The Drowsy Chaperone, or My Life Story

Saturday morning I spent shopping. The Barnes & Noble on 5th Ave. & 46th Street has a superb showtune section. Having been in a Diana Ross mood after thinking I could see her on the street the day before, I picked up the soundtrack to The Wiz (horrid movie but rocking soundtrack). I then made my way to the Marquis for The Drowsey Chaperone. Ever since last year's Tony Awards I've been saying this is the show that should have won, and now I can say it with full confidence. What a terrific show. I was in the balcony (there was no playbill.com discount for this one, so I had to get the cheap seats), but the seats were by far the most comfortable out of all the shows we went to, and it was still a great view. Bob Martin was superb, and I loved finally getting to see the show played out on stage instead of having to settle for listening to the cast recording and playing my own version of Man in Chair. Speaking of Man in Chair, I am very tempted to sue the show for appropriating my likeness without my permission, but it's such a loveable homage to theatre queens everywhere that I can't be angry at all. Other than Edward Hibbert, who moved to Curtains, we had the original cast, and while I'm not a fan of Sutton Foster, mostly due to her involvement with the thoroughly awful Millie, I thought they were all fantastic. There were a couple of slow spots where it seemed like they were going through the motions, which is the downside to keeping a cast together for so long, but overall the show sparkled. It also didn't help that the old people around me didn't seem to get the show, which kind of dampened the enthusiasm in the house, but I got every joke and every reference and loved the show. I don't care what the final result of the Tony Awards were, this is the show that will still be getting revivals all over the country and in every high school audtorium 100 years from now. Don't miss this show, it's unlikely Broadway will ever see anything like it again.