Diablo Theatre Company Opens The Drowsy Chaperone

Diablo Theatre Company will present the East Bay premiere of the hit Broadway musical comedy "The Drowsy Chaperone" in a high-stepping production that producers promise will be anything but drowsy.

"With a talented cast of 19 singers and dancers backed by a swinging 12-piece orchestra, glitzy costumes and sets, and an abundance of laughs, this is just the show to uplift the spirits," says Daren A. C. Carollo, the company's artistic director who is directing the production. "It's hilarious, one of the funniest musicals ever written."

The show opens Feb. 11 and continues for 13 performances through March 5 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. Tickets, $17-$48, are on sale at the center, (925) 943-7469, www.lesherartscenter.com.

"The Drowsy Chaperone" not only earned five Tony Awards, more than any other musical of the 2006 season, but seven Drama Desk awards as well.

The show revolves around a modern day musical theater addict known as "man in chair." To chase his blues away, he drops the needle on his favorite LP, the 1928 musical "The Drowsy Chaperone." From the crackle of his hi-fi, the musical bursts to life on stage, telling a tale of a pampered Broadway starlet. She wants to quit show business to get married but her producer sets out to sabotage the nuptials, her chaperone, the debonair groom, the dizzy chorine, the Latin lover and, for good measure, a pair of gangsters who double as pastry chefs.

Starring as the "man in chair" is Michael Patrick Gaffney, an actor familiar to audiences throughout the Bay Area. He has appeared with Broadway by the Bay, San Jose Stage Company, Town Hall Theatre, 42nd Street Moon, and New Conservatory Theatre among others.

Leanne Borghesi, who has performed in musicals in San Francisco as well as cabarets there and in New York, plays The Drowsy Chaperone.

Sheri Stockdale, a veteran award-winning choreographer in the region, is choreographing the show. G. Scott Lacy is the musical director. He conducted the orchestra for the company's production of "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" last year.

The Cast
Michael Patrick Gaffney (Man in Chair), Laurie Strawn (Mrs.Tottendale), TIM JOhnson (Underling), Daniel Epstein (Robert Martin), Stephen Foreman (George), Michael Markovich (Feldzig), Samantha Bruce (Kitty), Ned Hansen (gangster), Justin Isla (gangster), Dan LeGate (Aldolpho), Sharon Reitkerk (Janet Van De Graaff), Leanne Borghesi (The Drowsy Chaperone), Jackie De Muro (Trix the Aviatrix). Ensemble and swings: Morgan Frazer, Megan Amanda Hopp, Larry Crummer, Derek Demsher, Jenny Angell

If You Go
WHAT: Diablo Theatre Company's production of "The Drowsy Chaperone," book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Feb. 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26; March 4, 5. 2 p.m. Feb. 20, 26, 27
WHERE: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek

RUNNING TIME: 1 hour and 35 minutes. No intermission.

TICKETS: $17-$48 (925) 943-7469; www.lesherartscenter.org, www.diablotheatrecompany.org