MURFREESBORO — A
starstruck musical theater lover’s imagination comes to life on MTSU’s Tucker
Theatre stage April 9-13 with a family-friendly comedy that’s a dream come true
for at least two of its actors.
“The Drowsy Chaperone,” a five-time 2006 Tony Award-winning musical, is
a Cole Porter-esque parody, a show within a show, complete with 1920s stock
characters romping across the set while a bashful Broadway fanatic provides running
commentary.
Tickets are still available for the MTSU Arts production at http://www.mtsu.edu/tuckertheatre. Curtain
times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, April 9-12, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April
13. Advance general admission tickets are $10 each and $5 for K-12 students and
senior citizens when purchased online and $12 and $7 at the door. MTSU students
with valid IDs will be admitted free.
“This actually is one of my dream roles,” explains MTSU senior Joshua
Hosale of Antioch, Tenn., whose “Man in Chair” narrates the onstage festivities
he’s imagining in his dreary apartment as he plays the soundtrack of his
favorite — nonexistent — 1928 musical.
“I listened to the (Broadway) soundtrack long ago and knew every part.
It’s so great for me to get to do this role early in my career. ‘Man in Chair’
actually is a lot like me; I annoy my friends because I love finding out random
tidbits. ... ‘Man in Chair’ is the person who has to put in his two cents’
worth, all the time.”
Fellow senior Alicia Pickett of Chattanooga is the kohl-eyed, wildly dramatic
and usually quite tipsy “Chaperone” who swans across the stage and in and out
of the “Man’s” imagination.
“I did some research and kind of wanted to be ‘Janet,’” Pickett says,
referring to the imaginary musical’s female lead who’s the Chaperone’s charge.
“Then, when I saw the Chaperone, I thought, ‘Hey, this sounds like the better
deal.’ I’ve really fallen in love with this character. We’re both fabulous, but she’s more fabulous than I
am.”
The story within “The Drowsy Chaperone” follows, as it were, the
misadventures of a Broadway star and her ambivalence about her upcoming wedding
to an oil tycoon. There’s also an imperturbable English butler, a ditzy
scheming flapper, less-than-cleverly-disguised gangsters, a self-proclaimed
Latin lover, a baffled best man and an aviatrix involved in enough mistaken
identities, spit takes, tap dancing, roller-skating and wild dance numbers to
keep an audience giggling long after the curtain falls.
The 22-member MTSU cast auditioned last December and started rehearsals
in early February, working through their spring break for seven hours each day
and “really digging in and getting a professional feel, because that’s what you
do as a professional, when you’re not auditioning: spend hours in rehearsals,”
explains director Kristi Shamburger, a Department of Speech and Theatre
professor at MTSU.
Shamburger, who helmed last fall’s blockbuster MTSU Theatre and Music
production of “Les Misérables”
with School of Music professor Raphael Bundage, says she’s using one word to
describe “Drowsy Chaperone” to everyone who asks.
“Fun!” Shamburger shouts with a grin. “There’s a connection for
everybody at some point in this play. It’s just a jewel. There’s farce, there’s
mistaken identity — it’s going to hit every generation.
“The older generation in our audience will be touched in a sentimental
way and remember times gone by. Our ‘Man in Chair’ is going to hit home with
much of our contemporary audience, and the physical comedy will appeal to the
very young, too.”
Pickett agrees, adding that she expects theatergoers to “be walking out
with a big smile on your face. You should never miss out on this.”
The “Man in Chair,” Hosale notes, is “really your guide to finding
yourself and whatever it is you like to do, whether it’s musical theater,
building cars or flying airplanes.
“I can’t wait until the auditorium is filled and we get to share this wonderful
story,” Hosale adds with a bright smile.
You can watch brief videos of Shamburger and Hosale and Pickett
discussing the show at http://youtu.be/sc7tKJ-yJzQ
and http://youtu.be/l2wKH-wDW8Y.
Tickets for “The Drowsy Chaperone” also are available online at http://middletennstate.showclix.com. You can call 888-71-TICKETS
(888-718-4253) 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday to order tickets by phone.
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