‘Drowsy’ cast prepares for opener

Greg Leonov
the advocate

 

On Wednesday night, I had the good fortune of sitting in on the second dress rehearsal of Mt. Hood Community College Theatre’s production of their winter musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

The play opens with the main character, who we only know as “Man in Chair,” whose name we never learn. Played by freshman Brandon Watkins, the Man plays the part of a narrator in the story who spends his time listening to musical theater and commenting on characters, songs, and scenery.

Its story starts with a senile elderly character named Tottendale (played by Tootsie West) talking to her butler named Underling (played by Michael Tippery), who pushes her refreshment cart around with a squatting walk. They are going back and forth about her dress, and she keeps forgetting that she’s wearing a fancy dress fit for a wedding, or that there’s a wedding in general.

The main plot revolves around the  bride-to-be, Janet Van de Graf (Sierra Rickards), a popular actress willing to sacrifice her career to marry Robert Martin (Peter Woodford). As the hour of the wedding approaches, Van de Graf’s stage-show producer, named Mr. Feldzieg (played by Justin Wright) is visited and threatened by some gangsters dressed as pastry chefs (Makayla Kott and Shelby Hansmann) sent by a certain “investor” who does not wish to see Van de Graf leave show business. They give him the ultimatum of preventing Van de Graf from getting married.

To stop the wedding, Feldzieg sends a womanizing European named Adolpho (Ian Booth) to seduce Van de Graf, but he is manipulated into seducing The Drowsy Chaperone (Merry Bishop) instead. The seduction is followed by a series of events a couple of subplots that end very well for everyone.

The show was spectacular.

The actors knew their parts very well, and worked well together. The relationship between Robert Martin (Woodford) and his best man,  George (Luke Swearengin), was very convincing; it’s almost like they could be friends in real life. Swearengin brought a very nice energy to the show with his outgoing stage presence.

Woodford’s portrayal of Martin was justified and convincing. Clearly, Martin is a bit of an egotist, but is genuinely in love with Van de Graf.

The star of the show, without a doubt, is Watkins. As the play progressed, I started to feel like I knew who “Man in Chair” was and I just really felt for the guy.

He projected a very convincing passion for this particular musical and played a very good flamboyant character. At one point, he went on a rant that ended with him talking about throwing his gypsy record against the wall – I couldn’t stifle my laughter, the guy is hilarious. I hope he is cast in similar roles in other productions.

The best singing was done by Rickards and Bishop. They knew how to project their voices, and to my ears the sounds were flawless. They hit every note, and I didn’t catch a single blunder with the vocal performances.

When performing “Show off,” I got the idea that Van de Graf is a very successful actress, and deserves the attention she receives because she can actually sing on top of bing a very attractive flapper girl.

Bishop’s performance as “The Drowsy Chaperone” was something that would leave a member of the audience far from drowsy. Her attitude and infidelity are aspects that would make the play a bit less suited for children under 13, for instance.

Her performance of “As We Stumble Along” was excellent, and was fun because it didn’t offer Van de Graf any advice to her personal doubts about the wedding, but added to the fun of having a drunken friend.

Another interesting thing about the play is that the tap dancing number performed by Bishop and Swearengin was completely learned for the play. The gentlemen had no tap-dancing experience before that.

I would recommend the play to everyone, but would caution that there are some themes that might not be suitable for young children – namely, Adolpho, the sex addict who was supposed to seduce Van de Graf.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” opens tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Additional showings will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday; 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 27-28; and 2 p.m. on March 1. Tickets are $12 in advance for adults, and $15 at the door. For students, they’re $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Visit mhcc.edu/theatre to purchase tickets.