Director's Notes

On behalf of the cast, crew, and entire Department of Theatre & Dance, welcome to tonight's performance of The Drowsy Chaperone. Premiering on Broadway in 2006, it was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning 5, including Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Beth Leavel, who played the titular role.

The show is a parody of classical musical theatre, utilizing the show-within-a-show structure that has become popular in much of the postmodern theatrical canon. A man in a chair is talking directly to the audience and puts on a record of his favorite show, The Drowsy Chaperone, a fictional pastiche of a 1920s musical. It satirizes the surface level writing on many of these classical musicals, their proclivity to devolve into a dance number at the drop of a hat, and the archetypal characters who inhabit these productions.

In poking fun at this fictional show's structure, the writers also take some shots at the common performer archetypes within these shows. The classic diva who is on the back-nine of her career, the young up-and-coming starlet who gets all the attention, the attractive but dim-witted leading man, a washed-up silent film star looking for a last gasp of stardom, and out-of-work variety show performer retrofitted to exist in this medium. All those characters, and more, can be found in this show. 

This parody was written by someone who loves musical theatre, and that's what has made it so popular with audiences. Many of these theatrical devices mirror elements of some of our favorite musicals of the past, but his show is more than just a fun romp through the nostalgia of Busby Berkley, over the top, show-stopping song and dance routines; It talks about how theatre can be a companion or safe space for people. Through the monologues from the Man in Chair, we learn how this musical has helped him get through difficult times in his life. Even with its silly, light-hearted subject matter, he found moments within that asked real questions and made him examine his own life and reframe some of his personal struggles. This show highlights the very essence of what makes theatre important. it can be a mirror we hold up to society to examine our own lives, while simultaneously serving as a peaceful respite from the struggles of our daily existence. It can give us a chance to escape, carry a little tune with us, and live in another world briefly. 

I had a professor in graduate school who challenged us with a question about whether theatre was meant to entertain or to teach. An interesting thought experiment, but one I found (and still fine) rather limiting. The beauty of theatre is that it can be different things for different people. A show that is nothing but a laugh riot to one person offers another a chance to see someone else's outlook on life. It can make us smile, but also give us a chance to empathize with certain characters. In a single show, we might laugh at the simplicity of a story designed to work in as many dance numbers as possible, but then later come away having learned something watching the characters deal with an issue in their lives that could mirror elements of our own.

Theatre inspires. Theatre entertains. This is a fun show, full of comedy, archetypal characters, and more singing and dancing than you can imagine. I hope you have as much fun watching this show as we did rehearsing it. But perhaps there will be a moment within the production where an idea, a character, a moment challenges you, and has you reexamine a problem, see something from a new perspective, or come away having learned something. I hope tonight's performance brings you the full, cathartic theatrical experience.

--Tom Alsip