The Drowsy Chaperone

This is by far the funniest musical I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. BF1 got comp tickets for Wednesday night. It was a little complicated of an evening planning wise as I was having a small dinner party on Thursday night (it was great; served wild mushroom and leek soup, Caprese with about the best mozzarella from the Italian market at Chelsea Market, Eggplant parmesan with fettuccine noodles topped with sautéed wild mushrooms and pesto. I’ll gladly post the recipes for any of these if anyone would like) and needed to do some prep work on the cooking after work and before joining up with the gang for dinner before the show. It all worked out; I called BF1 from the cab and had him order me seared tuna at Film Center Café 635 9th Ave between 44th and 45th Streets where I met them at 7. Female friend beside me commented that it appeared that the waitress was flirting with me (happily, she was) which did not go unnoticed by BF1 who proceeded to hug and kiss me when the 5 of us were standing up to leave ostensibly to thank me for picking up the check for the group. (All are in theatre with smallish incomes). Really I felt more like a fire hydrant being marked by a dog.
Anyway on to the show; it’s playing at the Marquee in the Marriott, recently home to The Woman in White. (I may be one of two people who really liked that show. Sir Lloyd-Weber bashing seems to be all the rage amongst theatre people and intellictualistas alike of late.)
The curtain rises on a black stage (to clarify; unlit not African/American) and the voice coming from the stage starts the laugher even before the lights come up on the somewhat dingy apartment of a man who turns out to be the ultimate theatre queen. He then proceeds to share with us the record album from his favorite guilty pleasure of a show: The Drowsy Chaperone. The stage is soon bursting with the characters from the recording with whom he interacts in his own mind and narrates for us. I laughed from the beginning to the end, almost making myself sick in the process. Be forewarned there is no intermission and well…..let’s just say the last ½ of the show was not comfortable due in large part to my laughing. So be prepared and wear a ‘Depends’, you won’t regret it and you don’t want to miss a minute of this wonderful production. It’s still in previews so as of yet unreviewed by the professionals. I think that once it is tickets will be hard to come by and you definitely don’t want to miss this show or for that matter this particular cast each and every one of whom is spectacular! My prediction in writing: 4 Tony’s: costumes, sets, musical, and book. It’s really that good. The cast includes Georgia Engel, Bob Martin, Edward Hibbert, Sutton Foster, Beth Leavel, and Troy Britton Johnson all of whom are spot on. So click the above link (the title) and book your tickets. I guarantee you a magical night of musical theatre and great joy!