The world of American musical theater was a very different place in 1928.
Musical revues ruled the stages of the day and writers stressed variety in lieu of story. Narrative was secondary to music, and overarching stories or themes were low on the priority list. Following the tradition of the waning days of Vaudeville, producers of the time favored a collection of pop tunes loosely tied together. Audiences expected the same from their theatrical fare, looking to the stage for the latest hits and musical trends of the day.
“Before you had Rodgers and Hammerstein, the story didn’t drive the art form. Musical theater was basically what MTV was in the 1980s,” said Carol Petitmaire, the director of the production of “The Drowsy Chaperone” that’s currently running at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora. “It was almost like repertory theater. There were stock characters — there was the comic, there was the soubrette, there was the leading lady, the leading man. It was the beginning of that art form, an American art form. We made it our own, and the 1920s were an important stepping stone for that.”
“The Drowsy Chaperone” pays homage to that formative time in American theater with a similar focus on variety. The 2006 show by Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison, Bob Martin and Don McKellar recreates the theatrical standards of the 1920s through outright nostalgia: a character known only as the “man in chair” drops the needle on a vinyl recording of the fictional 1928 musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” A full musical revue penned by Lambert and Morrison follows, a score rich in references to the comedy, stage conventions and musical vocabulary of the early twentieth century.
“I narrate, I tell the story and set up each scene,” said Paul Page, the actor who plays the “Man in Chair” in the Vintage production. “The ’20s weren’t anywhere near the heyday of the early musicals … It’s interesting to see the creators’ perception of 1928 and what that was like. It’s the leftovers of Vaudeville.”
The choice of “The Drowsy Chaperone” is an untraditional move, a choice that seems even bolder considering the fact that the Vintage troupe is fresh off a move from Denver to its new digs on Dayton Street. The show is only the company’s second in Aurora, following their production of the drama “The Joy Luck Club” that wrapped up last month. What’s more, the company has a relatively brief history with musicals. Counting “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the Vintage Theatre has only produced three since its inception in 2002.
“Even though it’s set in the 1920s, it’s a new musical,” said Rachel Turner, who plays Janet Van de Graaff in the Vintage production. “It hasn’t been around very long … Most people have never heard of it, and that’s kind of chancy … But it’s really a celebration of musical theater. It really educates the audience on the purpose of musical theater.”
Those historic cues and explanations also served as an education for the sizeable cast of the show, which numbers in the twenties. Jodi Brinkman, who plays the titular Drowsy Chaperone, said the role has offered her a deeper appreciation of comic timing and conventions of the time.
“I appreciate comedy a lot more. I’ve worked on shows that take place in the 1920s before, so I’ve done the Prohibition Era,” said Brinkman, who returns to the stage after a 4-year hiatus. “The ’20s, ’30s and ’40s are my favorite time period in terms of music and stars of the stage and screen. It’s the kind of comedy where you can address the audience a lot.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com or 720-449-9707