Josh Freilich's "Drowsy Chaperone" Review (5.28.06) ***SPOILERS AHEAD!***

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 10:38am

Sorry that this is my first review, and I haven't reviewed anything since I joined.
Weird, I know, but here it is.

Drowsy Chaperone was, I think, one of the BEST nights in the theatre for me. I loved it SO, so much. I think it was one of the most wittily-written of all the Broadway shows to come out this season, and I think the show really lives up to its hype: "The Spinal Tap of musical theatre." I really have to agree with that, because that's what I think Broadway needs right about now: a clever musical that believes to have been written around a specific time, but never actually was. Sort of a mockumentary, if you will.

PLOT/DIRECTION (9/10): Possibly one of the best openings of a show: the curtain opening in total silence and darkness, where the first sound you hear is Man in Chair saying "I hate the theatre." Pure genius. He then goes into this whole oration about the theatre then and now ("Then it was 'Can Cole Porter pull it off again' or 'I wonder what George and Ira have for me tonight', and now it's 'Please, Elton John, can we stop this charade'!") Made perfect sense that day because Lestat was already folding down the street.

I love how the overture begins canned, coming from the turntable, and then as his apartment slowly starts to become the stage, the live orchestra finally picks up the overture. Total theatrical magic. I love it. I especially like the part where the record "skips" during "Toledo Surprise". I always loved when that happens, and I'm glad that happens onstage. Pure comedy. I also like when he gets out the wrong record. I had a feeling that would happen because the music didn't sound like it came from "Drowsy". Thank God we're going to get that whole song without the interruptions as a bonus track on the CD.

What kinda killed it for me is when his apartment blew a fuse just before the finale. "I do, I do, up in THEEEEE..." and then it grinds to a halt. The whole orchestra and vocals FALL as the lights black out. The super fixes the breakers and then they sing the last note in the show. That's my least favorite part. Everything else is great.

CAST (10/10): The cast is brilliant. My favorites were Sutton, Lenny, Bob, Jason and Garth (they're brothers), Sean, Beth, and my favorite was DANNY as Aldolpho. He was a riot. I loved his number "I am Aldolpho." HILARIOUS! I met Sean, Lenny, Danny, Kecia, and Bob at the stage door. They all were so, so nice. I got Bob to sign my playbill. I said to him, "I know you get this a lot, but I'm pretty much the closest people will ever get to Man in Chair. I mean, 'cause I'm a musical theatre fanatic," and he said "And you're in a chair..." and I laughed. and then I said, "and I too hate it when the magic is ruined." He is awesome. I also got to meet Angela Pupello (one of the ensemble members) at the stage door. She was probably the sweetest of all. She kept holding on to my shoulder even though she hadn't met me before. I mean, people like that are so, so nice.

ORCHESTRATION (10/10): I love the orchestration. Nice and full, lush period sound, very '20s. Larry Blank did an awesome job. Not too much synths or things like that. That's how I like it. Very brassy, lush, and jazzy, and that's what makes "Drowsy" what it is. And I think that's one of my favorite parts.

MUSIC (4/10): That's probably the weak point. It sounded a little too Jerry Herman-ish for 1928. Especially with "As We Stumble Along" sounding too Carol Channing-ish especially when performed by Beth Leavel. She especially has this whole Carol Channing-esque motto that gets overshadowed by the falling of a cane ("{unintelliglble}ve while you caaaaaan.") She had the lowering vocal inflections down and everything and that was one of the factors that made it look too Hermanish. My favorite songs were "Cold Feets" and "Toledo Surprise." They sounded great.

CHOREOGRAPHY (10/10): Top-notch. Love the choreography on "Cold Feets" and "Toledo Surprise." Just great. Genius.

DESIGN (5/10): Neither the sets nor lights were as stunning as "Tarzan," but the costumes were still magnifiicent to look at, especially during "Show Off". Love her costume changes. Just awesome.

OVERALL (9/10): I hope that this musical wins the Tony this year, because I love the offbeat humor that I usually don't get in musical theatre. Absolutely one of the most fun and hysterical nights that you will ever get in theatre. I loved it.

So that's my review. Comments are greatly appreciated.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 10:48am

were you wearing a blue t shirt?

[tophertilson]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:03am

So glad you liked it. But I kind of disagree about the set. I actually think it's one of the cleverest and wittiest sets around. The transitions are funny and rather emotional, giving one a true sense of slipping into fantasy while still holding a slight grasp on your reality.

But I agree; it really should win the Tony. Loved it.

TT

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/1/06 at 11:06am

Leavel didn't remind me of Carol Channing at all, especially not during "As We Stumble Along." As I saw it, she was definitely channelling Garland/Minnelli there.

I agree that the music is very weak.

I disagree about the sets - I thought they were perfect. I also thought that TARZAN's sets were abominable.

I'm glad you liked it - it's definitely fun.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 1:29pm

I don't remember wearing the blue T-shirt, CurtainPullDowner. I may have, I'm not really sure.

[inla2]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 3:40pm

Who's Sean?

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 4:51pm

Sean Martin Livingston

[inla2]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 6:13pm

not in the show

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 6/2/06 at 6:27pm

I agree with Munk. The set design was genius. Especially the apartment. So many details. You can see them much better when you are sitting closer. Such as a pill jar on his record shelf, or all of his photos of his wedding, the eiffel tower, etc....

Tarzan's set was not that fascinating at all.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 10/4/06 at 6:45pm

WHOOPS! sorry
I meant TROY BRITTON JOHNSON!

Sorry, it's just three names. You get very confused nowadays.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 1:58am

You get mad props for correcting yourself 4 months later. Lol.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 8:42am

Great review. I didn't catch it the first time around. I wish the show had won the Tony. I also agree that the score is the weak point, and I was surprised that DROWSY's score won the Drama Desk and the Tony for Best Score over THE COLOR PURPLE. But I guess the voters wanted to compensate DROWSY since they were not going to give it Best Musical.

Updated On: 10/5/06 at 08:42 AM

[MimiLovesRoger]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 9:01am

yay for drowsy. it was my first bway show...perfect!
glad you enjoyed it!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 1:57pm

It still amazes me that something can win best music and best book, but not best musical? Hm.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 2:17pm

Saw the show on June 9th (Two nights before the Tony's, which I attended). Hands down it was the best musical out of the 6 shows I saw while there. It was my 1st night in the city on vacation and oh boy what a way to start my vacation! The record skipping thing was just pure genius. I don't thing I stopped laughing or smiling throughout the whole show. I did not see Jersey Boys or Wedding Singer, I was really pulling for Drowsy and The Color Purple at the Tonys. Guess I need to see Jersey Boys to see what all the fuss is about! Having grown up with the music of Frankie Valle & The Four Seasons, I still think that after I see it, I will still think that Drowsy or TCP should have won. And maybe Drowsy over TCP because it was totally original.