Theatre - The Drowsy Chaperone
Just saw The Drowsy Chaperone yesterday and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect, particularly because the reviews were so mixed that I was intrigued to see whether I’d love it or hate it.
I’m not really a fan of particularly dramatic musicals. I like my musicals to be musical comedies, like The Producers, Spamalot and Avenue Q. Which I suppose is why I’ve avoided Wicked but was interested in The Drowsy Chaperone, because the latter is a throwback that has plenty of laughs.
The premise is fairly simple. Man In Chair (played brilliantly by Bob Martin, the highlight of the whole thing) is feeling blue, so he puts on his favourite musical record, The Drowsy Chaperone. What follows is the entire show taking place in his apartment, with Man In Chair helpfully narrating what’s going on.
The whole thing is very “wink wink nudge nudge” with Man In Chair almost acting as the sceptical audience in places, commenting on how badly acted some scenes are and how nonsensical half the lyrics are, but when your guide through the world is a character who loves musical theatre for all its good points and bad points, it’s hard not to enjoy the experience.
I had no experience of the Broadway version of the show, but there were obviously a few jokes written in especially for the London show, such as a joke about the show not getting many laughs when it was “originally” performed in London, and a brief history of the Novello theatre’s various incarnations.
The performances were great across the board, full of enthusiasm and everyone was obviously revelling in the joy of it all. All in all I thought it was thoroughly entertaining.
