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player ready...Breezy and deliciously nostalgic, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is basically designed to dispense a good time.
Running April 28 through May 14 at Valparaiso’s Memorial Opera House, the Tony Award winner rates as “a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical,” according to promotional material from the venue.
“It’s a musical comedy; it’s a spoof on 1920s musicals,” co-director Colleen Peluso said. “It’s very hilarious — kind of silly, over the top in places. The whole goal is entertainment.”
A hit on Broadway, “The Drowsy Chaperone” snared five 2006 Tony Awards, which included honors for Best Book and Best Score.
According to promotional material from the Memorial Opera House, “The Drowsy Chaperone” centers on a lonely, melancholy man in his apartment as he tries to pep himself up by listening to a recording of his favorite 1920s musical.
A sort of wondrous transformation of his apartment ensues, the material states.
Lying, scandal and trickery add layers to the plot of the bubbling musical which Peluso said is “actually a play within a play” that offers the perspective of the man and his New York City apartment.
“There are some touching moments in it, but it’s not really a super-deep message kind of a show,” said Peluso, a Valparaiso resident. “It’s more of a come out and enjoy an evening of entertainment at the theater.”
The other co-director is her husband, John Peluso.
“It’s a very, very funny show,” he said. “It’s not complicated; it’s just well written. The music is lighthearted and fun. The overall message is sweet; it’s uplifting. It leaves everybody in a great mood.”
The award-winning score features the rousing “As We Stumble Along” and the jaunty “Show Off.”
Being part of a husband-wife directorial duo is a good scenario for John Peluso.
“We’ve done this a couple times before, so we’ve gotten it worked out pretty well,” he said. “I love directing with my wife. She’s very smart. She’s a very talented actress, very talented director.”
Colleen Peluso is no stranger to being actively involved in “The Drowsy Chaperone,’ pointing to her participation as an actress in a production of it in Portage.
“I fell in love with the show when I was in the show a few years back,” she said. “John and I were actually in the same production of it.”
With special loge seats available for $50, the Valparaiso version at the historic Memorial Opera House will feature an orchestra that will dole out vintage and snazzy jazz tunes, as it dishes fare that reflects the style of 1920s musicals.
Peluso said “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a spoof of that era of musicals, “so it kind of makes fun of that genre where everything was a little bit vaudeville and over the top.”
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
Where: Memorial Opera House, 104 E. Indiana Ave., Valparaiso
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, April 28 through May 13; 2 p.m. Sundays, April 30 through May 14
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Tickets: Adults $21; senior citizens, students, military $18; $2 processing fee added to cost of all tickets; group rates available
Information: 219-548-9137, www.memorialoperahouse.com