Previews: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Marjorie Luke

The chaperone has hit the bottle pretty hard and is "napping." The young lady she's meant to watch over has cold (or are they itchy?) feet about her impending nuptials. What could go wrong? Everything--in the most musical and zany way possible, of course. The screwball Broadway hit, The Drowsy Chaperone opens at the Marjorie Luke's stage this weekend.

An ensemble of young performers from Lights Up! presents the 2006 Broadway musical, a send-up of the conceits of the Ziegfield Follies in the beautiful Marjorie Luke Theater (itself a product of the 1930s) January 26-28th.

The plot involves an engaged couple (an oil tycoon and the star of a big show) as they cope with every plot twist known to musical comedy. Will there be showgirls and gangsters? Yes. Will there be fabulous costumes in bias-cut deco splendor? I am convinced of it. The framework of this musical has a modernist, metatheatrical sense of self-awareness. It is narrated by a man who loves Broadway theater but has a fear of being in crowds. He shares with the audience his affection for this particular musical, directly addressing the audience.

The show's resolution underscores the feeling of community and togetherness that so many of us experienced during the pandemic. Lights Up! and other area youth theater projects in our community offer a sense of belonging as comforting as the Ziegfield Follies brought to the melancholic 1930s.