The Drowsy Chaperone

The Man in Chair, a musical theatre fan, greets the audience from his current-day NYC apartment, sharing that he is feeling a bit depressed. The best way to lift his mood, he decides, is to listen to his favorite cast album, The Drowsy Chaperone, a Jazz Age musical full of fun, clichés, and dancing from the Roaring 20s. The characters come to life in the Man’s apartment as he continues to narrate and interact with the cast and the audience. The show-within-a-show begins as guests arrive at the estate of Mrs. Tottendale for the imminent 1928 wedding of the famous Janet Van de Graaf to the wealthy Robert Martin. Janet’s decision to marry Robert means that she will stop performing, of course, so the producer and gangster investors plot to stop the wedding. Other guests include the overworked Best Man, a Latin Lover, a daring aviatrix, and the Drowsy Chaperone, who continually sips from a flask, smuggled in during Prohibition. Hilarious situations, off and on again marriage plans, and a happy ending bring the Man in Chair his antidote to his blue mood, and he shares his glee with the audience.