Opera House: “The Drowsy Chaperone”

19 Jan Opera House: “The Drowsy Chaperone”

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” a musical comedy adapted and directed by Jennifer Julia, artistic director, Sheridan Arts Foundation Young People’s Theatre. Performed by students in grades 9 – 12 at the Sheridan Opera House, Fri. & Sat., Jan. 30-31, & Monday,Feb. 2, 6 p.m. Adults $15; children 12 & under $12 & lap children free.

Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation Young People’s Theater presents its annual high school musical show, this year, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a musical for people who love musicals – and even for those who don’t! It’s that funny.

Set partially in the modern day, the play opens with “Man in a Chair,” a theatre geek obsessed with an old 1920s musical, named guess what? – ‘The Drowsy Chaperone.” The Man plays the audience a scratchy old record of the show and the story takes off from there.

Featuring dazzling starlets, gangsters posing as bakers, a scheming Broadway producer, and a boozy (“drowsy”) chaperone, this production’s wacky cast is chock full of lovable, hilarious characters. While the Man in the Chair narrates the story, filling the audience in with some behind-the-scenes anecdotes – this is a true “play within a play”– everyone else tells his or her silly tale of mistaken identities, Latin lovers, and weddings galore.

“The music and dance numbers are what make this show so special. ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ is an “old school” musical in a sense and I’m excited to be working with my students on a classic like this,” explains Julia. “But of course, we ‘YPT’d’ the show a little, adding  a mid-play Pirate scene, complete with an original song. Don’t worry. I promise it will all make sense when you see it.”

“The Drowsy Chaperone” stars 28 students from grades 9-12, and is the Young People’s Theater’s 48th full-length musical theater production. Again, the show plays January 30, 31 and February 2 (no show on Super Bowl Sunday) at 6 p.m. nightly. Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for kids 12 and under. Tickets are for reserved seating, and are available on the Sheridan Opera House website here. 

The concessions stand will be open for each show, so bring the whole family down for a full night of entertainment.