I was first introduced to The Drowsy Chaperone probably the same way you are being introduced to it today; I had some friends in a local production who invited me to see them. I had heard of the show but found the title a tad too flat to explore it on my own. Yep, I was judging a musical by its title.
From the instant the lights went down and the first line was spoken, the musical had me under its spell. The concept is simple: a musical theater devotee of today shares his favorite show with an audience. The stroke of genius? His favorite show is from 1928! The Drowsy Chaperone is a fictitious musical comedy written by the further fabricated writer/composer team of Gable and Stein. This pairing of an old-school musical with a fresh perspective results in an evening of pure entertainment: sometimes silly, sometime politically incorrect (a concept foreign to Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age), but always good-spirited fun.
I think this show was written not for people who love musicals but for those who hate them. If you abhor hackneyed plots and one-dimensional characters that spontaneously burst into song, or--even worse--a dance break, then the last thing you want to see is a musical from Broadway’s salad days! But what if you had a guide? Someone who loved musicals so much that he was not only able to wink at its foolishness with you but also show you its value…and what musicals were designed to do.
I hope we can be your guide today!
Frank D. Shutts II
Director
“I don't think today's younger audience... would even know what 1920s musicals were like.”
Julie Andrews
