Stage Coach Players to present ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’

DeKALB – Stage Coach Players will present the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” in August.

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” directed by Steven Meerdink with musical direction by Sandra Josef, is a musical within a musical and begins with the main character, the Man in the Chair, seeking to cure his melancholy. To do this, he puts on the album of the fictional 1928 musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Soon his dark and drab apartment is transformed into vibrant Broadway sets with bright lights and colorful characters dressed in extravagant costumes.

As the Man In the Chair makes wry comments about the musical, the audience descends into the musical comedy. It is the wedding day of tycoon Robert Martin and Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff, who is giving up her career in “Feldzieg’s Follies,” something her producer is desperately trying to change her mind on. Add a couple of gangsters, Janet’s alcoholic chaperone, Latin lover Adolpho and an aviatrix named Trix and the laughs come at a frantic pace.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” began as a spoof of the 1920s musicals by the authors and several of their friends for a party and opened on Broadway in 2006. The musical was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning in five categories.

The show will open Aug. 18 and run for two weekends at Stage Coach Theater, 126 S. Fifth St. in DeKalb. Showtimes will be at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18-20 and Aug. 25-27 and 2 p.m. Aug. 21 and 28, at the Stage Coach Players Theatre, 126 S. Fifth St., DeKalb.

Tickets cost $20 for adults or $18 for seniors and children ages 13 and younger. Tickets are available online at www.stagecoachplayers.com or through the Stage Coach Players Box Office at 815-758-1940.

Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to wear masks during the production. If the state of Illinois guidelines change, the Stage Coach Players guidelines also will change.