On March 10th, I had the opportunity to see Anne Shirley Theatre Company’s production of the Canadian Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. Now, before I dive into this review, I have to make a dramatic statement:

I’m not a fan of musicals. I KNOW! I’M A BAD HOMOSEXUAL! However, The Drowsy Chaperone was a clash of cheesiness, camp, and chaos in the best way possible. Whether it was blindfolded roller skating, or a plane coming out of the sky, the play always kept the audience on their feet and excited to see what comes next.

The show follows the narrator, simply known as Man In Chair, as he takes us on a journey of his favourite fictional musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. Yes, the musical The Drowsy Chaperone is about the fictional musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. Very meta if you ask me. This is probably why I enjoyed this particular musical. The way the show was so self-aware of the flaws of the musical genre made the audience more comfortable. As soon as the show started, Man In Chair, played by Tristan Cruise, states “I hate musicals.” That is when I knew that this show was gonna be something different. Cruise played the character with such relatability and relaxed composure that instead of feeling like I was watching a play, Cruise made me feel like I was at home, watching a movie with my friends.

On top of the overall self-referential, the show’s comedy found a way to combine clothes and the aesthetic of a 1920s musical with a dark, lewd sense of humour that feels very current and contemporary. The wardrobe and set (provided by Saint. James Players and Theatre Woodstock respectively) were set in the golden age of Hollywood but had jokes that alluded to poodles eating corpses and sex positions.

One stand-out performance was Robyn Hawthorne’s portrayal as “Kitty”. Born and raised in Peterborough, Hawthorne has been involved in performing arts since the age of twelve. Her resume ranges from dance to theatre to vocal training. All of those were showcased in Hawthorne’s portrayal as Kitty, a ditzy 1920s flapper girl who now wants to be the star. “The main thing was the voice and a couple of things stood out with it. I thought about characters like Audrey from Little Shop Of Horror and Lina Lamont from Singing In The Rain,” Hawthorne says when talking about how she got into character. 

However, it would be unfair to undermine everyone else’s performances as well. From Anna Hykawy’s attention-grabbing portrayal of the titular Drowsy Chaperone, to the cartoon-like portrayal of the gangsters by Jessica Johnston and Carmen Milewski, there was not one bad performance. The ASTC’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone was riveting, ridiculous, and overall musical theatre at its finest and showcased every performer’s strengths. Even if you didn’t get a chance to catch a show of this production, keep an eye out for the ASTC’s next production. You will not be disappointed.