How great would it be to immerse yourself in your favourite musical?
Well, that’s eactly what The Drowsy Chaperone does.
Back by popular demand for the 2017 season of Bard to Broadway, The Drowsy Chaperone starts off in the apartment of a middle-aged music theatre fan, Man-in-Chair (played by B2B veteran Gary Brown), who plays his favourite record — the cast album of the (fictional) 1928 Broadway hit The Drowsy Chaperone.
From there, the musical and its cast burst to life in Man-in-Chair’s living room while he sits off to the side breaking the fourth wall to let the audience know when his favourite part — or least favourite part — is coming up.
The musical within the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, tells the story of a Broadway star on her wedding day and all of the mishaps in between.
From start to finish the cast — most of which reprised their roles from the 2013 production — had the audience laughing.
It’s hard to say which character illicited the most laughs: Man-in-Chair with his one liners and a biased opinion of someone who is listening to their favourite musical for the umpteenth time, or Adolpho (played by Rob Atkinson), a self-proclaimed famous Latin lover, with his over-the-top accent and actions.
But the cast as a whole, which included 19 performers, works so well together.
Some of the other highlights included Gangster #1 and Gangster #2 (played by Justus Limpright and Oscar Cope, respectively). While the two gangsters are stock characters, they definitely got the audience laughing with their comedic timing.
Janet (played by Miranda Atkinson), the Broadway star, and her fiance Robert (played by Ben Loyst) had great chemistry together in their duet Accident Waiting to Happen.
But the two really showed off their talents in the two previous numbers.
In Cold Feets, Robert showed off his tap-dancing skills alongside his best man (played George Atkinson) which drew quite the applause from the audience. It’s in the number Show Off, though, that you get to see Janet “show off” her skills all the while singing about how she no longer wants to show off.
Although it’s been only four years since the last B2B production of The Drowsy Chaperone, it’s sure to entertain audiences again and again.
The Drowsy Chaperone is running at the Village Theatre (110 W. Second Ave., Qualicum Beach) through July until mid-August. For more information on dates and prices, visit www.b2btheatre.com.