The Drowsy Chaperone (Summer Musicals)

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

10 Jun 2008 06:00 AM

Mixups, mayhem and a gay wedding ... of course gay wedding has a different meaning now, but back then it just meant fun....

I was fortunate enough to sit down in a theater this past Saturday afternoon to enjoy a musical titled The Drowsy Chaperone. I'd never heard of it before and I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the Fair Park Musical Hall. We settled into our seats and I flipped open the program to see a great story about Patrick Stewart (love him) and flipped a few more pages to read the cast descriptions and production information about the musical. I noticed the statement that leapt up from the page: no intermission.

Oh really?

I love musicals, I do. I even like intermission as it's a good excuse to run to the restroom, get a drink or just stretch the legs. But intermissions are usually a signal that you'll be at the theater for 3 to 3.5 hours and sometimes, that feels a little long. Apparently, that would not be the case for this show. I settled in as the lights flashed signaling the show was about to start. The ripples of conversation across the theater slowed to quiet.

The lights went out.

Anticipation filled the air and then ... nothing. It remained dark and quiet. The audience laughed, a little nervously, a little curiously and we waited. Soon a voice said out into the dark, "I hate the theater."

Laughter swelled up to the comment and the voice continued after a pause. "Well, it's so disappointing isn't it? You know what I do when I'm sitting in a darkened theater waiting for the curtain to rise?" The audience didn't say 'what' - but the emotion was in the air and the theater is still dark, nothing can be seen. "I pray." Laughter erupts again and the voice waits for the giggles to subside before saying, "Dear God, please let it be a good show. And let it be short, oh Lord in heave, please...." Despite their laughter, there was definitely an affirmation to the prayer and I found myself bowing my head in utter agreement. "You know there was a time when people sat in darkened theaters and thought to themselves, 'What have George and Ira got for me tonight?' or 'Can Cole Porter pull it off again?' Can you imagine?"

Oh yes, I can. I can imagine being surprised by a musical's performance and not already know exactly how it was all going to turn out. I can imagine being transported by the power of the story and the music to another time and place where entertainment relied as much on the imagination as the gift of the storytellers on the stage. So yes, I agreed with this voice in the dark.

The voice finished his diatribe with, "Now it's 'Please, Elton John, must we continue this charade?" Belly shaking laughs and quite a few 'amens' answered the prayer and the lights came up to begin the afternoon's entertainment with a man in a cardigan, sitting in his apartment waiting for us on the stage. That man is known only as The Man in the Chair and he is your host, your storyteller, your gateway to the frivolity that is to follow.

I won't tell you another word about this magnificent musical other than to say it is all the things described above. It is a wonderfully crafted piece of storytelling that transports the audience through words, actions and songs to another time and another place and it's funny. It's uproariously funny.

And yes.

It's short.

So check out this magnificent musical as it continues its tour and enjoy the tale of The Drowsy Chaperone - it's definitely not a snoozer.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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