Sunset Playhouse Stages Drowsy Chaperone

JULY 18, 2011—ELM GROVE, WI--A musical that started out as a stag party skit spoofing 1920’s stage productions and the carefree, madcap Jazz Age is playing at Sunset Playhouse through Aug. 7.  The song and dance comedy, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, has earned five Tony Awards.

The light-hearted send-up of old-fashioned musicals such as NO, NO NANETTE is a show within a show.  The first storyline focuses on the Man in Chair, who has a passion for the early Broadway productions.  

The Man yearns for the cheerful concoctions of the ‘20s and hates modern theatre.  He welcomes the audience and begs his guests to listen to a recording of his favorite musical, set in the 1920’s “when the champagne flowed…and all the world was a party.”

 The make-believe musical is THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and, as the LP plays, the show’s characters and a lavish Broadway set magically appear in the Man’s modest apartment. The second story unfolds, centering on a glamorous ”Feldzeig Follies” star who wants to give up show business to get married.  The plot involves her producer who hopes to foil the marriage, her inebriated chaperone, a well-heeled groom, a Latin lover and two bumbling gangsters.

The Man in Chair is an eager host, providing a framework of commentary and sly remarks for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE.  When the Latin lover and the chaperone have a rendezvous, he says, “But that’s what musicals are all about, right?  Romantic  fantasy.  Falling in love at the drop of a hat! Spontaneous Tango-ing.  Suddenly finding yourself in an insanely romantic setting!”

The production is filled with dance duets as well as full-blown ensemble numbers  featuring songs such as "Wedding Bells" and "Love is Always Lovely."   Tap dancing and pratfalls—and even roller skating and cartwheels— also add to the fun.

Comic moments include the matronly hostess and her butler doing a song and dance routine about her favorite “fancy dress,” the gangsters posing as pastry chefs who love a bad pun (“We hope we have made ourselves perfectly éclair,”) and the Latin lothario performing a tribute to himself as the King of Romance.

“This unique musical is an ode to those old 1920’s musicals that were light on plot and heavy on comedy, with rousing music with catchy rhythms and loads of up-tempo dances and several “take-home” songs you’ll be humming for a while,” said Tom Williams in the Chicago Critic.

The1920s were Broadway's busiest decade, with as many as fifty new musicals opening in a single season, according to musical historian John Kenrick.  Well-known names from the era include Jerome Kern, Florenz Ziegfeld, Fred Astaire and Al Jolson.  Musicals of that time had titles such as “Kissing Time,” “She’s My Baby,” and “The Vagabond King.” 

 THE DROWSY CHAPERONE was written by award-winning Second City authors Bob Martin and Don McKellar with music by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.  The wedding of Martin and his wife, Janet, was the inspiration for the original script.  The musical debuted in 1998 in Toronto.

For tickets or more information, go to www.sunsetplayhouse.com or call 1-262-782-4430.