, Robert Martin's best man. Prior to his performance in The Drowsy Chaperone Dameron had no tap dancing experience. Although not on the same level as the great hoofers Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor, Dameron's and Ard's performance was a treat.

 Each of the actors more than held their own on the stage. There was not one sour note, nor one missed mark the entire night. And that's quite a feat considering the demands on the actors' abilities to stop in mid song, hold a pose while Man in Chair adds his personal footnotes to the scene, and then pick up again when he's done—something that happens multiple times throughout the production. Also, considering how funny the script is, it's amazing how each of the actors maintain their composure. One scene in particular had the audience guessing if the comedy was intentional or a wardrobe malfunction. During a pratfall in the first act number "I am Aldolpho" the skunk-like wig of Aldolpho fell off the head of actor Steve Schroeder. Schroeder was able to put it back in place without missing a beat of his seductive song and dance routine.

As the final curtain falls, audience members may discover themselves whistling a merry tune as they discover what Man in Chair already knows, that musicals can beat the blues away.

The Drowsy Chaperone will run for four weekends at Wheaton Drama, 111 N. Hale St. Tickets range from $18 - $21.