The Drowsy Chaperone: A Production History By Anne-Laure Talbot
In 1997, friends of Canadian comedian and writer Bob Martin created a skit honoring Martin and his then fiancée Janet Van de Graaff as a wedding gift. Among this group of friends were Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison, and Don McKellar. This rather quirky forty minute musical spoof, titled The Drowsy Chaperone, would later become the full-length musical we now know. The original concept included music, but was not specifically grounded in the Jazz Age or the Broadway of the late 1920s, and did not feature the character of Man in the Chair. It was performed at The Rivoli Theater in Toronto during Bob Martin’s bachelor party.
The skit was extremely well received by Bob Martin, and discussions began about how to turn it into a full show. The following year, Robert Martin joined the project as a writer, along with Don McKellar as co-writer, and Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison as composers. The concept of the Man in the Chair as narrator was added to the storyline at that time to give perspective on the musical numbers that composed the fictional 1928 musical. The expanded version was presented at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 1999, where it caught the eye of producer David Mirvish. Under his leadership, the show moved to a small, not-for-profit theater, Théâtre Passe-Muraille in Toronto, and then to the 1000-seat Winter Garden Theater, also in Toronto, after favorable reviews and strong ticket sales. In 2001, New York producer Roy Miller, who attended a performance at the Winter Garden Theater at the invitation of the Canadian production team, fell in love with the show and opted the rights.
After failing to entice fellow New York and Broadway producers to read the script of The Drowsy Chaperone, Roy Miller organized a stage reading in New York with Bob Martin (Man in the Chair), Georgia Engel (Mrs Tottendale) and Danny Burstein (Aldolpho), who were part of the original Canadian cast. This generated a lot of interested from actors, singers, and producers and resulted in several producers committing to produce a full version of The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway. Director and Choreographer Casey Nicholaw joined in on the project.
After a pre-Broadway engagement at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in 2005, The Drowsy Chaperone opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theater on May 1, 2006 and ran for 679 performances, including 32 preview nights. The cast was composed of Robert Martin (Man in the Chair), Sutton Foster (Janet Van de Graaff), Georgia Engel (Mrs Tottendale), Edward Hibbert (Underling), Beth Leavel (Drowsy Chaperone), Jason Kravits (Gangster #1), Garth Kravits (Gangster #2), Troy Britton Johnson (Bob Martin), Eddie Korbich (George), Jennifer Smith (Kitty), Kecia Lewis-Evan (Trix), Lenny Wolpe (Feldzieg), and Danny Burstein (Aldolpho).
A production of The Drowsy Chaperone opened on May 14, 2007 in London’s West End at The Novello Theater, with the support of the Broadway production team and under the direction of Casey Nicholaw. Despite a mostly British cast and overall encouraging reviews from the British press, the show did not encounter the same success it did on Broadway. The run ended early on August 4, 2007, instead of February 2008 as was originally scheduled.
In September 2007, The Drowsy Chaperone went on a national tour, starting at the Elgin Theater in Toronto. Bob Martin and Georgia Engel reprised their roles as Man in the Chair and Mrs. Tottendale, respectively; however Bob Martin left the tour after Toronto and was replaced by Jonathan Crombie. The national tour traveled to more than 30 cities and came to a close on March 28, 2010.
