French Creek’s ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ is anything but lethargic Bob Abelman Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal “I hate theatre,” says a frumpy, effeminate middle-aged man (Jonathan Kronenberger) from his comfy center stage chair at the start of this play. He is talking directly to the audience that has gathered at French Creek Theatre, adding that he particularly hates plays that break the fourth wall. But when he’s a little blue, he tells us, he likes to listen to original vinyl cast album recordings of 1920’s musicals, with their catchy show tunes, predictable plots and cookie cutter characters. And his favorite is Gable and Stein’s “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which he offers to play for us on an old turntable. And then does. Bob Martin and Dan McKellar’s 2006 Tony Award-winning “The Drowsy Chaperone,” with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, is a thoroughly enchanting meta-theatrical musical that pokes great fun at the very art form it is embracing. As such, this show is a high-wire balancing act of sorts, with actors having to perform intentionally bad production numbers well, play purposefully broad characters with realistic intent, and sell outmoded wordplay, silly slapstick and an excess of spit-takes as if vaudeville were alive and well. Fortunately, this production and these players do everything right with what is intended to be so very wrong and manage to deliver a very entertaining musical within a crazy comedy. And with Kristy Cruz’s delightful choreography under Jordan Cooper’s full-speed-ahead direction, there is never a dull moment on stage. For more of this review, go to: www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/