By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
In musicals, everything works out in the end.
In real life, however, that treasured LP of “Gypsy” ends up being smashed against the dining room wall. Still musicals, especially those from the golden age, are always there to help get fans through those anxious, blue patches.
That’s the lesson the Woman in the Chair wants to impart in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
The Black Swamp Players production of the 1998 musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison opens Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. The show runs weekends through Sunday, March 1.
The Players employ a Woman in the Chair, in place of the original Man in the Chair. Annelise Clifton is our amiable guide to the world of the ersatz 1928 musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” She’s a musical nerd, full of insights into the form, including how a musical’s plot is like a plot in a porn film only involving production numbers and tap dancing. She’s also up on the biographies of the fictional performers, including rather unsettling details about what happened to them after 1928.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a favorite when she’s down “for no particular reason.’ Slowly in the course of guiding us through this piece of fluff the audience learns tidbits of why she has such an emotional connection to this particular musical, even as it celebrates such sentimental nonsense as “Love Is Always Lovely,” a duet between the dotty Mrs. Tottendale (Deb Shaffer) and her long-suffering butler called simply Underling drolly played by Andrew Varney.
Of course, those happy endings are arrived at despite complications. “The Drowsy Chaperone” has plenty, and in keeping with the genre all are convoluted.
The plot, such as it, revolves around Janet Van de Graff (Bridget Harrington), a show girl — you always need a show girl — who is engaged to be married to Robert Martin (Zachary Robb), the son of an oil tycoon. (The couple’s names are those of one of creators of “Drowsy” and his real life wife, a detail the Woman in the Chair would savor.)
The nuptials are to take place on the estate of Mrs. Tottendale and involve many colorful musical theater types — gangsters, show people, socialites, and an aviatrix, called Trix (Leah Truman).
Robert’s best man, George (Kamron Girardot) decides the couple must abide by custom and not see each other the day before the ceremony. So they are dispatched to opposite parts of the Tottendale mansion.
The entire plot hinges on this contrivance, the Woman in the Chair explains.
A terrible misunderstanding happens when the couple meets accidentally while Robert is out roller skating while blindfolded. This twist plays out in the comic duet “Accident Waiting to Happen” with Robb careening about stage on skates. These leads to a bizarre love lament by Janet about putting a monkey on a pedestal. That Harrington delivers this with smooch feigned emotion without breaking out in laughter is worthy of applause.
The B plot involves Feldzieg (Lexington Stuber) who is being pursued by two gangsters (Mariah Clawson and Emily Penton) disguised as pastry chefs. They were sent by the mob boss who invested in the show that Janet stars in. He’s concerned that if she gets married and leaves the stage the show will tank and he’ll lose his investment.
Janet expresses her desire to exit show business in the production number “Show Off,” where at every turn she contradicts the premise of the song and exposes her craving for the spotlight.
Feldzieg’s girlfriend Kitty (Melissa Kershaw) is convinced she can take Janet’s place, though she only exposes her own lack of talent.
The title character, played with understated and mordant wit by Beth Giller, is indifferent to her assigned task of keeping Janet away from Robert. She’s more interested in drinking, which explains the drowsiness, though the Latin lover Aldolpho (Patrick Davis) does rouse her from her stupor.
The chaperone also comes alive on her big number “As We Stumble Along,” a song shoehorned into the plot because, as the Woman in the Chair explains, the fictional actress who played the role always insisted on singing some rousing anthem or other whether it fit the show or not.
As usual the Players do an amazing job of shoehorning their production numbers, choreographed by Joelle Stiles, onto the Methodist stage.
These are backed by a seven-piece orchestra directed by Lizzie Edwards. The band adds another layer of flash to a flashy production.
True to expectations, the show ends on an upbeat note with everyone, including our guide, no longer in her chair, on stage kicking up their heels. Audience members will be forgiven if they feel the urge to join them.
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The Black Swamp Player’s “The Drowsy Chaperone” will be staged Feb. 21, 22, 28, and 29 at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinees Feb. 23 and March 1 at the First United Methodist Church, 1526, E. Wooster Street in Bowling Green. Tickets for the production are $17, $15 for seniors (65+) and students (under 18) at the door or in advance online. (http://www.blackswampplayers.org/ticket-sales/).
