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The Drowsy Chaperone

Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London, until 31 October 2010

cast list
Amy Diamond, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Ashley Day, Michael Howe, Gavin Keenan, Graham Lappin, Siobhan McCarthy, Ted Merwood, Ursula Mohan, Sophia Nomvette, Jo Parsons, Tanya Robb, Will Stokes

directed by
Racky Plews

Despite being a big hit on Broadway, when the Tony Award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone transferred to the West End it closed after less than 100 performances.

The loving pastiche of the musicals of the 1920s may not have been able to attract sufficient audiences to sustain a West End run but it works superbly well on the intimate stage at Upstairs at the Gatehouse.

The musical is set in the apartment of Man in Chair, played by Matthew Lloyd Davies, a Broadway enthusiast who escapes the strains of reality through his Judy Garland posters and his recordings of old musicals.

As he plays his recording of a favourite show called The Drowsy Chaperone, the production comes to life in his apartment, with all the stars from a bygone age spilling from his fridge.

Man in Chair provides a running commentary on the production, pausing the action whenever he wishes to supply a quick biography of an actor, or draw attention the symbolism of a musical number’s lyrics.

The plot of the play-within-the-play is pure fluff. Broadway superstar Janet Van De Graaff is getting married to Robert Martin, an oil tycoon’s son; everybody has been invited, the dresses pressed and, as this is the era of Prohibition, the bootleg vodka has been smuggled in.

The most essential factor in ensuring that the ceremony goes off without a hitch is making certain that the bride and groom don’t set eyes on each other and thus incur bad luck. Of course this proves to be no easy task; mistaken identities, secret love, affairs and even death threats follow (there's a mob-related sub plot).

Racky Plews's production is tight and energetic. The cast work well together and everyone gets a chance to shine. The two gangsters masquerading as pastry chefs played by Will Stokes and Jo Parsons are hilarious; their timing is spot on and an egg whisk has never looked so dangerous. Michael Howe's over-the-top Italian stereotype Adolpho is also good fun, suggestively surveying the ladies in the front row; his combintaion of pompous overtures and terrible clumsiness is priceless.

The show was originally written by members of Toronto’s Second City comedy troupe as a wedding present for their friends (named Janet Van De Graff and Bob Martin incidentally) and the writing is full of genuine affection for the Broadway of a bygone era. The presence of Man in Chair and the over-arcing sense of self-awarness allows the musical to get away with a lot. The cast are talented, the show is slickly staged considering the limitations of the space and as a whole it makes for a very entertaining evening.

For tickets and booking information visit: UpstairsAtTheGatehouse.com

- Gillian Fisher