![]() The Drowsy Chaperone, the play-within-the-play, focuses on the impending nuptials of Robert Martin (Ashley Day), a handsome son of an oil tycoon, and Janet van der Graaf (Katie Mariko Murray), a former celebrity showgirl who is preparing to “give up a life of glamor to tie the knot. (Bob Martin went on to join the project and originated the role of Man in Chair in the show’s 2006 Broadway run.) ![]() He takes a fairly straightforward plot with flat characters and embellishes it with details that contextualize and critique the performances they frame.Īctually, The Drowsy Chaperone is not a forgotten relic of the Broadway boom of the late 1920s, but a Canadian musical from the late 1990s with a 21st-century sensibility written by songwriting partners Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison as a wedding present to their friends Bob Martin and Janet van der Graaf. His frequent interjections provide background on the cast of fictional Vaudeville and Hollywood stars playing the show’s characters and trace his character’s engagement with the show and its themes over time. Starting off as the friend who is so excited for you to see their favorite show that they can hardly stop watching you watch it, it gradually becomes clear that Aiken’s character’s delight as the show unfolds in his apartment is actually the best part. Our host turns to one of his favorite records (“yes, records.”), introducing Drowsy ’s show-within-the-show of the same name, “Gable and Stein’s The Drowsy Chaperone, remember?,” a 1928 musical romp full of “mixups, mayhem, and a gay wedding.” When the lights come up on Man in Chair’s apartment, he’s settling into a night at home in his oversized beige cardigan, feeling “a bit blue,” and seeking an escape from reality. Story: The man in the chair leads the audience through the. Character Man in Chair Show The Drowsy Chaperone Gender Male Age Range Adult, Mature Adult Role Size Lead Dancing Mover Voice Spoken Time & Place the present, apartment of the man in chair, and 1928, mrs. (Aiken was first slated to star in the Pittsburgh production in 2021 before the CLO was forced to cancel its original season line-up.) A musical that pays homage to the silly, predictable gems of the golden age of musical theatre. It’s an ironic way to start a contemporary musical, made even more curious by the fact that our host is played here by 2003 American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, a famous singer performing in a notably non-singing role. ![]() The voice belongs to the protagonist, an unnamed character who appears in the script only as “Man in Chair.” The theater remains dark for a good two more minutes as we listen to our narrator, a serious devotee of the stage, share his frustration with the mediocrity of today’s musical theater. So starts The Drowsy Chaperone at Pittsburgh CLO.
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