I have mixed feelings about theater. While there are works I love, I often have trouble dealing with the artificiality of the form. There you sit, in a large room with a lot of other people, while actors stand on a raised platform pretending you’re not there, shouting out as they parade back and forth on a set.
Don’t try to argue me out of this stance; I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with theater. I’m just telling you what’s wrong with me.
Most of the works that make up what we call the Great American Songbook came out of the stage musicals of the 1920s. These songs are the creation of such giants as Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart, and Cole Porter. It’s always kind of a shock when you recall that a song like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” or “Night and Day,” came out of some show you’ve probably never heard of. The reason why is that these shows were often written as vehicles for the stars of the day, with plots that simply served as a way to string together a series of songs.
These shows are the subject of the Tony Award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, which I saw last night here in New York. If Drowsy was just a satire of Twenties musicals, it would be amusing, but not much more. It is the story of one fan of the musicals, who loves them, and is aware of all their flaws, and loves them anyway. It is also, in the suprisingly touching end, about the redemptive power of utter crap.
I’m serious.
For everyone who’s ever taken solace in a poorly-written paperback potboiler or an overheated B-movie or some incredibly obscure James Brown rip-off from some Texas band no one’s ever heard of, The Drowsy Chaperone shows how those things can make life worth living.
When you know the background, the show is even more meta. The musical within the show was originally written for the bachelor party of Bob Martin, when he married his wife Janet Van De Graaff. In that musical, a playboy named Robert Martin marries an ex-showgirl named Janet Van De Graaff. The book for Drowsy was written by Bob Martin & Don McKeller (for which they won a Tony). It stars Bob Martin as the nameless fan of the musical with a main character named after himself marrying a woman named after his wife.
In the photo above, you can see a shot of Martin with Beth Leavel, who plays the title character. After the performance I saw, there was a private Q&A with some of the cast. Below is a shot of the empty stage with the ghost light visible in the center.
From the Los Angeles run of the show, back in December of last year, you can read The Drowsy Chaperone program and Discovery Guide for young people.
P.S. Did I mention I loved the show?
Tags: The Drowsy Chaperone, Bob Martin