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Overview

Synopsis

When wealthy widow Mrs. Tottendale hosts the wedding of the year, she gets a lot more than a write-up in the society pages: Janet Van de Graaff, glittering starlet of Feldzieg’s Follies, is leaving the stage for love, a turn of events which horrifies the angry and anxious Mr. Feldzieg, whose chief investor has sent two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs to make sure he stops the wedding. Hiring Aldolpho, a Latin lover more vain than virile, to seduce the bride, is unsuccessful, as Janet’s chaperone, a drunken diva, gets herself mistaken for the bride and seduced in Janet’s place. It is left to the eager best man, George, to quite by accident break up the happy pair, when he sends groom Robert Martin out to the garden, blindfolded, and in roller skates. Such are the antics of The Drowsy Chaperone, a fictitious 1928 musical comedy. This magical piece of meta-theatre and playful, heartfelt parody of the 1920s musical comedy features a chirpy jazz age score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a lively, clever book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, both of which were Tony winners in 2006. The score boasts such tunes as the scenery-chomping “Show Off”, the sizzling and silly “I Am Aldolpho”, the double-entendre laden “Toledo Surprise”, and “As We Stumble Along”, that rousing anthem to optimistic alcoholism.

Show Information

Category
Musical
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1998
Genres
Comedy, Parody, Romance
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
the present, apartment of the man in chair, and 1928, Mrs Tottendale's estate
Cast Size
large
Orchestra Size
Medium
Dancing
Some Dance
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, High School, Large Cast, Regional Theatre, Professional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen Characters

Context

Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Man in Chair

Lead

Male

Spoken

Janet Van De Graaff

Lead

Female

Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

The Drowsy Chaperone

Lead

Female

Alto

Robert Martin

Lead

Male

Tenor

Underling

Supporting

Male

Tenor

George

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Gangster One

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Gangster Two

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Mr. Feldzieg

Supporting

Male

Baritone

Kitty

Supporting

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Mrs. Tottendale

Supporting

Female

Alto

Aldolpho

Supporting

Male

Bass-Baritone

Trix, the Aviatrix

Featured

Female

Alto

Superintendent

Featured

Male

Non-singer

Ensemble

Ensemble

Either Gender

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone

Songs

  • Overture – Orchestra
  • Fancy Dress – Company
  • Cold Feets – Robert, George
  • Show Off – Janet, Company
  • As We Stumble Along – Drowsy Chaperone
  • I Am Aldolpho – Aldolpho, Drowsy Chaperone
  • Accident Waiting To Happen – Robert, Janet
  • Toledo Surprise – Gangsters, Feldzieg, Kitty, Mrs. Tottendale, and Company
  • Message From A Nightingale – Kitty, Gangsters, Aldolpho, Drowsy Chaperone
  • Bride's Lament – Janet, Company
  • Love Is Always Lovely In The End – Mrs. Tottendale, Underling
  • I Do, I Do In The Sky – Trix, Company
  • As We Stumble Along (Reprise) – Company

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

    A production in which musical numbers and dances are fully integrated into a proper narrative with defined dramatic goals.

    A genre of music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by syncopated rhythms, complex chords, elements of improvisation, and distortions of pitch and timbre.

    A type of theatre which draws attention to the nature of theatre and performance, often through a "play within a play"

    An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, situation, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

    An artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.

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Guide Written By:

Emma Houlahan

Emma Houlahan

Canadian vocalist and actor now based in London.