NO SNOOZE BUTTON HERE

Coronado’s Drowsy Chaperone keeps the laughs coming

The Coronado Playhouse is reviving the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone, hoping to repeat the popularity of the show’s success in 2011. Judging by the enthusiasm of my Sunday matinee, no problem. It’s too bad the production only runs for 16 performances.

The Drowsy Chaperone is a show within a show. The show begins with a single middle-aged musical theater fanatic sitting alone in a chair in his apartment (the character is identified in the playbill only as “Man in Chair”). Talking directly to the audience, and feeling “blue,” Man decides to play a favorite old album from his vast collection—a fictional 1928 musical called The Drowsy Chaperone.

As the record spins, the stage comes to life as Man drolly makes commentaries to the audience about the music, story, and performance. In due course, other characters appear, and a varied and entertaining lot they are, flooding the stage with their high-energy singing, acting, and dancing skills. The score leans on the loud and witty, notably “Cold Feets,” “Show Off,” and “Toledo Surprise,” but “As We Stumble Along” provides some listenable heart.

The plot, for want of a more precise term, is awash in comic chaos, mostly involving an approaching wedding between an eligible young man and a hot Broadway starlet. A bad guy wants to squash the union and has hired two comic gangsters to disguise themselves as pastry chefs to do the deed. There is a caricature Latin Lothario in the mix, as well as a drunken lady chaperone, a female aviatrix, and a central character identified only as the Underling.

Two-thirds of the way through the production, the audience is informed that the play has only one act, but as Man excuses himself to go to the bathroom, the lights go on, injecting a traditional intermission. Action resumes with Man pulling out an LP record of a fresh play unrelated to what has gone before. Then we return to the original musical.

Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison get highest comic marks for their music and lyrics, and Bob Martin and Don McKellar for their book. The two teams never take their feet off the comic pedals, all the twists and turns of their offbeat narrative making delicious comic sense. When a production of this much complexity works so well, there must be some brilliant directing at the throttle. So cheers to Sarah Jane Salonga, the guest Canadian director, for delivering a staging of unblemished creativity.

This musical requires an extra-large cast of 20, and everyone onstage needs to be up to the mark. There are no walk-ons in The Drowsy Chaperone. First among equals is Brian P. Evans as Man in Chair, serving as the narrator-commentator who shares his nostalgic affection for musicals of the 1920s. Kaitlyn Summers can represent the entire cast in versatility and excellence, if only because she has so much stage time.

The seven-piece band, directed by Morgan Hollingsworth, performs with excellence, whether the musical style is 1920s jazz or more modern songs. Choreographer Ala Tiatia-Garaud gets the most out of the limited stage space.

The designers are led by Kyle Waterman (scenery), Mashun Tucker (lighting), Cole Atencio (sound), and especially Lisa Samson, who is responsible for dressing the large cast so creatively.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by Ken Jacques

The Drowsy Chaperone
Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way
Fri & Sat at 7; Sat & Sun at 2
ends on May 10, 2026
for tickets, call 619.435.4856 or visit Coronado Playhouse

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