After months of rehearsals and anticipation, audiences at Edmond Memorial High School were transported into a fictional classic musical titled “The Drowsy Chaperone” last weekend.

The show begins with The Man in Chair (Joe Kelley) talking to the audience from his living room. He places “The Drowsy Chaperone” cast album on his record player and invites the audience to experience his favorite musical with him as the opening number begins. The Man in Chair introduces the characters while commenting on this classic, over-the-top musical as its unbelievable story unravels.

The star of “Feldzieg’s Follies,” Janet Van De Graaf (Mia Lashley), is set to give up her fame and marry Robert Martin (Carter Haney) in the evening, but there are several obstacles thrown their way. Feldzieg (Collin Morrison) is pressured to not let Janet leave, so he seeks Aldolpho’s (Rayan Sawan) help to seduce the bride and therefore wreck the wedding. Unfortunately, Aldolpho mistakes the Drowsy Chaperone (Kennedy Vanover) for the bride, and this is only the beginning of the mayhem. As the plot continues, The Man in Chair explains details about the actors’ real lives, the show’s history and his opinions on various scenes and songs.

The Memorial performing arts department has built a high reputation for its shows, especially after “Anastasia” last year, but “The Drowsy Chaperone” managed to raise the bar even higher. Hard work was poured into everything from the music to the set, and the successful result was proof.

For many, the highlight of the show was the humor. From Sawan’s incredible portrayal of Aldolpho’s craziness to the “spit-take scene” which included forgetful hostess Mrs. Tottendale (Emerson Royse) repeatedly spitting her drink in Underling’s (Dylan Howard) face, there were many moments that brought the audience lots of laughter. Even in “Bride’s Lament,” Janet’s ballad, performers dressed as bunnies brought an unexpected but fun energy.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” also contained several show-stopping numbers. Towards the beginning of the show, Robert and his best man George (Colin Nye) had a tap dance song, “Cold Feets.” They pulled off an impressive performance utilizing Haney’s years of tap experience and Nye’s newfound skills after learning how to tap for the show.

Another memorable song was “Show Off.” Janet expresses how she is tired of her life of stardom and does not want to show off anymore, but the number’s title isn’t quite truthful as she proceeds to do the splits, a front walkover and many other impressive tricks. Lashley and the ensemble made “Show Off” unforgettable and exciting.

While the constant laughs and big numbers made the show enjoyable, the staple of the whole performance was The Man in Chair’s couple minutes of realness. He was enthralled with the show and the characters the whole time, but at the end when he thought it was time to return to the real world, the audience saw how much this musical truly meant to him. “The Drowsy Chaperone” is more than just a show for him, it’s an hour-and-a-half escape into an imperfect fantasy. Kelley’s performance was brilliant and well beyond his years, bringing many audience members to tears.

The Memorial performing arts department was hard at work rehearsing “The Drowsy Chaperone” in 2020, when the world was shut down indefinitely just two weeks before opening night. A few of the seniors from the original production were able to watch the closing show, and at the end, they were invited onstage, given flowers and had their original roles announced to the audience, providing these alumni with closure. Not only were these former seniors able to see their show come to fruition, but many of the freshmen in the original cast performed in this show as seniors, creating a full circle moment to finally take the stage and do the “Toledo Surprise.”

The show ran smoothly both onstage and backstage thanks to a dedicated crew. Even when a clock fell off the wall and shattered on opening night, the cast handled it very well, and it had no negative impact on the show. The Man in Chair was able to simply sweep it up the same as someone would if it happened in their own house.

In addition to great direction from Patrick Towne, music direction from Wesley Singleton and technical direction from Anthony Risi, the orchestra pit, conducted by David Koehn, brought a pleasant and upbeat sound to the show. With so many Bulldogs from different programs contributing, the show was a success in many aspects.

While this was the last bow of the season for many students, there is still a chance to see a few of them again. The Musical Theatre Performance class’ one-night-only production of “Godspell” will be May 4, closing out the Memorial theatre season.

Contact Kelsi Seltenreich at [email protected]