For the Vocal Audition,
everyone must sing “Fancy Dress”
– Measures 237-248
(Mandatory)
PLUS one of the combinations below
(you choose):
Tottendale
– “Love is Always Lovely” Measures 2-17 and
“Fancy Dress” Measures 1-9
Underling
–“Fancy Dress” Measures 9-21
Robert
– “Cold Feets” Measures 11-44 and “Fancy Dress”
Measures 48-56
George
– “Cold Feets” Measures 11-44 and “Fancy Dress”
Measures 56-64
Feldzieg
– “Toledo Surprise” Measures 11-35 and “Fancy
Dress” Measures 79-87
Kitty
– “Toledo Surprise” Measures 100-116 and “Fancy
Dress” Measures 87-95
Gangsters
– “Toledo Surprise” Measures 11-35 and “Fancy
Dress” Measures 99-107
(The Gangsters may be cast as two men or one man
and one woman)
Aldolpho
– “Aldolpho” Measures 22-36 and “Fancy Dress”
Measures 107-115
Janet
– “Show Off” Measures 124-156 and “Fancy Dress”
Measures 147-155
Drowsy
– “As We Stumble Along” Measures 65-87 and
“Fancy Dress” Measures 156-165
Trix
– “I Do, I Do in the Sky” Measures 32-59 and
“Fancy Dress” Measures 188-204
Man
in Chair
– “Finale Ultimo” Measures 1-24
Remember,
you may
ALSO
be asked
to sing the character character
introduction measures from
“Fancy Dress” that correspond
with your initial audition
selection.
(i.e. if you sing “Show Off," for your audition selection, then you should
also prepare Janet’s
introduction lines from “Fancy
Dress”).
The Drowsy Chaperone
Cast
Man in Chair
–
the narrator, a musical theatre aficionado who
mourns the end of the Golden Era. His recording
of "The Drowsy Chaperone" brings the show to
life as he narrates.
Mrs. Tottendale
– a wealthy dowager,
the air-headed host of the wedding.
Underling
–
Mrs. Tottendale's savvy, proper butler.
Robert Martin
–
the dashing, ever-cheerful groom, played by
matinee-idol Percy Hyman,
an oil tycoon
George
– the anxious and bumbling best man
Feldzieg
– a
Broadway producer, played by Jack Adler.
(a take-off on legendary Broadway producer, Florenz Ziegfeld)
Kitty
–
Feldzieg's dim-witted companion, played by Sadie
Adler,
a ditsy, would-be showgirl ingénue,
Gangster #1
– a man disguised as a pastry chef,
intending to collect from Feldzieg, played by
one of the vaudeville duo the Tall Brothers.
Gangster #2
– another man (or woman) disguised as a pastry
chef,
intending to collect from Feldzieg, played by one of the
vaudeville duo the Tall Brothers.
Aldolpho
–
European self-proclaimed "ladies man", played by
former silent movie star Roman Bartelli
(a Rudolph Valentino type)
Janet Van de Graaff
–
the famous bride, played by rising star Jane
Roberts
The Drowsy Chaperone
–
Janet's
drowsy (i.e., tipsy)
confidante, played by well-established stage
actress Beatrice Stockwell,
rather overbearing and potent grand dame of the
theatre
Trix the Aviatrix
– a glamorous,
brave and brash female aviator, a la Amelia Earhart
Superintendant
– of Man in Chair’s apartment building
Ensemble
– Staff, Reporters, etc.
The Drowsy Chaperone
Musical Numbers
“Fancy Dress” – Tottendale, Underling,
Ensemble
“Cold
Feets” – Robert, George (Ensemble – dance only)
“Show
Off” – Janet, Ensemble
“As
We Stumble Along”
– Chaperone, Ensemble
“Aldolpho” – Aldolpho, Chaperone
“Accident Waiting to
Happen”
– Janet, Robert
“Toledo Surprise”
– Gangster #1, Gangster #2, Kitty, Feldzieg,
Ensemble
“Act
I Finale” – Ensemble
“Message From a
Nightingale”
– Kitty, Gangster #1, Gangster #2, Aldolpho,
Chaperone
”Bride’s Lament” – Janet, Man in Chair,
Ensemble
“Love is Always Lovely” – Tottendale,
Underling
“Wedding Bells #2” – George, Trix,
Ensemble
“I Do, I Do in the
Sky”
– Trix, Ensemble
“Finale Ultimo” – Man in Chair, Ensemble
The Drowsy Chaperone
Synopsis
The Drowsy Chaperone
pays tribute to the Jazz-age shows of the 1920’s
and the power those shows held to transport us
into a dazzling fantasy and to lift our spirits
in times of sadness.
The audience is greeted by the narrator, Man in
Chair, sitting on a darkened stage.
He is a fan of vintage musicals who seems
to be suffering from free-floating depression,
and he quickly decides to cheer things up by
playing a record of the original cast recording
of a (fictional) Broadway musical entitled
The Drowsy
Chaperone.