Other renditions of The Drowsy Chaperone include original productions by the Vancouver Playhouse Theater Company (2008); the ZACH Theater in Austin, TX (2009); the Oak Ridge Playhouse in Oak Ridge, TN (2010); and the Melbourne Theater Company in Melbourne, Australia (2010). The Drowsy Chaperone has won numerous awards, beginning with the Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny Comedic Play in 2000. In 2006, the Broadway production received 5 Tony Awards, including awards for Best Original Score (Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison), Best Book of a Musical (Bob Martin and Don McKellar), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Beth Leavel), and Best Scenic Design of a Musical (David Gallo). The show also earned six Drama Desk Awards that same year. Bob Martin received a Theater World Award in 2006 for his performance in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Influences From the Actors/Characters
Just as 1920’s musicals’ plots were dictated by their performers, Martin and McKellar utilized the strengths of Drowsy’s actors by writing for them rather than asking the actors to fit into their writing. Martin, a comedian, actually plays a lead character in the show, Man in Chair. The character developed out of Martin’s desire to portray a super fan character that guides the audience through the world of the musical. Man in Chair portrays an avid theatre fan deconstructing the entertainment of the 1920s while comparing it to modern entertainment. McKellar says that Drowsy could even be considered a “one man show with a musical in it,” with the Man in Chair as the main character. This character was created, written, and work-shopped by Martin, who organically shaped his dialogue in response to the action on-stage around him. He put his own idiosyncrasies and anxieties into the role to add dimension to the character. Martin, McKellar, and director Casey Nicholaw had the cast watch an array of 20’s and 30’s musicals to inspire character. They led exercises so that the actors could realize who their Vaudeville characters were, to come from a truthful place, and to learn style. Beth Leavel, who played the Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, said that before the character exploration process, her character was very two dimensional, just delivering lines and singing because it was in the script. The cast did an exercise called Hot Seat in which they were deeply interviewed in character, and another exercise which involved the characters reading scenes from modern day soaps. Leavel said her character completely opened up for her throughout these exercises. As a result, Nicholaw was able to amp up Leavel’s role, resulting in the song “As We Stumble Along.”
However, Martin and McKellar are clear that Drowsy Chaperone is not an archival, academic piece. Man in Chair is thus imagining what might have been rather than exactly what was staged. McKellar said the actors playing Kitty and Feldzieg on Broadway were a couple, so the writers could capitalize on their chemistry. The relationship that evolved between the two characters became much more valuable than each singular character on his/her own. Feldzieg is based on producer Florenz Ziegfeld, famous for his Ziegfeld Follies. It’s possible that Kitty is based on Ziegfeld’s common-law wife, Anna Held, who was a comic actress. It is also possible that Janet Van De Graff (named after Bob Martin’s wife) is based on Fanny Brice, another actress associated with Ziegfeld (just professionally, in this case.) While these associations may have provided a basis for character, the actresses portraying them added their own talents and character work to each, creating dynamic stage roles.
The production team was consulted that they should change the name of the musical for various reasons: it wasn’t catchy enough, no one would recognize it, and it wouldn’t stick in anyone’s mind. They considered changing the name to “The Oops Girl” in reference to Janet Van De Graff, but they decided that wouldn’t work because the show wasn’t about her. The show is about Man in Chair, and his favorite character is Drowsy Chaperone, so they simply couldn’t bring themselves to change the name. Even the title of the show was influenced by its actors.
Historical research provided a crucial backdrop for the writers and actors to create rich, dynamic characters. McKellar said that it was imperative for the actors to portray their characters as authentically as possible so that the audience would believe they were watching a 1928 musical and understand Man in Chair’s love for the show. This goal was accomplished through historical nods and stellar characterization, making The Drowsy Chaperone a hit on Broadway in 2006.
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ASHLEY LEAMON joined the staff of Villanova Theatre in June 2013. She’s originally from Florence, South Carolina, where she graduated from Francis Marion University in 2010 with a B.A. in English Liberal Arts and a B.A. in Theatre Arts, summa cum laude. She then moved to Philadelphia to pursue her Master's in Theatre at Villanova University, where she was awarded a Costume Assistantship. At Villanova, she acted in three productions and served as a production dramaturg for "The Drowsy Chaperone" directed by Father Peter Donohue, O.S.A. She also worked as Assistant Designer under Janus Stefanowicz for shows at the Kimmel Center and Philadelphia Theatre Company. Ashley completed her M.A. in Theatre in May 2013 before being hired as Office Manager and an adjunct faculty member for the department.