On March 10, Theatre Baton Rouge began its run of the Tony Award winning musical comedy extravaganza “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a musical within a play, narrated by The Man in the Chair (Terry Byars) who listens to the record of the show and giving commentary to the audience. “The Drowsy Chaperone” tells the story of a wedding, or several weddings, and the hijinks that go along with the event.
The production features several University students and alumni, both onstage and off, including theatre senior Austin Ventura.
Ventura plays Robert Martin, the groom-to-be Martin is a typical cheesy leading man with a toothpaste-commercial smile and Hollywood charm.
“The biggest challenge with playing [Martin] is that he has to tap dance in the show,” Ventura said. “I’d never done it before, so I had to learn while doing.”
This is Ventura’s third show at TBR, having previously been in the ensembles of “Evangeline” and “The Little Mermaid.” He said the cast of “The Drowsy Chaperone” is full of talented people that he’s wanted to work with for a long time.
“The cast helped me get better as an actor,” Ventura said. “I feel like I grew as an actor and a singer and a dancer in this show.”
The show is directed by University alumna Jenny Ballard, who is also the TBR artistic director. Earlier this year, Ballard played Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway in TBR’s production of “A Few Good Men.”
“Nothing fulfills me like being on stage does,” Ballard said. “Having said that, I love directing. There’s nothing like watching moments in your head come to life on stage.”
Ballard said she believes audiences will love the show for the same reasons that she was immediately drawn to “The Drowsy Chaperone” — the laugh-out-loud humor.
“I thought it was smart, original and so very funny,” Ballard said, adding that “the music is really great.”
While the show has been challenging for everyone involved, Ballard said the production has “been a blast.”
“This show is nothing but fun,” Ballard said. “This has been a rough year, and this is a great way to relax, escape for a bit and enjoy a really, really funny musical.”
“The Drowsy Chaperone” runs March 10-26 with matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. and evening performances at 7:30 p.m. The theatre will host an American Sign Language performance on March 19. Tickets are $29 for the public and $20 for students.
"The Drowsy Chaperone," presented by Theatre Baton Rouge, runs from March 10-26.
