author: Anthony Case
Sometimes, you just really need to escape the world for a while, sit in a dark theater, and pray you’re about to see a great show. That was certainly the mood I was feeling sitting in the dark theater at the Opera House in Havre de Grace last night, waiting for Scottfield Theatre Company’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone to start. While not a huge fan of the wink-wink nudge-nudge nature of some similar musicals, I had raised my expectations due to Scottfield’s work in the past. And this production not only met my expectations, it exceeded them in spectacular fashion. Director and Choreographer Becky Titelman and Musical Director LaShelle Bray have taken The Drowsy Chaperone (Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison) and crafted a wonderful night of theater.
The Opera House has a somewhat unearned reputation of having a small performance space but set designers Ben Marsh and Becky Titelman (a woman of many hats, as she also served as Director, Choreographer, Set Painter, and Prop Master) have done a wonderful job crafting a convincing apartment for the leading Man In Chair, who introduces us to the musical within this comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone. We see a lot about The Man through his apartment and finding little hints at what we will come to know about him as the performance goes on is a fun treat. Once the music starts, though, the audience is treated to some very fun transformations. Not to give away too much, while the transformations are somewhat more low-key than the Broadway transformations, there’s something almost even more charming about the fact that the action is happening in what we can clearly see is still the Man’s Living Room.
Instead of the grand set transformations of the Broadway production, Scottfield’s production relies on a typically wonderful lighting design by Patrick Yarrington. While the show doesn’t call for some of the more dramatic lighting effects most typically think of when thinking of great lighting design, Yarrington’s experience in the field proves absolutely invaluable to this production. He knows how to show off this stage, and it absolutely shows. As an avid color theorist, I was very happy to see Yarrington’s very thoughtful use of LED lights to show The Man’s state of mind. It’s attention to detail like that that really shows what a pro Yarrington is.
The costume design by Liz Marion is similarly excellent. Again, we see so much of these characters by the clothes they wear. From the demure sweater The Man wears throughout the show to the hideous, humongous dress Mrs. Tottendale swears “never goes out of style” to Aldolpho’s dramatic cape; every piece tells you who these characters are and what they want. This is the sign of a very smart designer. And the costumes look great too! The colors pop in all the right ways and the pieces look like they were tailor made for the performers.
Sound design is always quite tricky, especially on the community level, but Sound Designer Hannah Thomas shows great skill for such a young talent. Sure, there are some staples of Community Theater sound: the mix is sometimes a bit off, some cues aren’t perfect, but Thomas shows a very clever mind by using sound effects to make this almost sound to be organically in the show. Just the sound of a scratchy record is enough to make an audience look past most of these, and that is a sign of a smart designer. And she does a wonderful job making sure that, even if the mix is a little off, almost everything is clearly heard by the audience, which is often a problem with community level theater. I look forward to seeing how she will grow in her craft.
The Drowsy Chaperone can be a tricky show to direct, as its tone can easily fall into melodrama and cheese. Becky Titelman does a wonderful job, though, finding the perfect balancing act of genuine emotion and broad comedy. While some aspects of the show need the latter (a prolonged spit take scene or bakery puns in the middle of a mob shakedown, for instance), most of the show should be played down to a genuine level. Sometimes, such as a Hope Harcourt-esque love ballad about a monkey, are even funnier when you aren’t winking to the audience and knowing that really helps Titelman make this piece shine. And seeing her accomplish such a feat, while also running the company and having so many roles in the crew is all the more impressive.
Of course, what is a musical without the music? Music Director LaShelle Bray has done a beautiful job weaving these voices together. The performers are uniformly confident in their songs and sing them with gusto. And their voices in the group numbers blend together like they’ve been singing together for years. This shows the time Bray put into making these brilliant performers sound like one coherent unit. And everyone who has ever performed on stage knows how a great music director can make that easy, as I can see happened here. I was also impressed with the cast’s commitment to replicating the sound of 20’s singers without it feeling too forced.
Ensemble members Alana Guardipee, Lindsay Serio, Maddie Saldaña, and Caitlin McLauchlin all do a great job in their small capacity as reporters, staff, and backup dancers. Most of their entrances are very fun, and the confidence in those moments are admirable. Saldaña even gets a moment to herself as Trix, the aviatrix. It’s not the biggest part, but it has a really fun solo that Saldaña sings very well. Kalea Bray (who works behind the scenes as the Stage Manager, probably the hardest and least appreciated role in theatre) also has a walk-on role as the Superintendent that shows off her strong comedic timing. Though the part is rather wordy, she nails it.
