The Drowsy Chaperone at Players Club of Swarthmore is a Love Letter to Theatre People

by Angela Robb

On the afternoon of September 14th my friend Andrew and I had a conversation about the difference between theatre people and people who like theatre. We put ourselves and those that we knew into each category and at the end of the conversation we determined that he is a person who likes theatre and I am a theatre person. We defined a person who likes theatre as someone who enjoys the shows that they see/do but that is where the love ends since their primary interests lie elsewhere. We defined theatre people as those who do/see theatre and the love runs even deeper by following the careers of theatre performers, singing along to cast recordings, and studying every detail about the shows they see.

That evening I went to see The Drowsy Chaperone at Players Club of Swarthmore and as a theatre person does, came ready to bask in the creativity and entertainment. Immediately upon entering the house and looking at the jaw dropping set designed by Brian Jacko I could tell that whoever lived in the home represented on stage was also a theatre person. The set was designed to look like an apartment complete with a living area and kitchen. Broadway posters adorned the wall, playbills lined the bookshelf, and stacks of cast recordings were piled under the record player. The right amount of clutter decorated the kitchen such as pots and game board boxes atop the cabinets and notes stuck to the refrigerator. This apartment truly felt lived in. Before the show even started I felt like I knew the person who lived in this apartment. 

This owner of the apartment is the main character and narrator of the story, known only as Man in Chair. As he began his opening monologue describing how he hates intermissions and when actors go into the audience and when he is down he listens to the cast recording of his favorite musicals, it was even clearer that he is a theatre person. His favorite show is the fictional 1920s musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, which is told in a show within a show format by coming to life in his apartment as he listens to the record and, in true theatre person fashion, provides his own commentary about the music, story, and actors. 

Man in Chair is played by Delco community theatre legend, Thomas-Robert Irvin.  Irvin truly carried the entire show on his back with his dry humor that kept the audience in stitches as well as his acting skills. Even though he was the main character there were many times that

Man in Chair wasn’t the main focus since the audience was focused on the “show”. Irvin still kept his acting up during these scenes by singing along to himself, using a martini glass as a makeshift microphone, wagging his finger to the music, and even kicking his feet during a chorus line number. I often found my eyes navigating back to him because he was so entertaining to watch. I was very impressed by his preparedness, focus, and ability to stay in the moment. Irvin was able to perform dramatic monologues with humor. Even though Man in Chair only communicated to the audience as an unseen guest in his home and a short visit from his building’s super (played by Glen Bradley who turns out to be a person who likes theatre which provided a fun foil to his theatre person extremities) the audience was able to learn a lot about who this character is by the end of the show. 

The rest of the characters in the show were interesting because the actors were not just playing a role but they were playing the role of an actor playing the role of the character the audience was seeing. Man in Chair humorously revealed information about these fictional actors through his commentary about their careers, lives, and deaths. Robert Martin, the leading man, is played by Anthony Flamminio. This role was quite the physical one which required both tap dancing and roller skating (while blind folded!) and Flamminio accomplished these feats splendidly. Janet Van De Gaff, Robert’s finance and the leading lady, is played by Genevieve Bruce. She truly is a triple threat which was made clear in her big number “Show Off” in which she made multiple quick changes, tap danced, and high notes. A running gag throughout the show is Janet pausing whatever it is she is doing to pose for a photograph by the paparazzi who appears suddenly and unexpectedly from one of the many hidden entrances in the set and Bruce didn’t miss a single one. Bruce and Flamminio had great chemistry together as a couple and played off of each other very well.

Rounding out the wedding party is George, the best man, is played by Daniel Gorman who brought a lot of comic relief to the role of a stressed out best man struggling to keep everything together and remember everything, with help from a multitude of strings on his fingers. Some of my favorite moments in the show were when Gorman was on stage due to his hilarious comedic timing. He had great physical comedy and vocal inflections which added to the humor of his lines. The titular character of the drowsy chaperone is played by Sarah DeNight who brought to the table all the makings of an on stage diva. She brought a lot of humor to the role and sang her solo number “As We Stumble Along” with the confidence of an actress who would one day receive the title of Dame, as revealed by Man in Chair. The audience felt this energy and matched it by cheering her on mid number and DeNight matched it right back by egging them on. Guests to the wedding include Mrs. Tottendale played by Shellie Wilensky Camp and Underling played by Ken Locicero. Wilsensky Camp and Locicero played off of each other wonderfully and their stage presence and delivery really reminded me of stars of that era which showed they did their research. Adolpho, a Latin lothario on the prowl to seduce the bride, is played by John Casertano. Adolpho was an audience favorite character and this is due to Casertano’s stage presence and comedic timing. Every time Casertano opened his mouth the audience laughed, especially with Adolpho’s signature catchphrases. He played the role of the larger than life Casanova outrageously and theatrically without being too over the top and keeping him right in the line. His big song “I am Adolpho” got some of the biggest laughs of the evening.

Outside of the main story being about a wedding “The Drowsy Chaperone” features a number of subplots and supporting characters including Feldzieg, a Broadway producer attempting to persuade Janet from getting married so she can stay on Broadway in his show, played by Joe Trabasco. He played the role of a humorous villain well. He was an actor first ensuring that what his character is doing makes sense for the show and choices that he makes as the show goes on while still getting laughs. His wisecracking allowed him to play off of Diana Rach who plays the role of Kitty, an untalented chorus girl desperate to replace Janet in the show, well. Her character was more of a clown compared to Feldzieg’s straight man. She used a character voice throughout the show which felt very inspired by Lucy Ricardo or Gracie Allen without being a copy. Through her voice and attitude Rach made sure to let the audience know that Kitty is an annoying character while never allowing the audience to actually be annoyed by her. Kelcie LaSalle and Ben Lubker play two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs fueling the Feldzieg’s fire to get the wedding called off to avoid their producer boss losing money when Janet leaves the show. They had great chemistry along with quick wit and comedic timing. Maura Taylor played Trix the Aviatrix a smaller but pivotal role. In her brief scenes she exuded confidence and her vocals were very strong. 

