Reviewed by Michael Nielsen
The lights go down and the MAN IN CHAIR (Tim White) prays in the dark, “Dear Lord, please let it be a good show…” And the fun of Musical Theater begins. When the lights DO come up, after a few more insights and thoughts from MAN IN CHAIR, we see him sitting in his comfortable chair next to an old record player… “Yes, records”… in a somewhat dingy apartment that fills the stage.
While no one is listed as set designer in the program, Ziegfeld Theater set constructors Brandon Bills, Erica Choffel and Quinn Kapetanov (also the theater’s technical director) have done a great job of filling the stage with essential apartment needs while leaving room for the action of the show, which is no small task when an entire musical is to be staged within the apartment. A nice touch to the set were the theater posters tacked to all the walls, immediately establishing the MAN’s love for theater. When telling people about THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, I am always tempted to say, “It’s just a good old-fashioned musical,” but in truth, it’s not. DROWSY opened on Broadway in May of 2006 and was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning 5 of them, including Best Book, Musical Score and Costumes. The costumes, unfortunately, were the weakest part of this production, but designer Becky Cole didn’t have a Broadway budget. She did manage to portray each character and stay within the era.
The show is a parody of American musical comedy of the 1920s. The story concerns a middle-aged, musical theater fan as he plays the record of his favorite musical, the (fictional) 1928 hit THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, which then comes to life onstage as he wryly comments on the music, story and actors. I love this show, and the Ziegfeld’s production has made me love it even more. I mean, what’s not to love? You have the excitement and glamour of the 1920s, the thrill of full ensemble musical numbers and a love story(s) complete with angst and suspense–well, musical theater suspense. After all, as the MAN says, “Whenever a character is in crisis, they just dance and sing–that’s the glory of a musical.” The Zig’s production makes you wish all of life was like that.
Director Trent Cox, choreographor and assistant director Kacee Neff and assistant choreographer Josh White brought the goosebumps of a Broadway stage into the confines of a small apartment. They cleverly used the refrigerator as a main entrance for the characters. Characters also entered through doors, cupboards and closets. The Murphy style bed was transformed into a lounge chair and a bedroom, each time with the actor “riding” the bed as it was pulled down, then returned to the wall after the scenes.
Often reviews neglect to mention the people “backstage” who make the show work. In theater, it truly takes a village. One often overlooked, yet essential area, is stage management–the people who make the whole process run during rehearsals and the run of the show. Stage Manager Jessica Hilton and Assistant Stage Manager Chelsea Winters obviously ran a tight ship. There were a few glitches in the microphones, a couple of times it seemed they were just late in being turned on, but overall the technical aspects (sound: Samuel Coleman, Lights: Derek Walden – design, Chelsea Winters on board, Props: Kelly Wideman, Makeup: Alina Gatrell) were spot on, and accented the show well.
There are no weak performances, though some did shine through a bit stronger than others. Breann Johnson as Janet, has the pipes and dance moves to make us believe she could be a Broadway star. The Gangsters/Bakers (Matt Baxter and Colton Ward) provided laughs with their stylized moves and comic timing. Paul Calvo as Adolpho, the broadly characterized Spanish lover, was an audience favorite, shining in his scenes with THE CHAPERONE, played to perfection by Becky Cole. Ms. Cole has the stage presence, voice and comic timing needed to really make the title character shine. Lindsey Blackman as Kitty, the ditzy wanna-be star, also stood out with her consistent performance. Each character and the Ensemble (playing multiple characters) gave us moments of brilliance. I could list them all, (and wish I had the space to do so) but you will see their names when you head to Ogden to see the show.
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Tim White, as MAN IN CHAIR, won our hearts as he guided us through this show, which we later find he never saw, but which changed his life. It did take a little while for me to warm up to him, but once I did, I was always anxious to hear his asides and insights to the “actors” playing the roles and how the show affected him. While relatively mousy, there were moments where White lost his reserve and showed his passion, and moments where he moved us, especially when he speaks of that special scene that he has “listened to over and over,” leaving us with quite a deep interpretation of life.
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE runs through the 28th in this intimate, well-managed theatre (everyone is so nice and welcoming), and, as MAN IN CHAIR says, it “DOES WHAT A SHOW IS SUPPOSED TO DO–IT TAKES US TO ANOTHER WORLD.”
For more information about the Ziegfeld Theater, visit http://www.theziegfeldtheater.com/
The Ziegeld Theater is located at 3934 South Washington, Ogden, Utah 84403. For tickets, call 855-ZIG-ARTS. The show runs Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM until June 28th. Tickets are only $12/$15.
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