Ouachita’s Theatre Arts Department and Division of Music will present “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a musical comedy set within the 1920s. Performances will be held in Jones Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 19-21, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22. Tickets are $10 each, and students may receive one free ticket with their student ID.
“The whole idea behind the musical is that it’s in some ways a parody of what a musical really is,” said Daniel Inouye, assistant professor of theatre arts and director of the production. “So because of that, everything is a little bit over the top. The characters are a little bit over the top and all the songs are a little bit over the top because it’s really making fun of what musical theatre actually is. It’s taking that normal musical theatre experience and pushing it a little bit past the line.”
The musical surrounds the story of Janet Vand de Graaff, played bysenior musical theatre major Bethany Swiontek, who is a Zeigfeld Follies show girl. Janet Vand de Graaff has decided to leave her show girl career to get married to Robert Martin, played by freshman musical theatre major Ben Stidham.
“The characters in the show are probably the first thing that I enjoy,” Inouye said. “The show is a comedy that’s really pushed to the extreme. We have a lot of stereotypical characters that show up. It has been fun playing with those characters and helping the actors sort of find them. And then the music is great. Some of the songs are really fun and you leave with that tune in your head.”
One of the challenges of this production has been dealing with the over the top aspects of parodying musical theatre. Inouye described it as being difficult not to fall into the trap of having characters so over the top that they are not believable to the audience.
“While it is a parody, and while the characters are pushed to the extreme, we still have to find some truth behind those characters,” Inouye said. “Otherwise our audience won’t be able to connect with them at all. So, it has been a challenge to find that line where they still ring true to the audience but at the same time are pushed so that they play out the parody of musical theatre.”
Stidham has performed in “The Drowsy Chaperone” before. In both performances he starred as Robert Martin. He described his role as a very cheesy and excessively overblown character. But because of this, he has faced similar challenges with his role.
“Sometimes I can be too much over the top,” Stidham said. “I mean it’s supposed to be that way, but I take it to the next level. So what the director is trying to do is get me to take it down a notch to where my character has a believable cheesiness to him. Another challenge is the choreography; I do a tap dance number in the show, and I have to learn all the steps. It has been a lot of work.”
The choreography in “The Drowsy Chaperone” can be challenging. One the music numbers requires about five different costume changes for Swiontek in her role as Janet Van de Graaff.
“That’s the number ‘Show Off,’” Stidham said. “Janet is a big actress on stage, and since she’s marrying Robert Martin, she’s basically saying that she doesn’t want to show off anymore and that she doesn’t want to perform and that she just wants to find her lover. She does numerous things like back flips, cart wheels, and she has tons of costume changes. The entire on-stage ensemble is focused around Janet, and watching the entire cast perform is an amazing stunt because our choreography, once it’s all put together, looks fantastic. And Bethany’s performance just makes it happen.”
Other members of the cast include Garrett Whitehead, a sophomore musical theatre major, as George; Heather White, a senior musical theatre major, as Mrs. Tottendale; Gabi Baltzley, a sophomore musical theatre major, and Caitlin Secrest, a junior vocal performance major, double cast as Kitty; Joel Rogier, a junior vocal performance major, as Aldolpho; Cody Myers, a junior psychology and musical theatre double major, as Underling; Stewart Kelly, a junior church music major, as Feldzeig; Shay Michael, a senior musical theatre major, and Hannah Garner, a junior vocal performance major, double cast as the Chaperone; Joe Ochterbeck, a sophomore theatre arts major, as the Superintendent; Ashley Bundy, a sophomore vocal performance major, and Lola McClendon, a senior musical theatre major, double cast as Trix the Aviatrix; and Ben Perry, a junior musical theatre major, Robby Taylor, a freshman musical theatre major, and Jalin Wesley, a freshman musical theatre major, as the Gangsters.
Tickets may be purchased by visiting or calling the Jones Performing Arts Center Box Office weekdays from 1-5 p.m. or may be purchased online at www.obu.edu/boxoffice. For more information, contact the Box Office at 870-245-5563.
