After producing both “Mean Girls” and “Clue” this year, Purebred Productions will debut “The Drowsy Chaperone” on Thursday, April 4. “The Drowsy Chaperone” features a middle-aged theater fan, “Man in Chair,” as he narrates a long playing vinyl of his favorite production, the fictional 1920s musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” The audience is taken through the silly dramatic parody of a musical, in which Broadway star Janet quickly falls in love with Robert and enlists a chaperone to keep her away from him until their wedding, through the Man in Chair’s eyes.
“This show is a take on how things can be perceived through an old eye and old ear. Nothing on stage is actually what happens within the fictional musical, it’s all told through the Man in Chair’s perspective, which makes it really interesting. I don’t think there’s another musical out there like this one,” senior Madelynn Roberts, who plays The Chaperone, said.
Despite being a rookie on the theater stage, with only one other Purebred Production show under his belt, senior Bryce Padilla leads the cast as the Man in Chair. Although his lack of experience presents some barriers, Padilla used his humor to emphasize the over-the-top nature of the show.
“I wish I would have joined theater sooner because I thought about it multiple times, and I feel like I would have gotten a lot more used to being on stage. In “Mean Girls,” I was a part of the ensemble and only sang the entire time on stage, while for this show, I narrate every scene. I was already comfortable with singing on stage, but acting in front of people, especially for my first time in a major role, has been an adjustment,” Padilla said.
The Man in Chair uses his witty comedic timing to comment on the plot and the main conflict within the musical, which is the love story between Janet and Robert, played by senior Julia Register and sophomore Shaun Epperson respectively, as their wedding gets called off several times.
“Everything Janet does is so ridiculous and exaggerated but also so serious to her. You can really tell that she cares about Robert and their relationship so much throughout the story. Their relationship is a highlight from the show and will definitely keep the audience invested,” Register said.
The cast has rehearsed for the show for the past month, giving them time to become well-versed in their roles and intricacies of the show itself while also adjusting to the auditorium’s recently installed sound system.
“Our experience with doing “Mean Girls” showed us that our department does have a lot of talent and the ability to have a great production quality, and I’m glad that our sound can reflect that now,” Roberts said.
This is the last Purebred Productions show for several seniors in the cast, making the excitement of opening week bittersweet.
“I’ve done every musical all four years, and I didn’t plan on doing theater, but finding this program has made me fall in love with being on stage. No other space has really been able to give me this same sense of comfort or give me as strong a passion for something as this,” Roberts said.
While this production may not be as well known as the previous musical, “Mean Girls,” Register is sure that audience members and fans of theater will enjoy their performance of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
“It’s kind of a shame that not a lot of people know [“The Drowsy Chaperone”], but that makes it even more special because we can expose our audiences to this show and its message. The Man in Chair’s character is all about how much love he has for show tunes and theater, and I just think it’s important to show people that everyone has their own passions and individual places that they may ‘escape’ to, but theater can also help bring everyone together and create community,” Register said.
The production is running in the auditorium from April 4-6 and tickets are on sale now.
