Reviewed by Paul Treasure
Many years ago, two performers from Toronto’s The Second City comedy troupe, Robert Martin and Janet Van De Graaff, decided to get married. As part of the entertainment at their stag party, some of their friends got together and wrote a spoof of and homage to 1920s Broadway musicals, with the lead characters named after the happy couple. This little entertainment then took on a life of its own and became the musical The Drowsy Chaperone. This back story to the creation of the musical takes on new meaning with Stirling Players’ current production, which is no less of a gift to us, the theatregoers of Perth.
The conceit of the musical is very clever. It is ostensibly set in the small apartment of a character named Man in Chair (originally played by the real Robert Martin) who is feeling somewhat “blue”. To cheer himself up he decides to listen to the original cast recording of his favourite musical “The Drowsy Chaperone”. As he takes us through this cast recording, the original cast invades the stage and recreates the show that is taking place in his mind’s eye.
In this production, the apartment is restricted to the downstage right corner of the stage, in front of the curtain. This tiny corner is dominated by a comfortable armchair and is filled with musical theatre paraphernalia. The rest of the stage is a deceptively simple set, leaning towards Art Deco, which enhances the ongoing action without detracting from it. This clean simplicity is often very difficult to pull off, and designer Wayne Herring has done a beautiful job, with many subtle touches, like very realistic floorboards covering the stage, that will probably not be noticed by the average audience member. The lighting design, by John Woolrych, was also subtle and very effective, never drawing attention to itself, but always complementing the action. Costumes, by Lyn Hutcheon, were stunning and era-appropriate. The gowns were all stunning, and the men’s costumes all seemed spot-on. Even down to the one costume that needed to seem old fashioned seemed right.
Choreographer Jordan D’Arcy has done an amazing job, giving us exciting and energetic moves that matched the era perfectly, very cleverly pushing the cast to the limit of their availability, but never crossing the line where any of the cast looked like they were struggling. Isabella Bourgault has done a very good job as Musical Director, with singing and music both very well done.
Any show like this one has challenges for the actors, as they are not playing three-dimensional characters, but archetypes. Finding the right balance between playing the roles as large as possible without actually overacting is tricky, and the cast very much seems to have understood the brief and pushed themselves right to the line, without going over. Danielle Battista as the bride, Janet Van De Graaff, was an absolute powerhouse. Her character is a Broadway star who is giving it all up for married bliss, and her deliciously ironic number “Show Off” was worthy of the biggest star. After the song had finished and she had left the stage, the inevitable encore was one of the highlights of the show. Sonni Byrne, as the eponymous chaperone, gave us a full-throated and perfectly placed “Stumble Along”. Megan Kelly was a delight as the forgetful and Mrs Totterdale, and Tashlin Church took her small role of Trix, the Aviatrix, and did her solid best to steal the show with her brief onstage time.
The male cast was also strong, Max Leunig as groom Robert Martin, Oliver Temby as best Man George, and Ben Mullings as producer Mr Feldzieg all played their roles well - all well-sung and throwing themselves into the choreography with gusto. Benn Austin as the butler Underling was played more sedately and, with Megan Kelly, provided a sweet stillness and calmness to the ongoing chaos.
It is in some of the smaller characters that we see the tightrope that is the mood of this show really at play. Christian Dichiera plays the Latin lothario Aldolpho as broad and archetypically as possible. We got the very distinct impression that Christian knows this character type inside out and pushes it to the limit. His understanding of physical comedy is highlighted in a briefly recurring reaction to the word “what”, which was so perfectly pitched and timed that it left me disappointed that it didn’t reoccur more often. The role of Kitty, the up-and-coming starlet was impeccable as played by Ciara Malone. This is a character type that is easy to play as a stereotype, but Ciara nailed this character, being reminiscent of Lesley Ann Warren’s Normas Cassidy in Victor/Victoria. As the vaudevillian comedy duo who are playing gangsters disguised as pastry chefs (phew!), Emily Botje and Lukas Perez steal the show with almost every appearance. They nail the vaudevillian style asked of their characters, with astoundingly precise and energetic physical comedy, and a uniformity and understanding between them that we believe they could have been performing together for years. Their big duo “Toledo Surprise” was one of the highlights of the show.
While the other characters need to be played big and broad, the pivotal role of Man in Chair is the only real person on stage and needs to be played much more realistically. Ben Clarke plays this role as quiet and reserved in a beautiful counterpoint to the rest of the action. As the narrator of the action it is essential that he develop a rapport with the audience, and Ben has us from the moment he first speaks to us. We get a very real picture of his love for these characters and actors that he has never met apart from listening to them on this treasured record. Isolated from the action on the edge of the stage, he plays into the isolation of his character’s life with sensitivity and nuance. This is one of the most beautifully and precisely crafted characterisations I have seen in a musical in a long time.
Sometimes it feels that a show with a strong cast directs itself, and all the director needs to do is throw the actors onstage and they will produce something good. With this production, however, Kimberley Shaw has left enough thumbprints in the plasticine that we can see her influence all over it. Over the years Kimberley has shown us again and again that if she can assemble the right cast, she will give us magic. Kimberley, with her vast experience, truly understands what is required for this show, and she has managed to imbue that essence into every facet of the production. The best example of this is the moment at the end of the show where Man in Chair joins the rest of the cast onstage for the finale. In this production, Ukelele Lil, the ‘actress’ playing Mrs Tottendale, enters the Man in Chair’s area (which no actor has entered the entire show) reaches behind the chair and takes out a ukulele, and then takes Man in Chair’s arm and leads him in to join the cast. This simple moment is not scripted but becomes the most poignant and beautiful moment of the entire show. The choice for it to be Ukelele Lil, the one ‘actor’ that Man in Chair admits to knowing nothing about, who is the first one to acknowledge him, to say that they love and need him as much as he loves and needs them, is a masterstroke and gives real depth to a piece that can easily just become a confection. This is the sort of touch, this understanding both of the piece and of how great theatre works, that is often missing from Community Theatre.
While there may be showier productions this year that have garnered more attention, this production is easily one of the most subtle and nuanced productions of the year. It is an absolute delight from its very first moment to its last. The show may be nothing more than a confection, but as a confection, this production is a finely crafted petit four. If you love classic musicals, you need to do yourself the favour of seeing this love letter to the genre.
Reviewer Note: Tickets for this review were provided by the theatre company.
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