'The Drowsy Chaperone' brings bright lights, big bands, and '20s flair to Wellesley High School
Prepare for bright lights, big bands, and jazz in full swing because the roaring twenties are coming to the high school November 6-8.
Director Steven Wrobleski and the drama department are starting off the school year with a blast from the past in their fall musical The Drowsy Chaperone, held in the high school auditorium. The musical is centered around the story of a man who sits in his apartment and listens to old records from his favorite musicals of the 1920’s. As the story progresses, his favorite musical comes to life with the music, and he provides his own commentary along with the story.
The musical is the story of celebrity Janet Van De Graff who wants to give up her life as a star in order to marry. Her boss attempts to break them up to keep the show intact, and naturally, chaos follows. “It's a very fun and ridiculous show featuring extravagant weddings, huge old-fashioned musical numbers, offensive accents, and more,” said Zoe Loyd ’15 who plays the character of the Drowsy Chaperone, the one tasked with convincing Janet to stay in show business.
The Drowsy Chaperone is well known for its intelligent humor. “It’s cheesy, but it also makes fun at [the old musicals of the twenties and thirties]. Although the show is cheesy, its terrifically funny. It’s not silly humor; it’s a lot of really intelligent, quick witted jokes, and of course there are some slap-sticky things as well,” said director Steven Wrobleski.
With over two months of preparation, the cast is in final crunch time perfecting the show before opening night. “There are so many hours and hours upon hours upon hours of time technically and acting that need to go into it to prepare for any kind of reasonable piece,” Wrobleski said. The actors’ preparation includes memorizing lines, blocking, learning songs and dances, and truly understanding their characters.
Additionally, the tech crew has been working tirelessly to prepare. “[We do] everything that doesn’t involve direction of the show,” said auditorium manager, Brian McManimon; this includes anything from building sets to managing lighting and sound and everything in between.
Creating the props and sets for The Drowsy Chaperone is an enormous task. “This is the biggest show we’ve ever done here in terms of scale. There are lots of costumes and the design is really realistic,” Manimon said. He has big visions for the musical such as putting the band on stage, designing everything with an art-deco theme, and, best of all, three sets of twenties style marquee lighting blinking around the stage. McManimon also envisions a flashy opening act in which the light shines solely on the Man in Chair’s boxed in apartment as he gives his monologue, and once he plays his record, the band kicks in with all the actors popping on stage. “If this scene goes OK, then everything else will be OK,” said McManimon.
In McManimon’s opinion, “what’s great about the show is that it is complete and total student involvement.” Wrobleski reflects the same sentiment that what’s really special about the musical is the student work. “I love seeing the students growing in the course of the production,” he said, “and they get to perform this living, breathing piece of art for the audience.”
A version of this article, edited by the Wellesley Parents of Performing Students, appeared in The Wellesley Townsman on November 7, 2014.
Director Steven Wrobleski and the drama department are starting off the school year with a blast from the past in their fall musical The Drowsy Chaperone, held in the high school auditorium. The musical is centered around the story of a man who sits in his apartment and listens to old records from his favorite musicals of the 1920’s. As the story progresses, his favorite musical comes to life with the music, and he provides his own commentary along with the story.
The musical is the story of celebrity Janet Van De Graff who wants to give up her life as a star in order to marry. Her boss attempts to break them up to keep the show intact, and naturally, chaos follows. “It's a very fun and ridiculous show featuring extravagant weddings, huge old-fashioned musical numbers, offensive accents, and more,” said Zoe Loyd ’15 who plays the character of the Drowsy Chaperone, the one tasked with convincing Janet to stay in show business.
The Drowsy Chaperone is well known for its intelligent humor. “It’s cheesy, but it also makes fun at [the old musicals of the twenties and thirties]. Although the show is cheesy, its terrifically funny. It’s not silly humor; it’s a lot of really intelligent, quick witted jokes, and of course there are some slap-sticky things as well,” said director Steven Wrobleski.
With over two months of preparation, the cast is in final crunch time perfecting the show before opening night. “There are so many hours and hours upon hours upon hours of time technically and acting that need to go into it to prepare for any kind of reasonable piece,” Wrobleski said. The actors’ preparation includes memorizing lines, blocking, learning songs and dances, and truly understanding their characters.
Additionally, the tech crew has been working tirelessly to prepare. “[We do] everything that doesn’t involve direction of the show,” said auditorium manager, Brian McManimon; this includes anything from building sets to managing lighting and sound and everything in between.
Creating the props and sets for The Drowsy Chaperone is an enormous task. “This is the biggest show we’ve ever done here in terms of scale. There are lots of costumes and the design is really realistic,” Manimon said. He has big visions for the musical such as putting the band on stage, designing everything with an art-deco theme, and, best of all, three sets of twenties style marquee lighting blinking around the stage. McManimon also envisions a flashy opening act in which the light shines solely on the Man in Chair’s boxed in apartment as he gives his monologue, and once he plays his record, the band kicks in with all the actors popping on stage. “If this scene goes OK, then everything else will be OK,” said McManimon.
In McManimon’s opinion, “what’s great about the show is that it is complete and total student involvement.” Wrobleski reflects the same sentiment that what’s really special about the musical is the student work. “I love seeing the students growing in the course of the production,” he said, “and they get to perform this living, breathing piece of art for the audience.”
A version of this article, edited by the Wellesley Parents of Performing Students, appeared in The Wellesley Townsman on November 7, 2014.