In order to bring the show within a show to life set designer Brian Jacko and master carpenter Ed Robins constructed at least nine doors (and a hidden bed) throughout the stage including, but not limited to, the refrigerator, bookshelves, the window and more. There were also various windows such as the cabinets that were used as well. From the second I walked into the theatre I was immersed into the world by the amount of detail in the set and as the show went on I continued to be surprised and impressed by how many secret compartments the set held. Things like this make me wish Pennsylvania has community theatre awards like New Jersey because this was an award winning set if I ever saw one.

Hand in hand with the set are the props, designed by Greg Hedler. Too often I find that prop designers look at what is written in the back of the script and just find those items. Hedler put thought and intention into each of the props on the stage. This was especially apparent in the set where multiple props are used solely to set the scene including the décor items around Man in Chair’s home or wedding decorations hidden inside cabinets to enhance the wedding scenes. Multiple smaller props were used throughout the show momentarily for gags such as drink glasses being brought out to characters or a a snake charming puppet. While many of these props were only used once they added to the comedy and storytelling of the piece. Keeping track of the multitude of props, entrances, and exits looked impressive from the audience but I can only imagine how busy it was backstage for the stage crew. Stage manager Laura Raspa and assistant stage manager Emily Sgroi clearly had everything together backstage because not one cast or crew member missed any of their duties and everything on stage went into action smoothly. 

Costumes, designed by Colleen Hickey and Laura Ryan, were very impressive. The pieces were either more on the modern side for Man in Chair or period for the cast of “The Drowsy Chaperone” dressing them in 1920s era clothing. Man in Chair was dressed in a smart sweater establishing him as comfortably relaxing at home while also holding studious interests and style. Some of the period costumes were simpler like a basic dress or suit while others were more complex such as Janet’s outfits during “Show Off” which required multiple quick changes. One involved a skirt unraveling off of her during a spin and another was done on stage behind an umbrella. Through the length of the song Janet had worn six different outfits. Each character’s costume really showed their personalities for example Mrs. Tottendale wearing a puffy, brightly colored, and ornate dress signifying her status as someone of higher class and Adolpho wearing a suit and cape of red, white, and black felt reminiscent of Old Hollywood and made him stand out as an outrageous individual. 

The choreography by Devon Duffy was also remarkable since most community theatre shows use basic choreography to cast performers with a wider variety of skills but Duffy choreographed more advanced moves including multiple tap numbers. “Show Off” is a number that is designed to impress the audience and push the actress playing Janet and the ensemble to their limits and Duffy certainly rose to the occasion. I was extremely impressed by how high everyone set the bar. There was even a number with one character on skates which I can imagine would be very difficult to design safely.

Abrham Bogale’s lighting design was vital in signifying the divide between Man in Chair and his world and the fictionalized retelling of “The Drowsy Chaperone”. Man in Chair was lit brighter than the rest of the characters showing that he is the only one who is “real” and the rest were in darker light identifying that they are imaginary. During scenes where the show in a show stopped and we are transported back to reality the stage lights changed and became brighter. There were also several moments where the stage was mostly in the dark. At one point there is a black out in the apartment leading to the stage being almost completely dark and another moment towards the end where the only lights come from Man in Chair’s lamp rather than the actual stage lights. In addition to Sound design was also important to show the split between Man in Chair’s reality and the musical world around him. Whenever the score was specifically identified to be coming out to Man in Chair’s record player the sound was more muffled and staticy in contrast with the rest of the sound which is “real”. Lighting and sound combined for a scene in “The Drowsy Chaperone” Man in Chair dislikes and chooses to fast forward through resulting in flashing lights and sped up sound. 

Clare Reckner’s music direction is magnificent and it is clear in the vocals of the cast. Everyone sounded fantastic and hit all of their notes. The show used a live orchestra and the sound was appropriately distributed around the theatre with the musicians playing and cast singing in complete harmony with each other with neither drowning out the other. A show with so many moving parts could only come together with a strong vision and skilled direction. Vincent Raspa cleverly put all of these pieces of design together into one of the strongest pieces of theatre I have seen in a long time. The high quality was clear and felt as if it was a professional theatre company rather than a community theatre. In his director’s note Raspa shares that The Drowsy Chaperone is one of his favorites and is a show that he comes back to listen to frequently, just like Man in Chair. 

In Man in Chair’s final monologue, after the recording ends and he is left alone he says “I know it’s not a perfect show. The spit take scene is lame and the monkey motif is labored. But none of that matters. It does what a musical is supposed to do. It takes you to another world and it gives you a little tune to carry with you in your head you know? A little something to help you escape from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you’re feeling blue, you know?”. This brought me back to my youth and reminded me of the good times I had as a Broadway kid prowling around the BCEFA Flea Market for deals on playbills for my collection, sitting outside the Nederlander Theatre somehow succeeding at befriending some Newsies, putting a cast recording in the CD player, scouring the internet for audios of an understudy debut or slime tutorials for a long since closed favorite. The Drowsy Chaperone truly is a love letter for theatre people and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to see it. Regardless of whether you are a theatre person or a person who likes theatre you’ll have a blast at The Drowsy Chaperone and might even walk out feeling seen in a way you can’t quite describe. I can’t remember ever laughing that hard in the theatre. The Drowsy Chaperone runs at PCS until September 28th and has all the makings for a fun night out and isn’t to be missed! Purchase tickets here: https://pcstheater.org/