No sooner has the needle touched the record than
we, together with the narrator, are transported
to a 1928 Broadway theatre and into
The Drowsy Chaperone, a play-within-a-play crammed full of every
cliché gag and gimmick from the golden age of
musicals.
The estate of Mrs. Tottendale is the site of an
imminent wedding between showgirl Janet Van de
Graaff and oil tycoon Robert Martin.
We are introduced to a barrage of
characters during an introductory number (“Fancy
Dress”) including Mrs. Tottendale and her
Underling, bridegroom Robert Martin and best man
George, Broadway producer Feldzieg and would-be
ingénue Kitty, a pair of gangsters disguised as
pastry chefs, Latin Lothario Aldolpho, Janet’s
Drowsy Chaperone, and Trix the Aviatrix.
Throughout the show, Man in Chair will
continue to comment and explain the action with
asides to the audience.
Feldzieg is agonizing over the fact that his top
meal ticket, Janet, is leaving showbiz to get
married.
The Gangsters, who are in the employ of
one of Feldzieg’s investors, pressure him to
sabotage the wedding so that he can retain
Janet’s services as a performer.
Robert and George nervously prepare for the
wedding (“Cold Feets”).
George suggests that Robert blow off some
steam by roller-skating.
In order to prevent Robert from
accidentally seeing the bride before the
wedding, he also provides Robert with a
blindfold.
Janet is lounging by a pool while fielding
questions from reporters.
Feldzieg arrives and attempts to convince
her to reconsider the wedding, but she rebuffs
him (“Show Off”).
He enlists the help of Latin lover
Aldolpho, convincing him to seduce Janet.
In her bedroom, Janet shares with her Chaperone
her excitement about the upcoming nuptials.
This prompts the Chaperone to perform a
rousing anthem about alcoholism (“As We Stumble
Along”), which is not particularly relevant to
the plot.
Man in Chair explains that this song was
written into the show due to the demands of the
actress playing the Drowsy Chaperone, who always
insisted that a rousing anthem be included in
every show in which she performed.
After Janet departs to find Robert,
Aldolpho arrives and mistakes the Chaperone for
Janet.
The Chaperone quickly accepts his
advances (“Aldolpho”).
Janet encounters Robert, who is roller-skating
blind-folded in the garden.
She puts on a bad French accent and he
fails to recognize her.
At her request, he tells this alleged
“stranger” how he first fell in love with Janet
and they relive the moment together (“Accident
Waiting to Happen”).
However, this results in a kiss,
whereupon Janet gets angry and accuses Robert of
having kissed a “strange French Girl on your
wedding day!”
Meanwhile, Kitty fails to persuade Feldzieg that
he doesn’t need Janet anymore because he has her
as a replacement.
The Gangsters arrive, angry that Feldzieg
has not yet ruined the wedding.
He distracts them by convincing them that
they have showbiz talent (“Toledo Surprise”).
Aldolpho arrives to announce that the
wedding is off because he has seduced the bride,
but Feldzieg informs him that he has in fact,
seduced the Chaperone instead.
However, Janet arrives to announce that
the wedding is indeed off because Robert “kissed
a French girl.”
Feldzieg is ecstatic and leads the
company in another rendition of “Toledo
Surprise.”
At this point, Man in Chair attempts to play the
record of the Second Act of the show.
However, he mistakenly begins playing a
song (“Message From a Nightingale”) from a
different musical entirely, causing the setting
of the play to temporarily shift to an oriental
palace and all of the actors to assume new
roles.
Man in Chair hurriedly corrects his
mistake and
The Drowsy
Chaperone resumes.
Janet laments the collapse of her romance with
Robert (“Bride’s Lament”) and decides to
continue her life as a star showgirl.
Mrs. Tottendale assures her Underling that the
wedding preparations should continue regardless
of the apparent disaster (“Love is Always
Lovely”).
She also makes it clear that she is in
love with Underling.
The Chaperone informs Janet that she intends to
marry Aldolpho.
Mrs. Tottendale and the Underling
announce that they plan to marry as well.
Robert arrives and asks Janet to
reconsider and marry him after all.
She confesses that she was the French
girl he kissed and agrees that their wedding is
back on.
Feldzieg is saved from the Gangsters by
virtue of his new leading lady, Kitty (who is
also, he reveals, his fiancé).
There is great rejoicing in anticipation of the
multiple weddings (“Wedding Bells #2”).
George has neglected to arrange for a
minister, but fortunately, Trix the Aviatrix
arrives and it is decided that since she is
technically the “Captain” of a “ship” of sorts,
she can officiate the weddings (“I Do, I Do in
the Sky”) and fly the wedding party to Rio for
the Honeymoon.
The show is abruptly cut short by a power
failure in Man in Chair’s apartment.
As the Superintendant arrives to attend
the breakers, the Man in Chair explains his love
for the show as an antidote to “the dreary
horrors of the real world.”
The entire cast joins him onstage for the
grand finale (“As We Stumble Along – Reprise”).
Palatine, Illinois 60067