‘Chaperone’ not putting anyone to sleep

“I hate theater,” announces a voice in the dark at the opening of “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the latest arrival at the IU Auditorium. “Well, it’s so disappointing, isn’t it?”

From this point on, the musical devotes its considerable energy to proving itself wrong.
A show within a show, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a tribute to the over-the-top musicals of the Jazz Age.

The lights come up on a cluttered, one-room apartment where the audience meets its host, the Man in Chair. Rueful of the present, the Man is a lonely theater queen who seeks to free himself of life’s concerns.

On a vinyl record, he shares his favorite musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the tale of a Broadway diva’s wedding day and the ensuing chaos.

Janet Van de Graaff gives up her life as the star of “Feldzieg’s Follies” to marry her wealthy, handsome fiance. Unbeknownst to Janet, Feldzieg himself is threatened by his leading investor into stopping the wedding and ensuring the show’s future success.
Janet explores her bridal doubts under the wandering eye of her martini-toting chaperone (who is, in fact, not drowsy at all, but perpetually tipsy).

In the middle of a recession, the timing is perfect for an escapist show.

The audience is invited into the Man in Chair’s indulgent bubble, swept along as his drab apartment transforms into a high-glitz 1920s wonderland.

The formidable cast, headed by John West as the winning Man in Chair, is ready to bounce back with spit takes and roller skates and anything else that may earn the briefest laugh.

And this is the extent of the production’s goals. The winner of five Tony Awards, “The Drowsy Chaperone” does not intend to send anyone home with thoughts of how to make the world a better place.

Ingratiating to the final high note, its only purpose is to provide a couple of hours of pure enjoyment.

The songs, written by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, hearken to the Cole Porter and George Gershwin styles largely absent from recent musicals.

In spite of this only one song remains memorable: Janet’s tour de force “Show Off.” Far more unforgettable is Casey Nicholaw’s tap-focused choreography.

Loaded with 20s stock characters (the debonair hero, the ingénue, the gangsters) and familiar plot devices (mistaken identities and misunderstandings), the show’s most heinous flaw is its unapologetic approach to unoriginality.

But the audience becomes so engaged, viewers honestly do not mind. After so much rock and hip-hop frenzy on Broadway, it is nice to see something old.

The Man in Chair says it best as he implores, “Please, Elton John, must we go on with this charade?”

“The Drowsy Chaperone” may fall short of masterpiece status, but it offers a full dose of preoccupying, amusing glamour – and in the end, this is really all that is needed.