Skip to main content
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Previews: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Marjorie Luke

Lights Up Theatre Company Awakens The Drowsy Chaperone

By:
Previews: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Marjorie Luke Image

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.

Love Theater in Santa Barbara? Join The Community!

Whether you've got past experience writing about theater or just starting, the BroadwayWorld Community offers a unique opportunity to become a champion for your local arts community, helping raise awareness of local offerings and adding another local voice to the conversation at a time arts coverage is shrinking in the press across the continent. Join us and become a pivotal part of the movement that celebrates and promotes the arts in the digital age.

Learn More
Need more Santa Barbara Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...


BroadwayWorld TV


The Father: A Tragic Farce in Santa Barbara The Father: A Tragic Farce
The Father: A Tragic Farce (8/28-9/13)
A Year With Frog And Toad in Santa Barbara A Year With Frog And Toad
Clark Center For The Performing Arts (11/19-11/21)
Murder For Two in Santa Barbara Murder For Two
Rubicon Theatre Company (5/12-5/30)
Ragtime in Santa Barbara Ragtime
Rubicon Theatre Company (10/21-11/08)
John & Jen in Santa Barbara John & Jen
Rubicon Theatre Company (2/10-2/28)
SIX (Boleyn Tour) in Santa Barbara SIX (Boleyn Tour)
Christopher Cohan Center (5/18-5/19)
Gutenberg! The Musical! in Santa Barbara Gutenberg! The Musical!
San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (10/09-11/08)
Jack Johnson in Santa Barbara Jack Johnson
Santa Barbara Bowl (10/03-10/03)
The Lehman Trilogy in Santa Barbara The Lehman Trilogy
Rubicon Theatre Company (3/24-4/11)
Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival in Santa Barbara Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival
Ojai Playwrights Conference (7/30-8/02)