Review: 'The Drowsy Chaperone' by Castle Craig Players

Meriden, CT - Castle Craig is presenting a sold out run of the delightful ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ at The Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden. This is an ambitious choice for this small stage but the production team made it fit without losing any of the charm. I was lucky to secure a seat for the first matinee and the audience members who packed the cabaret-style tables loved every minute.

This "musical within a comedy" features a fun musical score by Greg Morrison and Lisa Lambert with a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The Castle Craig production was directed by Ian Galligan. This talented director has brought out every bit of the broad comedy of this parody of an old-fashioned 1920's musical presented with the running wry commentary of the Man in the Chair, played to perfection by Michael Veillette, an actor/composer who clearly knows a fair amount about Broadway.

In a previous century when CCP was in its infancy, Mr. Veillete served as writer, director, composer and performer in the original Broadway revue ‘Broadway Our Way.’ The actor is also the writer, composer and director of ‘The Other Broadway,’ a revue celebrating the fabulous flops of Broadway that has been performed in Boston and on Nantucket. He returns to the stage after a two-decade hiatus to be a wonderful Man in the Chair.

Kristen Scheuermann made her debut at CCP as a statuesque Janet Van De Graaff; what a treat it was to see this young lady on stage again. I remembered her from appearances at Chase Collegiate and Newbury Musicals; now she is a college graduate and a pre-k teacher in Waterbury. Blaine Poirier of Meriden played her groom-to-be Robert Martin; his father Maurice helped built the set.

Lisa Gamsby, who studied theatre at SCSU, was a standout in the role of the always tipsy Chaperone. Her rendition of “As We Stumble Along” was a musical highlight. Bob Filipowich (Georges in ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Two Planks, Applegate in ‘Damn Yankees’ at TBTA) went for it in the role of Aldolpho in his CCP debut. Bobby Schultz was excellent as the best man George in his CCP debut and Len Fredericks (King Arthur in CCP’s ‘Spamalot’) played the producer Feldzieg.

Renee Sutherland was adorable as the ditsy Kitty and served as dance captain. Another treat was to see Stephanie Kull of Southbury onstage in the fun role of Mrs. Tottendale. I remembered Ms. Kull from the Arts at Angeloria’s productions of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ and ‘The Crooked House Murder,’ and she brought considerable charm to the role, even when she started to laugh during the spit take segment with Don Poggio as her personal Underling. Mr. Poggio returns to the stage after a 12-year hiatus for his CCP debut, but it seemed like he had never left.

The Castle Craig veteran Wesley Tack (with too many CCP credits to list) got to play Gangster 1 and he worked well with Francis Michael as Gangster 2. These two vaudevillian-style comics made us laugh whenever they were on the stage and made “Toledo Surprise” a joy. Kathy Wade was sparkly in the role of Trix the Aviatrix.

Rounding out the ensemble were many performers making their CCP debut, including Cecil Carter, Kate D'Alessandro, Kathleen Kirtland, Logan Molinari, Donovan Shaw and Destiny Whitten.

The creative team includes music direction by Mark Ceppetelli (‘Spamalot’ and ‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’ act CCP,) lovely choreography by KT Nelson-Hart, and good lighting design by Dusty Radar. The set was an impressive one that fit perfectly in the small space but still had all the requisite parts. Costumes from the 20s were numerous and elegant, with the sparkly ensembles worn by the Chaperone among my favorites.

Coming up next at Castle Craig is Neil Simon’s ‘Rumors’ opening June 1.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and she posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417