The Drowsy Chaperone - Play Review

Every year after the Fullerton College High School Theatre Festival, the college invites us to watch their production at the time. Freshman year we watched Cabaret (which is absolutely amazing musical), sophomore year was Assassins, junior year was Noises Off, and this year we got to watch The Drowsy Chaperone. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect of this show because I had only vaguely heard of it. Even my drama teacher Mr. Hogan had no idea of what this play/musical was about. However, this was most likely the best show I've seen at Fullerton College. The Drowsy Chaperone was an amazing musical within a play that was extremely funny, full of all kinds of talent, and surprisingly dramatic.

A Bit of Background
The play begins with the main character, Man in Chair, beginning to talk to the audience about the theatre and how he hates it. He then goes on to explain how he loves to listen to musicals because it calms him down (he also hints at having mental problems and how he has to take medication). He puts on his favorite musical ("The Drowsy Chaperone") vinyl on his record player and throughout the musical numbers, guides us through what the musical is all about in a very comedic way. It's a rather bad musical, but the play goes on to its dark ending tying up all loose ends about the musical and the story of the Man in Chair.

Acting
Everyone's acting within the play was phenomenal. The cast was full of lively characters and everyone played them very well. However, the one who stood out to me was Man in Chair. This actor had a huge challenge to play a character that was altogether comedic and very sweet, but at the same time had to be very dark and portray a mental illness. His true emotion and realism is what caught my attention and he was overall an enjoyable character that had a really awesome bond with the audience.

Singing and Dancing
The three songs that stood out to me were "Show Off", "Toledo Surprise", and "I Am Adolpho". The other songs were amazing, but these songs stood our for their own specific reasons.

I love "Show Off" so much because of it's range and how well the actress sang the song. The choreography was also stunning and the entire song was a lot of fun to watch and it was really enjoyable.

"Toledo Surprise" was just a really weird song. I loved the fun and silly essence the song gave off. Plus, it's two lovable gang members started it off with a really fun twist. Its choreography was amazing and that's what really made it stand out.

"I Am Adolpho" was a very strange thing to hear in a Broadway piece, especially because the song is very latin. The actor portrayed this character extremely well and overall, the performance was technically stunning and visually appealing (and also very fun to listen to).

The only dancing that stood out to me was during one of the songs where the husband-to-be and his best man tap dance. Tap dancing is extremely difficult. Especially when you are tap dancing and singing at the same time. This scene was incredibly impressive and this really caught my attention. Who doesn't love a tap dancing singer and actor right?

Technical (Lighting, Sound, Set, and Costume Design)
Not being tech savvy, I can't really comment on how the lighting or sound impressed me. However, the set was very well done and extremely effective. It was interesting to see how they changed the same set to different settings of the musical. The costumes were true to the intended time and looked really well on stage.

In Conclusion
I loved this show. Every aspect about it was amazing and I'm glad that this was my final Fullerton College show before I graduate.