The Upper School Musical: What Even Is The Show?
The winter 2016-17 Upper School musical is The Drowsy Chaperone. Never heard of it? Well, that would make sense because unlike the last several musicals Derryfield has done -- Rent (2013-14), Beauty and the Beast (2014-15), and The Phantom of the Opera (2015-16) -- The Drowsy Chaperone is relatively new to the musical scene, opening on Broadway in 2006, though it was first performed in Toronto in 1998.
The general synopsis is that The Man In Chair, when experiencing a “non-specific sadness,” pulls out a record from the 1928 fictitious show The Drowsy Chaperone to cheer himself up. As the audience listens to the record with him, he provides commentary, breaking the hallowed “fourth wall” between the actors on stage and the audience members. There is a strange discrepancy throughout the entire show: while the audience understands the fact that the Man In Chair is a made-up construct, it is at times hard to tell where the factual retelling of the piece ends and the Man In Chair’s impression of the recording begins.
The fictitious ‘show within the show’ is a 1920s Vaudevillian inspired musical comedy. The show has a number of characters who have gathered at the lavish home of Mrs. Tottendale to celebrate the wedding of Robert Martin and Janet Van De Graff, and through a number of comedic twists, turns, mixups, and sabotages the wedding is continually put into jeopardy. What happens in the end? Well, you’ll just have to show up opening night to see it all play out.
The characters in this show are altogether garish, comedic, and vivacious. And the casting of Derryfield’s production this year is diverse, with students from each grade level filling the various roles. The cast list with character descriptions is as follows, in order of appearance:
Man in Chair: an agoraphobic Broadway fanatic who narrates the cast album and show - Peter Philbin ’18
Mrs. Tottendale: a wealthy widow and hostess of the wedding, she is forgetful and flighty - Anna Mae Murphy ’17
Underling: Mrs. Tottendale’s butler and manservant, he is stoic and dry-humored - Ryan Quinlan ’17
Robert Martin: a wealthy oil tycoon, bridegroom to the lovely Janet Van De Graff with whom he is deeply in love, he is dashing and optimistic - Ian Davis ’19
George: Robert’s best man, he is anxious yet loyal, and tries to keep Robert’s interests in the wedding in top priority so that the whole ceremony goes off without a hitch - Nicholas Briccetti ’18
Mr. Feldzig: the harried producer of Feldzig’s Follies who is willing to do anything to stop the wedding and keep his leading lady, Janet, from leaving the Follies, he is nervous and sarcastic - Benjamin Wickett ’18
Kitty: arrives with Mr. Feldzig and has been doing as much as possible for Mr. Feldzig to recognize her so that she might become his next leading lady - Caroline Desmarais ’20
The Gangsters: disguised as pastry chefs have been sent by their boss to stop the wedding, they are full of wordplay and stylized movement - Mark Rotering ’19 and Matt Michaud ’19
Aldolpho: a Latin lothario and womanizing cad who is impressed by himself, he is also a buffoon - Jakov Schwartzberg ’18
Janet Van De Graff: the bride-to-be and soon to be ex-star of Feldzig’s Follies, she is attractive, vivacious, and outgoing - Elizabeth Gagnon ’19
Drowsy Chaperone: Janet’s alcoholic confidant, often care-free and comedic, she is an experienced woman of the world who couldn’t careless about what the world thinks - Kassidy Ford ’17
Trix: a brash and brave female aviatrix - Jael Fleurant ’19
This show is a bit of a departure for the theater department, not only because of the downsizing of the cast but also in the show’s theme and tone, but as Ms. Desmond, co-director alongside Mr. Speigel, noted, “When we were first looking at the show for this year we knew that we wanted a comedy, especially in light of the intensity of Phantom last year. We wanted to provide the experience of a comedy.” And that is exactly what this show is: a comedy. It is just a fun show that will have you laughing at almost every scene. The show’s message, while not profoundly moving, stays true to what the Man In Chair says, “It does what a musical is supposed to do: it takes you to another world.”
The escapism of this show means that there is no overarching moral dilemma which is tackled by the characters. Again as Ms. Desmond said, “It is a fun show; it was really the writing which sealed the deal for us. The language used [in the show] really expresses not only the importance of storytelling but also the importance of entertainment.” And that is a completely true statement -- The Drowsy Chaperone is filled with dynamic word play, double entendre, innuendo, and farce. Not to mention the exaggeration provided by the actors which makes every rehearsal exciting and varied.
As the show closes in on its last few weeks before opening night, the cast continues to work diligently and efficiently, never losing sight of the end goal, but always keeping in mind that the continued effort must be countered with some good wholesome fun and laughs. The cast continues to define and enrich each individual character while still bringing their own personal charisma to rehearsal every day.
Make sure to buy your tickets to come and see The Drowsy Chaperone opening night, Friday, March 10th at 7pm:
Other performances of the show will be Saturday, March 11th at 2pm and 7pm
Catherine Introcaso is a member of the class of 2017 and is both the Director of Social Media and Layout Editor for Lamplighter.