The theater goes dark. The audience grows quiet. After what seems like an awkwardly long time spent sitting there, unable to see, praying that coming to the show wasn't a mistake, the audience hears a voice from the stage saying, "I hate theater."
So begins "The Drowsy Chaperone," an unflinchingly self-referential show billed as a "musical within a comedy." The audience is first greeted by Man in Chair (played by Jonathan Crombie) as he lounges around his dingy bachelor's apartment dressed in greenish corduroys and a gray, loose-fitting sweater. He seems quite pleased to have a captive audience, and he proceeds to give his opinion on the downfall of modern-day theater.
Man in Chair is an aficionado of old musicals, and he has a record collection of performances from past decades. When he feels down (which is apparently most days), he listens to musicals to cheer himself up. He's eager for the audience to share his appreciation of old shows, so he locks all three bolts on his door (because what's more embarrassing than musical theater?), puts on his favorite record ("The Drowsy Chaperone"), and his apartment transforms into the setting for a 1920s Broadway musical.
"The Drowsy Chaperone" itself is simplistic, banal, flat and downright brilliant. It's intentionally bad enough to be funny, and creative enough to keep the joke fresh. It continually surprises the audience with new levels of parody and a humorous running narrative by Man in Chair.
The general plot is as follows: It's 1928 and Janet Van De Graff (Andrea Chamberlin) is a showgirl who is going to give up her life of glamour to marry Robert Martin (Mark Ledbetter). The two rely on the best man, George (Richard Vida), and the Drowsy Chaperone (Nancy Opel) to keep them from seeing each other before their wedding ceremony. Of course, problems arise, and it looks like nothing will work out, but in the end everyone lives happily ever after. That's not a spoiler - Man in Chair makes audiences well aware that the show finishes on a happy note before it even begins.
Really, the plot is trivial. In the words of Man in Chair, "It's like pornography ... The story consists only to connect the major production pieces" - in this case, the songs. The cast of "The Drowsy Chaperone" has so much talent that it somehow shines through the deliberate god-awfulness of the show. The musical numbers are well delivered, the comedic timing is flawless, and even the dances are good. For the song "I'm an Accident Waiting to Happen," the groom sings and dances while blindfolded and wearing roller skates (just go with it), and he makes it look easy.
The show spoofs nearly every aspect of musical theater. The plot is formulaic and predictable. The characters are static, and whatever emotional turmoil they face is roughly equivalent to that of a middle school cheerleader. The lyrics are bad, and the acting is overdone. But somehow, it's irresistible. Man in Chair loves it, and his character's enthusiasm is largely responsible for the show's success.
Since "The Drowsy Chaperone" is really just one of Man in Chair's records, he is free to interject with facts about the actors, the content and his own personal life. His narration and dry sense of humor balance out the musical's over-the-top parodies. Jonathan Crombie is excellent in this role, making his character at once pitiable, intriguing and funny. From the moment the play opens, the audience takes it for granted that Man in Chair is gay, and not in the 1920s sense of the word. The scriptwriters lose no time in exploiting this; Man in Chair continually plays off the audience's expectations.
From time to time, the "real" world interferes with Man in Chair's musical reverie. The telephone rings, or the record skips, and Broadway is rudely interrupted. Everyone watching is rudely awakened to everyday life, something that Man in Chair loses no time in lamenting. Ultimately the show is about escapism, about the stupid things we watch, listen to or imagine to make reality bearable. This is evident even in the play's structure. There's no intermission; it runs a little over an hour and a half straight through.
"The Drowsy Chaperone" is creative, well-balanced and funny. The four Tony Awards it won in 2006 were well deserved, as the show manages to be of above-average Broadway quality without sacrificing innovation.
