A narrator boxed in by two fourth walls and his own struggles escapes to the nostalgia and indulgence of the 1920s in the student-run production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
Drowsy, first produced in 1998, features a musical-loving narrator explaining his favorite 1920s record to the audience while it’s performed behind him by the rest of the cast. The narrator and main character, otherwise known as Man in the Chair, got particular attention from Renegade Productions, Elon University’s student-run theater group.
Elon junior Olivia Novak, the director of Renegade’s interpretation of Drowsy, wanted to do a more serious take on an otherwise chaotic and comedic show.
“I really wanted to create a show that had a lot of heart and that the people watching it could relate to what was happening, relate to the kinds of decisions that were being made,” Novak said.
One of the main ways Novak sought to bring empathy to the narrative was through a character called “Man in the Chair.”
“He’s silly, but I really wanted to get to the Man in the Chair being a person that anybody in the audience could know or could be,” Novak said.
Freshman Mitchell Brown plays Man in the Chair and took on the role after the previous actor withdrew from the play. Initially, he didn’t share Novak’s goal of making his role more relatable and serious.
“I think traditionally this role has been kind of caricaturized,” Brown said. “I originally was planning on doing that.”
However, as rehearsals continued, Brown changed his tune.
“The more I dove into the script and analyzed what was actually going on, I realized there’s some deep, heavy stuff happening in the show, and this character is really going through some stuff,” Brown said.
Freshman Mackenzie Tammara, who plays Janet van de Graff, also worked to balance the comedic and serious aspects of the musical.
“I needed to find the balance between committing to being crazy and having fun and finding depth within Janet because it’s a big day, it’s her wedding, and she goes through it a little bit,” Tammara said.
Renegade’s emphasis on characterization wasn’t limited to leading roles. Choreographers Noah Macam and Noelle Drummonds, both sophomores, focused on bringing each character’s personality into their onstage movement, such as through the play’s namesake character, the Drowsy Chaperone.
“I think Drowsy is a great example,” Macam said. “Drowsy has a lot of big, sweeping movements.”
The character of Janet also featured some signature movements.
“She comes in with a lot of classic Broadway choreography and she lives in a bevel,” Tammara said. “It’s a little foot position that’s very classic jazz. It reminds me of Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand.”
Drummonds mentioned the versatility of the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre. Drummonds pointed out the catwalks, aisles and various lighting choices.
Freshman Sydney Thompson plays the role of Trix the Aviatrix and started her part of the show on one of the catwalks that Drummonds was excited to incorporate.
“Initially, I was a little scared or a little wary of the entire thing, just because I’m not used to being up that high,” Thompson said. “But once I got up there, I felt completely safe, and it was actually really fun because I felt like I had the best seat in the house.”
Drummonds said she was happy with how the show’s movement turned out.
“The cast has worked incredibly hard, especially with choreography,” Drummonds said. “We threw a lot at them, and they have spent countless days and nights practicing.”
As Renegade re envisioned Drowsy, it had an additional consideration to make regarding some of the show’s typical content. The show is 25 years old and features a musical-inside-a-musical format. The fictional musical in the show is written as if it is from the 1920s, and it satirizes problematic tropes of ‘20s theater, including the use of racist stereotypes, by performing them inside the inner musical with Man in the Chair commenting on them in the outer musical.
“It was a show from a different time,” Brown said, “It was also presenting a show from a really different time. Part of the joke was that it was not a current show. It wasn’t aware of societal norms now.”
Novak said while the problematic tropes are meant to be viewed as both satire and an acknowledgement of the flaws of the period, some of it fell flat after nearly 30 years, and even some parts that remained satirical were simply too uncomfortable for actors to portray.
“That was something that was also very important to us, was talking to our actors and asking, how do you feel about the language in this?” Novak said.
One of the adjusted parts of the musical was the “Message from a Nightingale” scene. In the original version of the musical, Man in the Chair accidentally puts on part of a different ’20s musical that features white actors playing highly-stereotyped Chinese characters and settings. Renegade’s version features only a section of instrumental music followed by a brief narration of the second fake musical by Man in the Chair, who emphasizes how degrading the fictional musical is.
“The biggest consideration with ‘Message from a Nightingale’ is that it would put actors onstage in a position where they would have to perform a very degrading stereotype about Asian people,” Novak said, “That was not something that we thought was necessary to the show, and not something that we ever wanted to have our actors in the position where they had to do that.”
Brown said the original, satirical nature of the musical should be kept in mind as separate from endorsement.
“I think there is kind of a tendency to look at this show and say, ‘That is not OK,’ and maybe miss the point that they were making when writing the show that, ‘That is not OK,’” Brown said.
Brown said that while the use of satire to address ’20s discrimination could be acceptable, it must also be done carefully.
“We weren’t necessarily criticizing the writing of the show,” Brown said of the adjustments. “We were just acknowledging the fact that in 2006, when the show came out, the point that they were making could be taken a little bit further than it can be now.”
“The Drowsy Chaperone” was first produced in 1998 but did not premiere on Broadway until 2006.
Renegade had one showing of Drowsy at 8 p.m. April 18 and will have showings at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. April 19. Tickets have been sold out since March 20, but those interested still have the option of joining the in-person waitlist 30 minutes before each show starts in the CFA Black Box.