Quite clearly the Best Musical of 2006 (the Tony went to Jersey Boys) and one of my all-time favorites, The Drowsy Chaperone celebrated its tenth anniversary with a two show reunion at 54 Below. The evening was narrated by the original Man In Chair and book author Bob Martin. Many of the original cast members were present including Tony winner Beth Leavel who, as the title character, keeps her “eyeball on the highball” in her hand. For fans of this show, this concert version was great fun.
The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical parody of 1920s Broadway which began life as a stag party skit created for the real life marriage of Bob Martin and Janet van de Graaf in 1997. As Man in Chair, the character of Bob Martin plays his record album of the (imaginary) 1928 hit The Drowsy Chaperone, described as “mix-ups, mayhem and a gay wedding.” As Man in Chair wryly observes, “of course gay wedding has a different meaning nowadays… back then it just meant FUN!” From the Toronto Fringe Festival, the show evolved and hit the big time in 2006. Nominated for thirteen Tonys, it won six of them. As a bonus during this concert, Lisa Lambert, the show’s co-composer and original Drowsy Chaperone, performed that character’s long since abandoned song about being “drowsy” which was later replaced by the show’s anthem, “As We Stumble Along.”
From a 2015 Broadwayworld.com review of a production in Massachusetts: “The Drowsy Chaperone is one of those shows that is inherently comical in its nature: it is literally laugh-out-loud funny, portraying the lives and actions of each of its characters as almost too absurd to be believed.…The Drowsy Chaperone is really a beautiful show that is saturated with singing, dancing, some very odd characters and an almost too-simple plot that makes this show awesome.” To be honest, it’s even better than that. Bucket list this one next time it comes to town. In the meantime, check out the vast array of talent that performs at 54 Below, Broadway’s Supper Club in New York.
Special note to our friends in St. Louis: Beth Leavel is coming to the Muni this summer as Mama Rose in Gypsy.