Reviewed by: Jade Smith
Fundamentally, this production of Drowsy can only be described as an absolute romp – fun, vibrant, and carried by an incredibly strong cast and crew, a fabulously loving homage to musical theatre.
The Drowsy Chaperone follows the Narrator (Will Serafim), an anxious, socially awkward older man living alone in what one can presume is his New York apartment, as he takes us through his favourite musical, the titular Drowsy Chaperone. This play-within-a-play follows a cast of zany characters in the lead up to a wedding between Robert Martin (Gryff Connah) and Janet Van de Graff (Maggie Gilby).
Leading an immensely strong cast, was Serafim’s incredibly effective portrayal of the Narrator, wonderfully channelling his anxious, tittering, at-time pretentious energy. Any fumbles that happened with his frankly intimidating number of lines were like water off a duck’s back, with stumbles feeling like a result of the character’s anxiety rather than a mistake.
Comedically, every actor more than held their own. However, Matt Worth’s Adolfo the King of Romance, and Lua Jarrah and Emily Chepurin as the mafia goons turned faux pastry chefs turned Broadway emerging stars, delivered truly side-splitting performances. The most stand-out vocal performances came from Connah and Gilby as the bride and groom, as well as Lili Wymond as the Chaperone – this trio were brilliantly cast in the lead roles, each bringing enough talent to the stage that no-one felt overshined.
The strength of the cast and ensemble were at their best in the Act 1 finale, ‘Toldeo Surprise,’ which has been stuck in my head for the better part of a week now. This being said – there wasn’t a single number that I couldn’t point to here as evidence of the cast’s strength. It was all hits and no misses from start to finish.
Some significant sound issues in the first fifteen minutes of the show had me worried, but they were mostly remedied as the show progressed, leaving the remaining sound issues what I consider a theatre classic – a symptom of the issues inherent to the space, rather than any lack of talent on the part of any humans.
Through some ups and downs, ultimately the band managed to hold their own against an intimidatingly strong cast, and Musical Director, Abbey Dempsey, did a fantastic job of reining things back in when they started to get messy.
The production design was overall quite good. Particular kudos goes to the excellent lighting design by Jessica Zhao and Freddy McLoughlan. Some brilliantly executed lighting cues signify some strong collaboration between, designers, the operators, and with the Stage Manager Eliza Jasper.
The costumes by Clara Paton, and hair and makeup by Rosie Curley and Grace Pardew did well to evoke the nature of the characters and the aesthetics of 1920’s Broadway on a budget. My seats near the front of the theatre granted me the privilege of noticing some creative sewing work, which positively transformed the Bride’s simple dress into more of a bridal moment, complete with ruffles.
A commendation must also be passed onto the crew for the genius move to use sheer cloth for the groom’s blindfold. Having Stage Managed shows with roller skates on stage and with blind-folded actors (but not at the same time), the risk management procedures of having someone roller skate blind folded have me rolling in my grave. (In this scenario, I’ve already been struck dead by the talent of the cast). The Production Manager, Stage Manager, and any others involved did an excellent job working smarter not harder – and this effective resourcing of time and energy showed in how well the overall production was executed.
The production design was, unfortunately, at its weakest with the set design. While I can absolutely see what designer, Ella Thomasson was aiming for, it ultimately felt stuck between two possibilities. I would have liked to see this design either lean more into the ‘cartoony’ style of the painted flats – perhaps by making the colours more vibrant, the shapes more exaggerated, or the three-dimensional furniture more stylised, or commit to something simpler and cleaner. As it was, the set painting looked rushed, and half-finished in places, with the lines too wobbly to be deliberate, but too deliberate for their messiness to be artful.
Finally, I think it’s worth congratulating the directors and other heads of production for what they didn’t do, as well as what they did.
Before the show started, I turned to my sister and warned her: “There’s a song in this show that makes it so obvious it was written in the 80’s, or whatever. I’m really curious to see what they do with it because it did not age well.” Half of this was a lie: Drowsypremiered in 1998 and hit Broadway in 2006. Half of this was not: this song aged like a punnet of raspberries, made all the more horrific by the fact this show isn’t from “the 80’s or whatever.”
When Act 2 started with ‘Bride’s Lament’ and not ‘Message from a Nightingale,’ I sighed a massive, heaving sigh of relief. For those who are unfamiliar with Drowsy, traditionally, Act 2 starts with the Narrator putting on the wrong record and then going to the bathroom, subjecting the audience to a song which is… well. Horribly racist. And yes, technically, that is part of the joke. It’s a 1920’s musical with outdated, 1920’s racial caricatures, and we’re meant to laugh at the racism rather than with it but… it’s such a jarring, uncomfortable, and offensive addition, that the show is leagues stronger without it. It made Drowsy into something that’s just a thoroughly good time, rather than mostly a good time, with the exception of that one song that felt a bit, a lot, very racist.
In summary, Queen’s College’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone exceeded my expectations by miles. I’m notoriously hard to please, so when I say that I genuinely could find very little to critique about this show, I mean it. The cast, crew, and band absolutely gave their all, and it resulted in one of the best pieces of student musical theatre that I’ve seen in a while – and no, I still haven’t gotten ‘Toledo Surprise’ out of my head. My biggest critique is the extent to which that song haunts me.
The Drowsy Chaperone was performed by Queen’s College at the Union Theatre on 7th-9th of September.
Photo credit: Ben Fon
The Dialog 