Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Drowsy Chaperone

Posted by Laura / 2 comments » / , cleveland, musicals

Just after I moved to Ohio in late ’07, we went to see The Drowsy Chaperone. Cleveland was the second city in the tour, and as such we were fortunate enough to get some fairly big names in the company. Georgia Engel reprised the role that she originated, we had a member of the original cast (part of the ensemble) as Janet and Jonathan Crombie played Man in Chair. The whole experience was a treat, despite the people around us who simply didn’t understand the show.

This time around, I came into the show with the expectation that while I adore it, not everyone will understand it on the same level as I do, and some might not even like it. As we waited for the audience to fill in at the Stocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, it became clear that the theater was almost entirely filled. From early on in the performance, it was clear that the audience was enjoying it. There was laughter at all of the parts where I expected, and even some where I wasn’t. An older lady two seats down from me almost lost it over the gay marriage joke, which in turn gave me the giggles. The audience was terrific for the most part.

The cast, though… I hate to say things like this, but the cast was mediocre. Just average. Many of them seemed to be cast more for dancing ability than for singing, which detracted from their performances. My other impression of the cast was that they were very young. I scoped them out on the tour website beforehand and they all looked young in their headshots but I’ve known that to be somewhat misleading in the past. In this case, it was smack on. The oldest cast member was Patti McClure who played the Chaperone, and in saying she’s the oldest I don’t think that’s saying much as the rest of the cast was easily all under 30. I think the youth of the cast may have also affected their skill. I’ll say that they certainly had room for improvement, and I feel confident that many of them will get better. Their acting was solid and the dancing was quite good. With some training, the singing could improve, and then perhaps we’ll see some of them on Broadway proper someday.

Something that I didn’t find out until after the performance was that this was a non-Equity production. That doesn’t mean much to me other than that it means that they’re all working very hard without the guarantees that the union offers them, and that they’re still new(-ish) to the theater world.

The set was noticably more simplified than the one we saw in 2007, and the cast was certainly not as good nor as polished. I had a great time, but I think most of that was the show itself moreso than the cast. The cast were the vehicles for the great text, rather than actors participating in it and making it their own.

I have to say that my biggest disappointment, however lame that it might be, was the slight alteration of Kitty’s joke regarding the gangsters. “Holy Cats, Mr. Feldzeig! They’re gangsters!” just doesn’t bring as much humor as “Holy Cats, Mr. Feldzeig! They’re gangsters! From OHIO!” Was it changed because someone decided it wasn’t funny, or was it changed because they were in Ohio? I don’t know and I probably never will, but of all the unnecessary changes of script, that was the most disappointing to me. I have my priorities straight, right?

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