Sunnyvale Community Players Presents 'The Drowsy Chaperone' Through April 30

Courtesy of The Sunnyvale Community Players

SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA -- Winner of 5 Tony Awards (including Best Book and Best Original Score), The Drowsy Chaperone is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. The show follows Man in Chair, a recluse living in a small apartment who is obsessed with classic Broadway musicals. At the top of the show, he puts on the cast album of a show called The Drowsy Chaperone, a show he’s never seen but is nevertheless his favorite musical. As the record plays, the show comes to life around him in his apartment. As the Man in Chair watches, we meet two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan, and an intoxicated chaperone. The wacky exploits of this cast of true characters makes for an evening of pure madcap delight.

The Drowsy Chaperone is also more than mere escapist entertainment. Beneath the uproarious comedy, tour de force singing, and thrilling dancing is a moving and relatable story of a lonely man who finds escape in his beloved musicals. “This show is a darkly humorous monologue interrupted by a frivolous musical,“ describes director and “Man in Chair,” Walter Mayes. “It’s a delightful challenge for me as a director and an actor."

The Drowsy Chaperone opened on Saturday, April 8 with a champagne gala and runs through Sunday, April 30. Performance times are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. All performances will take place at the Sunnyvale Theatre at the Sunnyvale Community Center at 550 E. Remington Drive, Sunnyvale, CA.

Ticket prices are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors (60+) and students, and $14 for children 5 and under. A $3 service charge will be added to the cost of each ticket. Tickets are available online at sunnyvaleplayers.org or through the box office at (408) 733-6611.

The Drowsy Chaperone production credits:
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

Director: Walter M. Mayes
Choreographer: Lee Ann Payne
Vocal Director: Diane Milo
Music Director: Tony Gaitan
Producer: Jen Maggio

The Drowsy Chaperone is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. Phone: (212) 541-4684 Fax: (212) 397-4684 www.MTIShows.com

Coming next season: Fiddler on the Roof (September 16-October 8, 2017), Avenue Q (November 4-19 , 2017), SCP winter junior production [title to be announced in July] (February 23-March 11, 2018), and La Cage Aux Folles (April 21-May 13, 2018).

Image via Sunnyvale Community Players