Bloggers' Night Out + 1

Awhile back, Running My Mass Off and I'm Not Fit To Run suggested that we do a night at the theatre. Do you know how difficult it is to coordinate something like this? My hat is off to the other two for pulling this off and to I'm Not Fit To Run for getting the tickets. I met up with the two of them plus the spouse of Running My Mass Off. We went to see The Drowsy Chaperone.

I was somewhat familiar with the story but not really and I'm sorta glad I walked in a bit blind. OMG I have never laughed so hard during a musical. Yes, I laughed during The Producers and Hairspray and even a few chuckles during Mamma Mia. This one had me LOL too many times.

What's great about it is that it is only 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission and it is full of comedy. Yes, it is on the silly side but one of the things that I like about musical theatre is that you can escape from your life if even for a short time. And laughter is good for the soul. Not sure how many calories you burn when you laugh but I'm sure I walked out a bit thinner than when I walked in.

If you are not familiar with The Drowsy Chaperone, here is some information from Broadway.com:

The Drowsy Chaperone begins when a die-hard musical-theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, and the musical magically bursts to life! We are instantly immersed in the hilarious tale of a glamorous bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the heavens.

Everyone in the cast did a great job. The standouts in the performance are Jonathan Crombie (Man In Chair), Andrea Chamberlain (Janet Van De Graaff) and Nancy Opel (The Drowsy Chaperone). I can so relate to Man In Chair and The Drowsy Chaperone. I think the best lyric from the evening, as sung by The Drowsy Chaperone is:

But you musn't let it lick you
this planet oh so bland.
Keep your eyeball on the highball
in your hand.





The surprise of the evening was seeing Georgia Engel! I remember Georgia when she was on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Georgia has made a career of being a character actress and she shines through in her role as Mrs. Tottendale.

Here is a clip from the Tony Awards. The song is Show Off and it had me cackling! I'm sure the people around me thought I was going to lay an egg.



And here is The Drowsy Chaperone singing another favorite from the show, As We Stumble Along.



The one song I couldn't find a real clip of is Bride's Lament which I had incorrectly searched for Monkey. You would need to listen to the song to understand my confusion. It was another that had me laughing.

Theater Under The Stars (TUTS) is presenting The Drowsy Chaperone through June 1, 2008 at The Hobby Center. If you want to escape the real world and laugh for an hour and forty-five minutes, go see The Drowsy Chaperone.

BTW...drowsy is a word that was used to describe someone who is tipsy.