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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 29 ,2 01 8 | 14 Stay Current... From the latest information on local politics, to minor sports scores to what's going on down the street, visit www.waterloochronicle.ca CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY The Drowsy Chaperonewas a surprise hitwhen opening onBroadway in 2006, hav- ing fun with the show within a show concept and exploring the old tropes of the jazz age. But it was exactly the fun it had with the exaggerated time period and the silliness of the characters like the one played by stage veteran Gabrielle Jones, whose chaperone is more inebriated than drowsy, that made it a hit before Drayton Entertainment decided to stage it starting this week at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. The first show of the season at the theatre features an A list cast for musical theatre in- cluding Stratford veteran Mike Nadajewski playing the lovable narrator known as the Man in the Chair, who sets the story in motion as a Broadway fan put- ting on his favourite recording of the show staged in 1928, and Drayton star Jayme Armstrong who plays the celebrity sensa- tion, Janet Van De Graaf, at the centre of the romantic esca- pades. The cast also features Strat- ford and Charlottetown alum- nus Kyle Golemba as her love- sick fiancé, oil tycoon Robert Martin, who can't wait to marry her and Cliff Saunders, the dance man who dazzled in last season's The 39 Steps, who plays the scheming producer Mr. Feldzieg who wants to keep his star attraction performing. The hijinks are ramped up by Jones' Drowsy Chaperone, which she is reprising under the direction of Max Reimer, who fights with sobriety as much as she does with all of the suitors that come calling for Janet. "It's a dream cast for sure," said Jones, who played the char- acter a decade ago at the Van- couver Playhouse, in addition to all her recent turns at Drayton and Stratford. "This is just about the most fun you can have in a musical as an actor. "It's just a gift to do this show - it's so much fun." When the concept for The Drowsy Chaperone first hit Broadway there were skeptics wondering how an old school musical like it could succeed on the Great White Way. But it was the humour and the great music that overruled any doubters. "It's a parody of those old musicals that had those implau- sible plots and stock charac- ters," said Jones. "It's a time that had a lot of politically in- correct humour. "The genius of the show is you can get away with doing in the show within a show concept, and then the Man in the Chair is the one who provides com- ment on it so we don't have to. He also lets the audience in and is sort of their tour guide for it all." Jones said the challenge for her character is to portray her drinking without coming off drunk. She said there's great humour in the lengths people go in hiding when they are inebri- ated. "She's what you can charita- bly term as a functioning alco- holic," said Jones with a laugh. "There's a lot of nudge, nudge, wink, wink about it back in the day, especially during the age of prohibition. "The wonderful thing is the title of the show essentially gives you the entire plot be- cause we understand what the job of chaperone is and what they're supposed to prevent. If that chaperone is compromised in any way, mayhem ensues." Jones has played that chaper- one before and she said she doesn't fall into the trap of play- ing drunk - it's usually only the audience and her who are in on the gag. "You try not to appear drunk because that's what drunks try to do - they try to show how drunk they are not," said Jones. She played the part 10 years ago under the direction of Reim- er, and said it was a delight to reprise the role with him in the director's chair again. "It's just a stroke of luck that I get to get another crack at it with Max at the helm," said Jones. "He's the perfect director for this show. He understands the period, the humour and the style and it's been fun to do it again. "It's been long enough that I'm not hampered with the mus- cle memory of what I did before. It's a completely fresh take on it." Jones said her familiarity with the character has brought more freedom in her portrayal. "There just a little more room to explore and breath and have fun." The Drowsy Chaperone is on stage to April 15. For more in- formation visit draytonentertai- ment.com or call 519-747-7788 for tickets. Gabrielle Jones stars as The Drowsy Chaperone, with costume design by by Rachel Berchtold, starting this week at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. Photo courtesy of Drayton Entertainment 'Drowsy Chaperone' continues to romp Stage veteran Gabrielle Jones reprises her role as title character BOB VRBANAC bvrbanac@waterloochronicle.ca ARTS FOCUS Visit waterloochronicle.ca for more coverage