The Drowsy Chaperone
Doubly Challenging When it comes to directing shows, Steve Duprey really likes challenges. So in selecting The Drowsy Chaperone, a hilarious spoof about 1920s American musical comedy _ a show within a show and all the accompanying challenges it presents _ for this year s musical production at Newark High School you can say his role as director is... well, doubly challenging.
The 2006 Tony award winner for both Best Book and Best Score is set in both in the present day and the roaring twenties. The clever show centers around a reclusive Broadway theater buff, who, while listening to a record from his favorite 1928 musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, sees his dingy, New York City apartment transformed before his eyes into a Broadway set of the fictional musical with all of its characters, glitz and glam.
That transformation and several other scenes present enormous challenges in terms of set and props changes in tight space and time frames. Set-wise the show is a real challenge. We narrowed the stage down and made it smaller to give the illusion of a small apartment and we have things like staircases that come in and out, explained Duprey, who is now in his twelfth year of directing plays and musicals at NHS.
But the other challenge is keeping pace with an ever-changing story line and ever changing roles. And the ongoing narration by the opinionated Man in Chair who critiques the cast and production of The Drowsy Chaperone throughout the show _ and often becomes part of it without the cast knowing.
At one point, he mistakenly plays a record from another show and the cast finds itself completely switching gears, and costumes, and performing an Asian number called Message From A Nightengale.
And then there are a series of other humorous gaffes made by the Man in Chair, like when his record skips and the cast keeps doing the same thing over and over until he remedies the situation.
The Drowsy Chaperone story line revolves around the news that Feldzieg s Follies show girl Janet Van de Graaff has decided to leave the stage and spotlight behind for love.
Her oil tycoon fiance, Robert Martin, is as happy as he can be, but nervous, and eases his jitters by tap dancing alongside his best man, George. But Janet begins to have second thoughts about marrying Robert, after tempting him into being unfaithful to her.
Janet is also torn about her manager's devastation about her leaving the show, which puts its success in jeopardy. He is being threatened with bodily harm by two gangsters employed by his chief investor. Disguised as pastry chefs, these two punhappy thugs threaten Feldzieg, telling him to stop the wedding. In hopes of saving himself, Feldzieg enlists Aldolpho, a Latin cassanova to steal Janet s heart and destroy her relationship with Robert.
But the bumbling Aldolpho mistakenly goes after the wrong girl _ Janet s chaperone _ and succeeds in winning her heart. The chaperone is supposed to be keeping Janet and Robert from seeing each other on their wedding day, but her love of prohibition alcohol and her dalliance with her goofy Latin lover, who thinks she is Janet, distracts her from her duties. As such, the wedding is called off but then is back on when Janet has a change of heart about Robert, whom she calls Monkey.
You ll have to see the show to find out what happens next. Suffice it to say it is silly chaos until the end. It's a very creative and clever show _ a good, oldfashioned musical complete with mayhem, mix-ups, lovers and gangsters, Duprey said. The Drowsy Chaperone will be presented in the NHS auditorium at 7:30 p.m. March 1 and 2 and at 2 p.m. March 3.
Duprey says audiences at each of the three shows will love the musical thanks to great talent, very catchy, wonderful music, great choreography and dancing; and great behind-the-scenes stage and technical crews.
loved it. It s a nice show cause it is new. I m always looking for something new to do and no one else around here has done it, Duprey said, noting he s got a great cast with seasoned leads and lots of new talent in the ensemble. The director said it was his wife, Cindy, who first suggested he direct the show after she saw it in New York. As she left the theater, she called me on her cell phone and said Oh, my God, you have to do this play. She said it was my kind of comedy. A lot of schtick. A lot of off-thewall stuff. I saw it a couple of years later and
NHS vocal music teacher Jean Bendix is the musical director; Emily Howard is the choreographer; NHS instrumental music teacher Dave Schwind is director of the pit band; and Mary Lou Bonnell is the piano accompanist. The cast includes: Ryan Tracy as Man in Chair; Spencer Edmonds as Robert Martin; Jon Norris as Aldolpho; Sam Wersinger as Underling; Tyre Smith as Mr. Feldzieg; Curtis Mason as George, Matthew Fedczuk as Gangster 1; Grant Howard as Gangster 2; Hannah Rothpearl as Janet Van de Graafff; Ashley Farley as The Drowsy Chaperone; Kathryn Brinkman as Mrs. Tottendale; Marina Ruffalo as Kitty; and Megan Kreuser as Trix the Avaitrix.
The ensemble includes: Kayla Baylard, Nelson Betances, Sherisse Briggs, Alexa Bushart, Mari Caporaso, Cyndi Coleman, Riley Collins, Tori Cramer, Makalah Crawford, Maria DeRenzo, Ethan Erway, Amanda Fagner, Brianna Ferguson, Alison Hoe, Elizabeth Kline, Bethany Kommer, Kaitlyn Lyman, Shea Matz, McKenna Martin, Brittney Morrison, Ricky Partridge, Alice Rosario, Bink Saligupta. The stage managers are Bri Adkins, Marleah Cunningham and the crew includes: Stu Blodgett, Kellie Bundschuh, Anthony Diamond, Catherine Erway, Andrew Garrett, Alana Greco, Ryan Kreuser, Joey Ruffalo, Dan Staples, Brittany Williams and Meghan Wright. The pit band features Kendra Bush on the clarinet, Michaela Mason on flute, Jack Diamond, Mike Fedczuk, Josh Wilck, Chris Doser, Mark Viavattine and Erik Stabnau on saxophone; Santasia Cummings on bass clarinet, Alex Schwind and Steve Quance on trumpet; Jenna Taylor and Mike Nave on trombone; BJ Blair and Bob White, percussion; Andy Stobie on bass; and Bonnell and Chrissy Stevens on keyboard. Scenic painters were Richard Jacobsen, Duprey and Kate Duprey. The light board operator is Anthony Diamond. Andrew Garrett and Tim Knapp operate the soundboard. Garrett also is the spotlight operator. Fly operators are Stu Blodgett and Dan Staples. Ryan Tracy, Kate Duprey and Spencer Edmonds are the light crew. Dave Howard and Lawson Whiting built the sets Duprey designed with help from Mitch Ruffalo, Marc Kreuser, Rob Hoe, Jeremy Rothpearl and Bob Bendix. Inger Rothpearl and Linda Whiting were in charge of costumes and were assisted by Kristin Kommer, Jean Hoe, Tina Kline, Debbie Ruffalo, Dawn Houser, Marcy Mason and Lisa Fedczuk.
Jean Bendix, Emily Howard and Linda Whiting were in charge of makeup and hair. Ashley Farley designed the poster. Gabi DeMitry is the main usher and Diana Ledbetter and other parents are in charge of concessions. We ve had a lot of parent involvement this year _ great people helping us, Duprey said. Tickets for The Drowsy Chaperone performances March 1-3 are $5 for students and senior citizens and $7 for adults and are at available at the door at Newark Wegmans and at Reliant Credit Union.