By Hannah Cass
Every time I have the wonderful opportunity to go to the Heritage Center Theater in Cedar City, I know I’m going to have a good laugh. The Drowsy Chaperone is a show within a show. It draws you in with a relatable narration from The Man In The Chair (Stephen Wagner) whose commentary makes every scene even more memorable. The Man In The Chair is an older theater fanatic, with quite an impressive record collection of musicals and his decor primarily consists of show posters adorning his house. He sits and tells us of his passion for theater and decides to put on The Drowsy Chaperone, a (fictional) Broadway musical from 1928. As it plays, the cast appears in his living room and the stage becomes an interesting, sometimes 4th-wall-breaking-blend of both the Man’s home and the film locations of the musical.
The show is a hilarious spoof of musicals from the 1920s and the stereotypical plots and characters that connect most of them. The Drowsy Chaperone is about the wedding party for Robert Martin (Jacob Chipman), the heir of an oil empire, and Janet Van De Graaff (Meghann Jones), a showgirl that vows to retire from the business once she’s married even though she never misses an opportunity to perform and be the center of attention. Two mafia members disguised as bakers (Taylor Hall and Stockton Myers) reveal their boss has invested in the show Janet stars in, and want her to stay employed as an actress. This doesn’t sit well with producer Feldzieg (Jacob Graves), who enlists the help of Aldolpho (Ben Dowse), a “Latin lover” to split the couple apart. The Chaperone of the wedding (Tamara Reber) is no stranger to alcohol, and rather than fulfill the job of keeping the bride from the groom on their wedding day, she doesn’t do so.
The musical numbers in this production of The Drowsy Chaperone are wonderful. I personally enjoyed “Aldolpho” and “Show Off”, both of which are filled with energy and comedic undertones. Every song was great, however, there were some mic issues that prevented us from hearing quite a bit of dialogue and bits and pieces of crucial moments. This, combined with the speedy interactions of cast members had my friends and I whispering about what had been said, and once we had figured it out together we would utter a laugh long after the moment passed. That aside, the efforts put into this production are evident and everything comes together wonderfully, thanks to everyone involved. The cast worked wonderfully together and each one’s talents were made clear in one form or another. Other members of the cast and ensemble are Charlie Tuttle, Randy Seely, Casey Lamb, Gillian Cox, Vanessa Hunt, Trevor Walker, Maddie Carter, Dillon Coburn, Kaylee Hill, Phillip Jensen, Savannah Jones, Kaitlin Shae Marriott, Talise Mosely, and Tanner Savage. All did a fantastic job with this performance.
The efforts of those behind the scenes showed as well, from director Dean Jones, who has been involved with nearly every CVCT production. Trevor Walker is also the shows music director. Choreography/Costume Designer Edwina Jones captured the moves and styles of the 1920’s perfectly. Stage manager Rendall Seely and assistant stage manager Dave Haley oversaw everything. The set design and construction are by Daniel Crocker and Daniel Swanson, who arranged the set to work perfectly with this production. Costume construction was provided by Janet Rockwell, and the lighting design by Jerry Bixman, the tones of blue really setting the mood for the number “Bride’s Lament”. The sound design/engineer is Marty Shurtleff, sound engineer Corlissa Jensen, audio technician Steve Nollan, and hair and makeup were by Rebecca Dennett and Jesse Haley, who made everyone look spectacular.
Not to mention, a full orchestra, led by Conductor Suzanne Tegland, with members Tanisa Crosby, Anna Christensen, April Richardson, Sarah Solberg, Katie Meyers, Hayden Eighmy, Kameron Campbell, Robby Carnesecca, Brennan Hansen, Amber Simmons, Nichole Evans, Robbie Martin, Carylee Zwang, Justin Douglas, Emily Hepworth and Diego Suarez all playing beautifully.
An important factor to note about this particular production is that there is NOT an intermission, so plan accordingly.
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If you’re looking for a good laugh and a wonderful way to spend your evening, go see Cedar Valley Community Theater’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone at the Heritage Center Theater.
Cedar Valley Community Theater presents The Drowsy Chaperone by Lisa Lambert
Heritage Center Theater, 105 N 100 E, Cedar City 84720
January 26 – 29, February 2, 3 7:30 PM
Matinee February 2nd at 2:00 PM
Tickets: $12 General Admission $8 Special Admission
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