<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div>Thank you for posting this commentary about Garfield Players' current production of <i>The Drowsy Chaperone. </i> I saw the show last Sunday and it was one of the most enjoyable musicals I have ever seen in community theatre. I saw the original production on Broadway and enjoyed this show as much. My only criticism was the sparse audience. What a waste of exceptional talent when the cast outnumbers the audience! See this show!</div><div><br></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div>Libby Merriman</div><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><br><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Margie Krestle
<mkrestle@gmail.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> neohiopal@lists.neohiopal.org<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thu, November 4, 2010 11:21:32 AM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [NEohioPAL] THEATRE REVIEW - "The Drowsy Chaperone" Deserves A Bigger Audience!!<br></font><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I haven't seen anything written up about this show (which is a shame), so I thought I'd toss out my "two cents" and hopefully encourage some of you to go see this show.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lately, it’s been a crap-shoot for me to find
affordable entertainment that I enjoy without feeling like I need to take out a
mortgage on my house. Imagine my surprise and delight when, as I was sifting
through the various online entertainment directories last week and I discovered
that Garfield Players was about to open my FAVORITE Broadway musical (EVER) - <i>The Drowsy Chaperone.</i><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not expecting too much, because I know what community
theatre is like, I set out to see this production just to enjoy the songs and
story that I love so much. From the very first moments of Garfield Player’s
production of <i style="">The Drowsy Chaperone</i>,
however, I knew I was in for a treat. This may be a community theatre
production, but aside from the flimsy set construction, you couldn’t prove it
by what I witnessed.<span style=""> </span>The talent in
this show could give a national tour a run for its money.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me begin by saying that the Garfield Center for the
Performing Arts is a lovely facility located at Garfield Heights High School.
It’s a huge space, with a seating capacity of well over 800.<span style=""> </span>I bring all of this up because I
literally had my pick of seats, since only about 25-30 other people attended
the performance that I saw.<span style=""> </span>In an
auditorium that size, an audience that small should be criminal – and I admit to
being a little embarrassed for the production.<span style=""> </span>What is impressive about it is that the cast and crew of <i style="">The Drowsy Chaperone</i> performed undaunted
and unaffected by the sparce audience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Director James E. Jarrell has assembled an extremely
talented group to perform this show, and all of the casting was just about
“spot-on” perfect.<span style=""> </span>He clearly
managed this talent well, creating some lovely stage pictures that really
capture the show’s “moment.”<span style=""> </span>Mr.
Jarrell clearly understands the style and finesse of this kind of campy musical
theatre faire. As an aficionado of the Broadway production, I could definitely
see some parallels in the stage direction, and although it didn’t bother me, I
would have liked to have seen some more creativity and originality.<span style=""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not that there isn’t an abundance of creativity in this
show.<span style=""> </span>The choreography by Jennifer
Leinweber-Ritz gave just enough of a nod to the original Broadway production
without being a copy. The most obvious homage was the “Show Off” number, which
just didn’t quite make the mark.<span style="">
</span>Also a very ambitious tap dance routine in “Cold Feets” seems too
difficult for the obvious beginner tappers and kind of falls flat.<span style=""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The cast more than makes up for those moments with rousing
renditions of “Toledo Surprise” and “Bride’s Lament (the Monkey Song).”<span style=""> </span>Very clever staging and entertaining
choreography in both numbers is executed to perfection by this talented cast,
which makes these two numbers the strongest ensemble pieces in the show. Of
particular note in “Bride’s Lament” is Allison Lehr’s (as the bride, Janet
Vandegraf) incredible vocals, which was a pleasant surprise considering her
lackluster performance Act One’s “Show Off.”<span style=""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other highlights in the show’s cast include Jeremy Janik as
Aldolpho – “the King of Romance.” Although it is sometimes hard to make out
what he says, his
brutally offensive and over-the-top caricature had me in stitches, particularly
during his self-titled song and dance routine.<span style=""> </span>Amiee Collier was splendid as the title character – the
Drowsy Chaperone – and has one of those voices that gives you goose bumps when
she sings, though at times she was more boisterous (and obnoxious) than
“drowsy” (aka drunk).<span style=""> </span>Don Pedley’s
deadpan Underling and Diane Pedee’s dim-witted Mrs. Tottendale are both
performed with understated brilliance.<span style="">
</span>The remainder of the cast and ensemble complement each other remarkably
well for community theatre and do not disappoint at all.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The real star of this production, however, lies in the brilliant
comic timing of the show’s narrator (the “Man In Chair”) as portrayed by Jason
Falkofsky.<span style=""> </span>Falkofsky carries off
the combination of obsession and neuroses to perfection, without making the
role cartoonish (which was a big problem I had with the touring
production).<span style=""> </span>He sets the pace
early on and endears the audience with his gentle voice and obvious adoration
for what he’s witnessing on stage. I was in love with his performance from top
to bottom – and he clearly makes this production better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The costuming was neither a highlight nor a
liability for this production and had brief flashes of brilliance mixed with
some blandness.<span style=""> </span>Other technical
elements have leaps and bounds to make to meet the level of talent in the cast,
but none of it was so bad that it ruined my enjoyment of the show.<span style=""> </span>The orchestra (essentially a wind
ensemble with a set of drums and an electronic keyboard) is typical community
theatre quality, and they are quite loud – which might be a major problem for
you if you don’t know the show since they frequently drown out the singers on
stage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Overall, I was truly impressed by this production and I really hope they get more substantial audiences over the next two weekends.<span style=""> </span> I honestly wouldn’t have known
anything about it if I didn’t happen upon it in the events calendar on the PD
website.<span style=""> </span>Obviously more needs to
be done to get the word out about this show.<span style=""> At any rate, if you have time to go see it, you should. You won't be disappointed.<br></span></p>
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