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A play within a play can be an interesting experience. In Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone, the audience was taken back with the narrator to a different era: the roaring twenties; an era of not only flappers and prosperity, but theatre.

The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical, with book written by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto, but didn’t open on Broadway until 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score.

MICDS’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone was extremely entertaining. Laughter roared through the crowd during every scene, and rightfully so. The natural comedy of the cast was only heightened by the beautiful set design and vocal talent.

Every member of the cast was talented in some aspect, whether it be their comedic timing, their vocal range, or their tap dancing abilities. Lily Reed, who played the Drowsy Chaperone, kept the crowd laughing all the way through, with her exceptionally funny stage persona, especially during scenes with Aldolpho, played by Edward Wroten. Edward Wroten also possessed an extremely funny role and was able to hit the nail on the head not only in humor, but in vocal abilities as well. Devin Chabot, who played Man In Chair, stepped in at all of the right times, and added that little sprinkle of modern-day commentary that drove the crowd wild with laughter.

There were many different ensembles that appeared throughout the production. The gangsters, played by Zander Galluppi and Sam Streett, were a compatible pair, and impressed the characters on stage with their wide range of bakery and dessert malapropisms. They were hunched over in unison, and echoed each other’s accents. Another notable supporting role was Zoe Virant, who was a featured dancer. During the scene “Cold Feets,” she joined Robert in an entertaining tap dancing routine.

With every high school production, problems will arise in the sound department. MICDS experienced a few sound complications, but nothing that made the characters inaudible. Costumes were notably detailed and appropriate for the time era, especially the poolside outfits during Janet’s musical number “Show Off.”

The entire cast comes together at the end, and confinements to modern-day and the past no longer exist. The Drowsy Chaperone helps us realize that there are no boundaries, and we can always become one with our favorite character in the end; well, figuratively, of course.

by Maddie Warren of Northwest High School