The Boca Raton Community High School Drama Department presents the Tony Award-winning musical comedy “The Drowsy Chaperone,” opening at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 and running five performances only through Sunday, March 1 in the Kathryn Lindgren Theatre.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a 2006 parody of 1920s musical comedies with a cast of stock types and a plot centering on an engaged couple.
Young oil tycoon Robert Martin (Trevor Wayne) is engaged to Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff (Valeria Castano). The opening number, “Fancy Dress” introduces the other characters and sets up the situation. Famed impresario Feldzeig (obviously modeled on Florenz Ziegfeld) is none too happy his leading lady is giving up show business for married life. A ditzy flapper named Kitty (Hayley Adams) hopes to take Janet’s place in Feldzeig’s big show. In attendance are two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs (Alec Taylor and Karlo Morales) whose boss has invested in the show.
“Drowsy” in the case of the Chaperone (Channing Ramsey) means tipsy, and she is not doing such a good a job of keeping Robert away from Janet before the marriage.
Complications ensue when Robert starts to get cold feet and tries to tap-dance those doubts away with George, who suggests Robert go roller staking in the garden wearing a blindfold so he doesn’t see Janet, who pretends she is a French girl named Mimi. Carried away by his description of how much he loves Janet, Robert kisses “Mimi” because she reminds him so much of Janet.
There are other comical complications, all related by the Man in Chair (Brendan Feingold), who is a Broadway fanatic and serves as narrator of the play-within-a-play listening to a recording of a fictional 1928 comedy.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” features a huge cast of more than 30 with ambitious choreography and costumes, under the direction of Mindy Clarke. Tickets are just $10 advance and $15 after Feb. 26. Call 561-338-1533 or go to www.bocadrama.com.