Two Week Notice

Woohoo!  No sooner do I return from one vacation trip than I get to do another.  I'll be back in Sodom-on-the-Bay for a work and fun extended weekend, August 23-26.  Still working on accommodations and other plans.  Hanging at Starbears in the 'Stro is a definite, possibly stops at L'Urge or the Death Star if the mood strikes.

San Francisco, this is your two week notice.

Oh, and another trip...

As if the San Francisco trip in two weeks wasn't enough, I've decided to attend Trip the Sunset, the annual Advanced and Challenge square dance flyin in (insert shudder here) Phoenix next weekend.  I've decided that it's time to once again demonstrate my failing Advanced dancing 'skills' in front of a larger audience.

I recommend steel toed shoes and aspirin for all those that dance in my squares.

The Drowsy Chaperone - Seat B109

(So why am I noting the seat I was in?  I've found that, for me, my distance from the stage often colors my experience.  If a show can 'grab' me even at the rear of the theater, it means the show really impressed.)























One sentence review - Winner of 5 Tony awards in 2006, The Drowsy Chaperone is still a dark horse to many theater goers.

More detail than you probably care about...

What are the chances that a team of relative unknowns would team up and produce such a winner?  Of the lead roles, only Tony award winning Best Actress Beth Leavel playing the title character is still with the show.  The fabulous Sutton Foster who entertained in the second female lead, Janet Van De Graaff has since been replaced by a relative unknown (at least to me), Mara Davi.  While I would have loved to have seen Sutton in the part, Mara did a superb job.

And what of Drowsy Chaperone's narrator?  Simply known as "Man in Chair", this pivotal role is currently filled by John Glover.  The name didn't ring a bell with me either until someone reminded me of his performances on stage and in the movie production of the twins John and James Jeckyll in Love! Valour! Compassion!  Glover's interpretation of a lonely gay, theater obsessed man with a sizable record (yes, record!) collection was touching, hilarious, and beautifully understated.

Describing the plot of this show isn't easy.  As Man in Chair attempts to drive away the blues by playing a record (yes, record!) from one of his favorite shows of the 1920's, The Drowsy Chaperone, the story unfolds around him in his cluttered studio apartment.  Mix in a starlet attempting to marry her wealthy and handsome fiance, a drunken chaperone, a befuddled hostess and her manservant, two gangsters pretending to be pastry chefs, a latin lover, and an aviatrix.  Man in Chair becomes as much a part of the story as he is its narrator.  Still don't get the plot?  Go see the show.

Best Musical Number - It's a toss up between two - Fancy Dress by the entire company and Show Off by Janet Van De Graaff/Mara Davi.  Both are tunes you can hum as you leave the theater just like the old days.

Gay Moment - Well, the entire show, really.  Glover's performance as Man in Chair steals nearly every scene in which he appears yet he never overplays his role.  The loud and sustained standing ovation he received at my performance was very well deserved.

Bottom Line - I can only hope that this show can mount a road tour.  It's not Chicago, Cabaret, Phantom of the Opera or Rent but it's wasted solely on a New York audience.