Drowsy Tour Questions

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 7:15pm

A few...

1. Is the cast contracted through the end of the tour in Seattle? Im seeing it and wondering if Opel and Engel will still be there...

2. How's Nancy Opel?

3. How's the tour in general?

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 7:35pm

I can answer the last two.

Nancy Opel was...interesting. She plays it drastically different from Beth Leavel. Her voice also did not seem to really carry 'As We Stumble Along'.

The rest of the cast is spectacular. Specifically Johnathan Crombie and Andrea Chamberlain. Georgia Engel was hysterical as always.

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 7:48pm

Can't tell you who is still cast in Drowsy. But I liked Nancy Opel, a lot.

Here's a lik to a review.
BWW Drowsy Tour Review

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 10:34pm

Nancy Opel was terrific as was the rest of the cast! Johnathan Crombie was the highlight of the show for me. I hope you enjoy the show!

[alliez92092]

Posted: 5/9/08 at 11:08pm

I thought Nancy Opel was good, but it was really hard to get Beth Leavel out of my head. The tour as a whole is great. I had such a fun night when I saw it.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 12:26am

Can you explain how her voice doesn't "carry" "As We Stumble Along". I hope this doesn't imply she has a weak voice; she can belt!

[lola_actor22]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 12:38am

Nancy Opel was amazing! Such a wonderful voice!
She's also such a great person. Very kind, open, knowledgeable and funny!
Love her lots!!!

[walkedthroughmany]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 1:42am

I feel like Nancy Opel thinks she's funnier than she actually is. She was good...she just wasn't great.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 1:48am

I've heard Opel is not an easy person to get along with but I enjoy her talent and never plan on meeting the woman!

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 1:56am

Nancy Opel is one of the sweetest and most considerate actors I have had the pleasure to spend time with more than once. She is also highly professional. She takes her craft very seriously, but that doesn't mean she's difficult "to get along with." When she's working, she's extremely focused and expects others to be as conscientious.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 2:00am

Oh, and the tour is FABULOUS. Hands down the best touring production I have ever seen. Seriously.

[walkedthroughmany]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 3:01am

Yeah, it's definitely a great touring production. It really does the show justice. It's really hard to get the original cast out of your head (because they were all incredible). The original production was so tight and exact you'd think it was run by wind-up toys. It wasn't until I saw John Glover and Janine LaManna that I realized how difficult it is to get the style and timing of the show. This production did a very good job.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 3:21am

I used to have such a crush on Johnathan Crombie when I was younger. The cutest Gilbert Blythe ever! I had an "Anne-a-thon" while I had the flu not long ago. I wish I could see him in this but I don't think I'll get the chance.

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 10:28am

Crombie was the highlight of the Show. Opel was great though. I loved her in the role. The tour on the whole was superb and it was a very fun night at the theatre for me.

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 12:05pm

I've met Nancy Opel and I can understand where "difficult to work with" is confused with "dedicated, passionate, and focused". I'm still waiting for the role that really defines her as an actress for me. The Drowsy Chaperone was not it

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 12:30pm

Crombie was hinting he might not be there after San Francisco but I won't know this positively until I see him in LA. I know they did have a casting call a month or two ago in New York. So I am wondering if we will see some changes when they go on to San Diego?

http://www.jamesweggreview.org/features/interviews/jonathan_crombie.html

I first saw Jonathan Crombie in the Anne Series too and I got lucky to see him on stage in Toronto when I went out to see Megan Follows and Stuart Hughes play in, Fool for Love. They were all so very good on stage. I've seen Mr. Crombie on stage a few times and he just gets better and better. He has been getting great reviews and he really deserves it. He's great in this role and the whole cast seems to be doing real well.

If I hear anything about cast changes, I'll post it here, if someone doesn't beat me to it first. I know a few fans in Seattle and Colorado who hope Jonathan will stick with the tour but he may have other plans coming up. I wouldn't mind seeing him win a part in Minsky's with Bob Martin. I have no knowledge of his working on this, I'm just curious to see if he will consider it.

Jonathan may be taking a break after San Francisco or coming back. He wasn't very specific in his last interview. If someone sees him back East or in Texas, maybe a fan can ask him about it?

Google Alert the Drowsy Chaperone and you will automatically get interviews from the tour sites local newspapers. They have been really positive and this has kept my enthusiasm up for this tour.

It was great in New York but the tour cast look like they are having fun. I hope that Opel is having fun with the role because it is so important to the show. We have a good crowd here in San Francisco so I feel confident that we can encourage them all to have fun with their parts. At least I know no cast changes will happen until they leave San Francisco so I am keeping my fingers crossed. At least I know Jonathan will stick with it until after our show and I am grateful to get a chance to see him play the part again.

Fans out here who haven't seen it yet have got me to go to see the LA show with them, we just couldn't wait to see it again. We are so happy they brought the show to California so we decided we didn't want to wait that long to see it. (That was before we found out we have it for a month in San Francisco of course). So at least we hope more of our friends and family will drag themselves out to see it now before it leaves us out here. Sacramento got at least a week now too lately. I'm surprised Lake Tahoe hasn't begged for dates yet. It's a nice place to visit really any time of the year.

It looks like the tour is continuing onward and heading back East again after it finishes it's West Coast dates so I don't know when it will end? They are casting the show in Japan so that should be interesting too. It looks like it may be performed in Japanese in Japan instead of an American touring cast I think? The female lead is Japanese so that should be interesting. I haven't read any news about who will play the show in Australia yet.

[FMills]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 6:55pm

Also seeing it in Seattle. I'm a HUGE Nancy Opel fan, and think that Drowsy is a fun show. Looking forward to her and it.

[BillyE]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 7:17pm

I just found out it's coming right down the street from me ( New Brunswick, NJ), Valentines weekend 09. Should be fun seeing it again!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/12/08 at 7:19pm

"I just found out it's coming right down the street from me ( New Brunswick, NJ), Valentines weekend 09. Should be fun seeing it again!"

What venue is it playing?