I saw Carthage College’s stunning and rollicking production of “The Drowsy Chaperone” for a second time last night, and my friend Joe Cardamone said it best afterwards: “How Do I Not Know This Show?!?!?!” This delightful musical has to be one of the best-kept secrets in musical theater in recent years. It’s not that it flew into Carthage’s Wartburg Auditorium entirely under the radar- it was a Tony Award winner on Broadway five years ago and the show certainly has plenty of champions. But before last weekend, I only knew one single song from it and nothing at all about the story or the rest of the score. But for me it was love-at-first-sight. . . and last night I enjoyed it every bit as much, if not even more!
I actually loved it so much last weekend that when my colleagues Jim Ripley and Charlotte Chell each sent an email to the rest of the faculty, urging people to see this fantastic show, I chimed in with my own endorsement: that this was the funniest musical theater experience I had ever had, and that includes anything I’ve ever seen on a stage, up to and including Broadway itself. I have never laughed so hard or so often during a musical theater performance…. and with all that’s been piling up on me as of late, it felt SO incredibly good to go to a show that made all of those pressures seem like a million miles away or more. Anyway, I said that – but the scary part of speaking so boldly is that people might act on your recommendation. So there I am last night, standing in the line to pick up my tickets, and behind me is faculty colleague who said he was there primarily because I raved about the show so emphatically. Yikes.
Only then did it occur to me that humor is something that quite often divides us and points up the differences between us. Comedian Roseanne Arnold sings an especially off- key and strident national anthem at a nationally telecast baseball game – on purpose – thinking it will be funny. . . and half of America burns her in effigy. An SNL sketch will have one person laughing until their sides hurt, while the person sitting next to them does not even crack a smile. Who or what makes you laugh the hardest? Carol Burnett? Chris Rock? A pithy song by Noel Coward? Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors? What’s your idea of a funny movie? Wallace and Grommit? Or Dumb and Dumber? What’s your favorite funny television program? Leave it to Beaver? All in the Family? Frasier? Cougar Town? I like to compare and contrast humor to fireworks. A fabulous fireworks display elicits excitement from just about everyone, unless you have serious issues with sensory sensitivity. But comedy? It comes in so many shapes and sizes and flavors- and whether or not something strikes us as funny has so much to do with who we are and how we’re wired. And whether or not we are amused by something is entirely up to us- one of our inalienable rights, I suppose. So just because I found Drowsy Chaperone hilarious was no guarantee whatsoever that anyone else would.
So as the lights came down last night, I found myself sort of slinking down into my seat, hoping that anyone who came to the show on the strength of my recommendation would enjoy themselves thoroughly – rather than walk out at intermission muttering “Greg thought this was funny?!?!” And by the way, the aforementioned professor was sitting two seats away from me. And on the other side of me was two young friends of Kathy and me – both students at Walden High School – that were there as our guests. I gushed to them just as wholeheartedly about how hilarious this show was- but only as the lights were coming down did I start to wonder if a 52-year-old college professor and a high school sophomore could possibly find the same things funny.
Well, we did, and everyone else in our immediate vicinity seemed to be laughing up a storm — although my wife did mention that at least one point in the evening, I was laughing uproariously while those around us were chuckling more at me than at whatever was happening onstage. But I’m pretty sure that most of us in that auditorium were pretty much on the same page, riding a wave of enthusiastic energy thanks to a brilliant show which was brilliantly executed.
And you have to have both sides of the equation, as I was saying to fellow voice teacher Sarah Gorke during intermission. On paper, this show is incredibly clever, inventive, and gut-bustingly hilarious. But you also have to bring it to life in performance, and that’s the other half of the equation. Carthage put an astonishing amount of talent on that stage – and this cast achieved a very special sort of chemistry that is so essential in comedy, under the direction of Martin McClendon and Amy Haines. Certain bits that required incredible precision and timing were carried off superbly. The characters felt vibrantly real, even if they were broadly drawn stock figures. And the whole show, while a spoof of the big splashy musicals of another era, was written with a very genuine sense of affection and respect, which last night’s cast certainly embraced as well.
In a nutshell- the show is presented as though a musical theater fan is playing the record of one of his favorite musicals, which happens to be called “The Drowsy Chaperone” – and he leads the audience through all that transpires, with plenty of editorial comments that only add to the hilarity. There’s tap-dancing, blindfolded roller skating, inept mind-reading, illegal drinking (it’s set during Prohibition), spectacular entrances from out of the refrigerator… you know, your typical splashy musical from the 1920’s! And this fantastic cast is equal to every challenge, which is so impressive- and not just in how they bring off the complicated comedic business (which I don’t want to give away) but also in how they become these characters so convincingly. And what’s so thrilling when you are watching people you know is that you can appreciate what a leap people are taking beyond who they are. For instance, the droll butler – whose boss refers to him as “underling” – scarcely cracks a smile all night…. and he’s played by one of my freshman voice students, Jack Lambert, who off the stage is one of the most positive, energetic, joyous people I know. Witnessing that striking transformation is one of the great pleasures of watching this kind of production versus a Broadway production populated by performers who are undeniably talented but essentially strangers. How much more fun it is when you know the sweet housewife who manages to portray the sultry seductress or the unassuming librarian who becomes the menacing villain.
Enough said. It’s a splendid show that makes you deeply appreciate the magic of live theater, great comedy, and the unequaled delight of seeing people you know and love doing spectacular things.
The last performance of “Drowsy Chaperone” is tonight (Saturday) at 7:30. If you have not yet seen it and can possibly see it, DO!
pictured above: the cast accepts the vociferous applause of the audience at the curtain call.