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‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ is an evening of really great, even joyful, entertainment      

By Daniel Hines
Publisher, TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com

From the moment the lights dimmed until the final curtain of the Stages St. Louis production of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ there was not a moment that I was not laughing or smiling.

This show is absolutely one of the most entertaining I have ever seen at Stages St. Louis and, I predict, will almost certainly be a leading candidate for a number of Kevin Kline awards this season because it has a cast of performers that are really top-notch.

One might wonder how the show could ever be pulled off.  In the first place, it wasn’t designed as a show, but as a  ‘gift’ at a pre-wedding party for an evening of entertainment from Robert Martin and Janet Van DeGraaff of a spoof of people who love musical shows by offering a show-within-a-show. 

That’s it.  This is the story of a musical about, you guessed it, weddings.  It makes one wonder what a hoot the real wedding must have been.  But, with all the plots, sub-plots, counter-plots that are running, this is much more.  It is just a wonderful evening of entertainment.

Interestingly, when the show first appeared, the ‘narrator’, who is really so much more was not included, and the production relied upon music from the 1920s to the 1940s, and, according to the program, jokes were a “bit more risqué”, undoubtedly closer to the ‘Bachelor Party’ for which it was originally designed.

Thank God the format was changed.  Had it not, we would have been deprived of one of the most outstanding Stages’ performance we have ever seen—the Man in the Chair, (TMTC) whose narrative binds the shows together, with humor, whimsy, slapstick and even a bit of melancholy—played perfectly by David Schmittou. 

Schmittou has a unique sense of timing, and is, frankly, a likeable person, a quality that shows through as he tells what he hates about today’s musicals, but then talks about his all-time favorite, ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, complete with memories and explanations of what made each member of ‘Chaperone’ so special. 

Along the way, we are introduced to insights into TMTC’s character.  He’s a lonely guy and is likely gay if we judge by our own stereotypes of voice and mannerisms.  Of course, the fact that he is so strongly attracted to ‘Chaperone’s’ leading man, Robert Martin, played by the almost  too-handsome David Elder, as the groom-to-be for Janet Van De Graaff, the foxy,  angular and highly vain Broadway star, played with a Barracuda type intensity that is perfect by Tari Kelly.

Much of the strength of the production is due to the quality of the remainder of the characters as well.  The chemistry among the various actors was so good, they could probably outdone the cast of the departed ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show.’  Because of that, they each deserve mention:

Kari Ely is appropriately air-headed as society matron Mrs. Tottendale, at whose house the wedding is planned; John Alban Coughlan is a scene-stealing ‘underling’ butler who makes one laugh just by walking across the stage or raising an eyebrow; we’ve already mentioned Elder as the groom-to-be; his best friend, George, played by Brian Ogilvie, is the busy-body best man, who seems more interested in running things than the happiness of the bride and groom; Ed Romanoff is Feldzieg, the Broadway producer whose success depends upon sabotaging the career-ending wedding of his only star, Janet Van De Graaff, all the while keeping two gangsters, referred to only as Ganster #1 and Gangster #2, played with just the right amount of exaggerated ‘gangster’ style (think Jimmy Cagney movies) responsible for making sure that Feldzieg is successful thereby protecting the financial interests of their mob boss;  for pure zaniness, the prize goes to the great lover Aldolpho, Edward Juvier, who employs every stereotype about Latin leading men of a bygone era.

What about The Drowsy Chaperone?  Christianne Tisdale is superb as the hard-drinking chaperone, who in the show is ‘really Beatrice Stockwell, who incidentally is the ‘favorite’ of TMTC.  Ms. Tisdale is a beautiful woman with a voice that is so strong, you immediately understand why she was cast as The Chaperone. 

As to prove my observation about the strength of the cast, a special mention must be made of Zoe Vonder Haar, a personal favorite of mine and Stages’ audiences.  Ms. Vonder Haar has a small role as an aviatrix (don’t ask me how or why), but she wows the audience with a show-ending number that gives her a chance to shine with her stage presence, sense of humor and really great voice.  She saves the day at the end of the performance by…well, you’ll just have to wait until you see the show…and this is one that we strongly recommend as Stages St. Louis illustrates once again what a great gift it is not only to St. Louis, but why it has emerged as a leading regional theater.