The show, much like the musicals of Cole Porter that the show is lovingly parodying, has many side plots. This production does service to all of them. One of these includes old-timey, completely unintimidating gangsters played by Zack Patton and Bella Preisinger. The pair are absolutely game for the high camp of these parts, and their “Toledo Surprise” is to die for! Stanton Zacker plays the Broadway producer the gangsters try to intimidate, and he infuses the role with a wonderful amount of sleaze. It’s not the showiest role, but his energy balances out the zany hijinks of the plotline very nicely. The comedic highlight of this plotline, though, has to be his on-stage girlfriend, Kitty, played by Angie Sokolov. In the grand tradition of performers like Lesley Ann Warren in Victor/Victoria and Jean Hagen in Singing’ in the Rain, Sokolov has the audience in stitches with every line and shows off some very impressive physical comedy chops. It is probably the smallest plotline in the show, but every time it came up again, I was very entertained.
Another side plot involves the venue’s owner Mrs. Tottendale and her long suffering Underling, played like a classic Vaudeville team by Pamela Provins and John Desmone, respectively. The two have fantastic comedic chemistry, with Provins’ airy and forgetful energy pairing perfectly with Desmone’s deadpan delivery. It’s classic comedy at its best, and the two performers play off each other as if they’d been doing the routine for decades. This plotline has the possibility, almost by design, of getting cloying, but Provins and Desmone do a wonderful job keeping the audience entertained.
Ryan Garbee’s Adolpho (don’t ever forget his name) is an absolute riot. One of the cast members clearly encouraged to go big (heck, the script tells us the character is supposed to chew the scenery), Garbee is clearly having a blast. HIs signature number (“I Am Adolpho”) is one of the funniest theater moments I’ve seen this year. He also has wonderful comedic chemistry with his frequent scene partner, Liz Marion (who plays the titular Drowsy Chaperone). Marion plays the grande dame archetype perfectly. The character is sometimes sarcastic, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes bawdy, usually drunk and always fabulous. And Marion nails each of these aspects of the character. No wonder The Man in Chair loves her so much. Especially in her rousing rendition of “As We Stumble Along,” one of the best songs in the show that Marion sings like it was made for her.
The main plot of the musical within this comedy involves Janet, played by Isabel Bray, and Robert, played by Chris Williams, trying to get married. They are helped by George, Robert’s overworked best man played by Jacob Gill. The three have very natural charm to their performances, and Williams has a very fun dynamic with the other two. Williams’ smile really lights up the room, and his character (in universe played by a toothpaste salesman who is not an actor by trade) allows him to show off his charm and a very fun tap routine in “Cold Feets.” His voice is very pretty, and scenes of him rollerblading around blindfolded leave the audience in stitches. Jacob Gil has an undeniably smaller part, but he brings a fun, nervous energy to the role that really suits the guy who would forget so much that he has to tie reminders to his fingers. He even gets to show off his own tap skills in a solo dance break in the aforementioned “Cold Feets.” Bray has more of an opportunity to show off, especially in her big number, “Show Off.” The brilliance in Bray’s performance, however, is that, just as the song states, she doesn’t want to show off. She just is that good. Whether she is cartwheeling across the stage in glamorous swimwear or slipping into an absolutely hysterical fake French accent, Bray steals pretty much every scene she’s in (quite an accomplishment when she’s sharing the stage with such a uniformly talented cast). Of course, if you’ve seen Isabel Bray sing, you know that will be the most impressive part of her performance, and she certainly does not disappoint in that category. She can belt the roof off the Opera House in numbers like the aforementioned “Show Off,” and she can deliver a soft, sweet soprano in songs like “Bride’s Lament.” The show is an absolute showcase for her, as it was for a young Sutton Foster, and she does wonderful work with the material.
Arguably the main character in the piece (certainly my favorite character in the show), however, is Sean Silance’s Man in Chair. His commentary is essential to the show, keeping the momentum moving and adding in quick zingers every now and again. Silence does a very good job making sure each of his jokes land. It’s very deadpan, but that actually sells the jokes better in this case. There are parts of the character that I felt were a bit underemphasized, particularly the sadder aspects of his character. But I would be lying if I were to say his last monologue didn’t get me a bit misty eyed. Overall, he is a capable narrator with some finely tuned comedic instincts, which fits the part wonderfully.
In the director’s note for this production, Becky Titelman states that this piece is primarily designed as escapism. It’s a way to have the audience get swept away, for a little while, at least. This production absolutely accomplishes that and more. Make sure to get these tickets WHILE you can.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours with one intermission
The Drowsy Chaperone plays through November 3rd 2024 with Scottfield Theatre Company currently in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.
