The Drowsy Chaperone

A solitary figure scuttled across the stage towards a winged armchair, where he addressed the audience. ‘I hate the theatre’, the figure announced, ‘it’s so disappointing’. Man in Chair delivered this opening monologue with such authority, but his opinion could not have been more irrelevant to the production at hand. Rather than prompting hatred or disappointment, Squabbalogic’s The Drowsy Chaperone ultimately received a standing ovation.

While it may not have had the star power of the Hayes Theatre’s inaugural production (last month’s Sweet Charity, starring Verity Hunt-Ballard), Squabbalogic inherited the playhouse with unruffled ease. The Drowsy Chaperone was so genuinely entertaining that it stood on the feet of its own narrative.

As both director and lead, Jay James-Moody is far from self-indulgent. His genius exudes from his portrayal of the creatively named Man in Chair (which is hilarious and a little baleful), and from the production itself. James-Moody has overseen the creation of a wholesome production: cleverly selected cast members, bubbly choreography (Monique Sallé, choreographer), and a deceptively lush orchestra (Paul Geddes, musical director).

Hilary Cole (Janet Van de Graff) wooed the audience with her voice, and Michele Lansdown was perfectly boozy in the titular character, The Drowsy Chaperone.

The production oozes inherent cheese and schtick (wonderfully embraced by Brett O’Neill as Robert and Richard Woodhouse and Steven Kreamer as gangsters-cum-pâtissiers), but these elements sometimes become too much. Questionable overacting, lax accents, and indisputably terrible singing are rife among some ensemble members.

The Hayes Theatre generates a suffocating intimacy worthy of Man in Chair’s apartment, through which the meta-musical truly comes to life. Lauren Peter’s set is fantastic (even though the slamming doors cause a tremor worthy of the Richter scale), and Jessica James-Moody’s sound design shimmers.

Even though it parodies its own art form, Squabbalogic’s The Drowsy Chaperone certainly does what a musical is supposed to do. As Man in Chair says, ‘it takes you to another world…away from the dreary horrors of the real world’.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Drowsy Chaperone
Squabbalogic in association with Hayes Theatre Co
Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar
Director: Jay James-Moody
Musical Director: Paul Geddes
Choreographer: Monique Sallé
Cast: Jay James-Moody, Gael Ballantyne, Chris Coleman, Emma Cooperthwaite, Anna Freeland, Hilary Cole, Brett O’Neill, Ross Chissari, Laurence Coy, Steven Kreamer, Richard Woodhouse, Jaimie Leigh Johnson, Tom Sharah, Monique Sallé, Michele Lansdown