Unlike alcohol, this show won’t leave you drowsy or needing a chaperone

“This show will leave a tune in your head, a tear in your eye, and a huge smile across your face.” –Jason Eisner, director

The Columbia Musical Theatre Society is putting on a production of The Drowsy Chaperone, a 2006 Tony-winning musical comedy that pays homage to 1920’s and 1940’s musicals. CMTS will have shows tonight (8:00 P.M.) and tomorrow evening (7:30 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.), with tickets starting at $5 for Columbia students. Drowsy correspondent Ross Chapman sat down with the director, Jason Eisner, and an actor, Sam Balzac, both CC ’17, to hear about the musical. Below are excerpts from two interviews with the creative geniuses.

 What is The Drowsy Chaperone?

Jason: The Drowsy Chaperone is a rip-roaring, side-spitting musical within a comedy. It is about a lover of musical theatre who invites the audience into his apartment, and he puts on his favorite musical of all time, called The Drowsy Chaperone. And when he puts the record on, the musical comes to life in his apartment. It takes place in the 1920’s, and the plot is so convoluted and nonsensical in the most amazing way. The characters are very aware that it makes no sense. But it’s about a bride and a groom about to get married, and she’s a showgirl, and her producer doesn’t want her to get married… and mayhem ensues. At its heart, it’s about what we individually love so much. We all have something that we love that keeps us going. This is a man that has his flaws, he’s a very real person, but he’s us. It’s about what keeps us going.

What is your personal relation to The Drowsy Chaperone?

Sam: I’ve always been especially drawn to the music of the 1940’s and the golden age musical. I was raised on that music, which is sometimes considered that of the most tuneful musical era. My mom was really into musicals. She played in the pit a lot in high school. My parents are from New Jersey, so they went to a lot of shows while they were growing up. In that way I very much identify with the narrator. He was introduced to musical theatre culture by his mother, who saw all of these shows when she was a kid. I similarly kind of feel that displacement of being out of the time period but still being in love with that kind of music.

Jason: A few years ago, I started a list on my phone of musicals to direct when I got to college – yes, I was that person – and this was at the top of my list. Last year, I was the assistant director for a couple of shows here. I didn’t want to waste any time putting together a show, so at the end of last year, I put together a team, thought about the vision of the show, how to make it different from the original production, and how to also pay homage to it. So I proposed to the CMTS board. We got accepted, and six months later, two days before the show, here I am.

How does The Drowsy Chaperone deal with its older source material?

 S: The way the show is structured, it’s an homage, but it’s also a criticism of some of the more insensitive aspects of golden age musical theatre in the cultural sense. In that way it’s very accessible for anyone because it’s a chance for our contemporary society to look back – and it’s not as if they’re nonexistent now – at the problem especially prevalent in the golden age musicals and see the cultural issues.

J: In the middle of the second act, the man in the chair has an intermission (we don’t get an intermission, he gets one) and he puts on the wrong record by accident, and a new musical begins. And a song comes on called “Message from a Nightingale,” which is a scene in yellowface. The scene is done in a way not at all to condone it, but to strongly condemn it. And when the Man in the Chair comes back he goes on a monologue about the nature of that song and apologizes for it. It’s done to condemn that part of musical theatre history, and something that you still see today. One way we had to approach that seen is that we went to the Office of Multicultural Affairs. We talked early on in the process about how to approach that scene and how to talk with the actors about it and how to create a safe environment. We’re having a follow-up program after the show to discuss with various groups on campus that scene and the issue of yellowface. Top Girls [a campus production last fall] had a yellowface character. I think as a campus in general, because of things that have happened recently, we’re much more aware of it.

What thematic material does this specific production work with?

J: One of the themes of the show is the mirror and its reflection, and we gleaned that from the text itself. There were a lot of images about reflection and vanity. So having a narrator aware of the situation and able to criticize it is extremely effective, working with that theme of reflection. The show is glorifying musicals from the 1920’s but at the same time, theatre has been laden with many stereotypes. It’s not like we set the show in a new century, or it’s an avant-garde piece of theatre. It’s still The Drowsy Chaperone. But we didn’t try to replicate the exact performances of the actors on Broadway. Still, a lot of the blocking is different, technical things are different. The themes like the mirror are brought more to the surface, set-wise and in blocking.

What’s your favorite part of the show?

 S: The song “The Bride’s Lament” is a really great song. In many ways it strikes the balance between homage and criticism or farce. It has ridiculous lyrics but is still a very dramatic and emotional song that you can relate to. And again, it has a lot of references to Gypsy and other old musicals. I don’t want to say too much, I don’t want to give anything away.

J: The Drowsy Chaperone (the character) gives her show-stopping blunder, “As We Stumble Along”, which is an anthem to alcoholism. It includes everybody in the show. Everyone starts backing her up singing offstage. Seeing everyone come in to support her is beautiful, and it’s this very holistic experience.

How is the “Hell Week” before the premiere going?

S: Yeah, “Hell Week” is pretty accurate. It’s a tough week, beyond just The Drowsy Chaperone because I’ve got other projects in the works. It’s going to be a tough couple of days, but it always is, and everything always comes together.

J: The workload for the show is around 30 hours a week, and this week it’s about 50 hours. If you want to do theatre, it’s not a light commitment. I enjoy tech week because we’re finally in Roone Arledge and getting all of the music and set and actors together. It can be a little disorienting, but you trust each other, and you know that things are going to get done. I’ve been told that I seem calm, so that’s good.

What will you be doing when Sam is onstage, Jason?

J: I will be in the audience, sitting with my creative team. Just watching, as a proud father. The cast and crew have started to call me dad, so I will be a proud father watching my beautiful children on that stage. And my stage manager is mom. I’ll be smiling and crying. You’re never going to have a more fun night on campus. There’s tap dancing, there’s spit takes. You’re going to be peeing in your seat because of laughter, you’re going to be crying of laughter. There’s huge numbers, there’s huge sets. It has every single thing you would want in a show.