*****  When one thinks of Theo Ubique, now referred to as THEO, they cannot help but envision one Fred Anzevino, the man behind the storefront “cabaret” musical theater back in the last century ( 1997). The new theater has been renamed in his honor to the Fred Anzevino Theatre to honor his legacy. Tonight, watching the wonderful production of “The Drowsy Chaperone”, I felt that his memory was conveyed by the main character, Man In Chair ( played to perfection by Steve McDonagh) as the man sitting home who loves musical theater and in particular this special album. For those of you unfamiliar with the word “album” these were the recordings that were made and played by people on a thing called a record player or victrola.

Under the direction of L. Walter Stearns, with musical direction by Eugene Dizon, this musical farce written by Bob Martin & Dan McKellar ( book) and Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison ( lyrics and music) is one that is seldom seen. In fact, it has been about 20 years or so since I was able to see a production on a full stage with an orchestra. Theo is a cabaret theatre where the action takes place right on the floor with the audience surrounding the performance area. For most of their productions, it is truly cabaret style with chairs and tables. For this one, there is one table ( seating area #4) where we were seated, and several couches and chairs allowing audience members to be on three sides. The set (Bob Knuth) is kind of cool for Theo in that we feel we are in the home of “The Man In The Chair” with a kitchen and door leading to everywhere, as well as a terrace with doors.. It is clever and allows Stearns to do his thing, which is to make the audience feel that they are indeed a part of the cast. After all, The Man In The Chair is talking to us, laying off us and even brought our table cusp of tea.

It is a journey into times gone by! It is a way of bringing back some of the memoirs of one’s youth. How many of us played albums in our rooms ( when no one was home) and sang along witht he characters they wanted to be, and even danced a bit, perhaps jumping from floor to bed and back? Our man character, by telling us his story , brings back memories for each and every would-be musical theater performer in the audience. Musical theater can bring us comfort, joy, memories and allow us to forget what is going on in the zany world we are living in. It is nice to escape into a better place, and watching this production tonight, I did forget about politics, that there is a “not-War” going on in the middle Est, and that gas prices are going to get out of hand. Who cares? Certainly not the “Drowsy Chaperone”!

Stearns has put together an absolute perfect cast of players to bring these crazy characters to life. The Chaperone herself is played to perfection by Colette Todd, and the bride she is supposed to work with and for ,Janet is brought to life by Kelsey Macdonald, who is quite athletic. Her groom to be is played by  Trey Plutnicki, who is quite the tap dancer. His best man George is deftly handled by Kevin Chlapecka, who is also a smooth dancer. These tow do a tap number that is worth the price of the ticket alone. BUT, wait! There is so much more in this show. Darian Goulding is an amazing Adolpho, who is brought into the picture to make sure the wedding doesn’t work as producer Feldzeig ( deftly handled by Reginald Hemphill) owes the mob big time and if the wedding takes place, his star will not do the show, and the mob will not get their money. The show has many sub-plots that intertwine, but in a comical way.

The gangsters after Feldzeig,  Jimmy Hogan as gangster 1 and Chase Wheaton-Werle as Ganster 2, are posing as the pastry chefs for the wedding in order to keep an eye on their target, and they end up doing a couple of cute numbers as well, There is also a butler ( Peter Ruger) who gets to dance, sing and even get water sloshed all over him in one of the slapstick bits. Understand this was the 20’s and “shtick was in”. The other characters are Mrs. Tottendale ( Jenny Rudnick),  Trix ( Lena Simone),  and Kitty ( Luiza Vitucci). I guess we should not omit Eldon Warner-Soriano who comes out in a near final scene when it seems that the power is blown, stopping the LP from playing, meaning the show cannot go on.. It gets fixed and we have a bunch of weddings and a very happy ending.

While there is no stage, per se, the choreography by Jenna Schoppe and her assitant Britta Scheid was amazing. In  particular the tap dance number in the first act. The costumes by Nick Cochran were terrific and fit the era to perfection. Anna Jackson’s sound was perfect and the lighting (Ellie Fey) was right on. Ab Rieve handled the props which for the most part seemed to fit an era long gone. Dizon and his musicians while not in view handled the music and made it sound as if there was a full orchestral.  Four musicians made the music feel and sound as if you were in a huge venue with a pit filled with musicians. Hats off to Dizon ( conductore/piano), Lindsay Williams ( drums/percussion), Sophie Creutz ( reed) and Michael Leavens ( trumpet).- great work!

Presented by Theo Ubique

” The Drowsy Chaperone” will continue Thru – Apr 19th with performances as follows: