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pretzelstickrockets · 2 months

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Today you're getting trivia dump on the musical The Drowsy Chaperone because I saw it last night and it's immediately become one of my dream shows (with the dream role of Man in Chair of course- look as a theatre kid who can't sing of course I'm going to latch onto a monologue-heavy character).

Let's begin!

The musical originated as an entertainment piece for the bachelor party of real life couple Bob (Robert) Martin (Canadian writer and actor) and Janet van de Graaf (Canadian improv and television artist). It was performed at the Rivoli Night Club and the admission costs were used to help fund their wedding

The original show did not have the role of the Man in Chair!

Despite having less than stellar reviews (notably being called a "sleeper" and having "forgettable" songs by critic Ben Brantly), TDC recieved thirteen Tony nominations and won five (Book, Original Score, Featured Actress, Scenic Design, and Costume Design)

The first translated version of the show opened in Japan (January 5th, 2009)

In the original Broadway production, during the Man in Chair's "intermission monologue", there's an added line about the Morosco theatre being torn down and a hotel being put in it's place. This line is a reference to the Marquis Theater (where the run took place) being part of the Marriott Marquis complex which was built where the Morosco Theater once stood.

The use of a deus ex machina in the form of Trix's plane at the end of the second act is one of the most literal version of the trope. The history of the term comes from ancient Greek performances, where, in resolution to conflicts, the Greek gods would appear in the show, often being delivered to the stage via a crane. So, the appearance of a character who can resolve the unsettled issue via a device from the sky is a fitting homage to the trope.

The Drowsy Chaperone is qualified as both a parody and a pastiche. If you didn't know what a pastiche means (aka me about five minutes ago), a parody mocks aspects while a pastiche celebrates aspects. Some examples of other pastiches are Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead (for Hamlet) and The Second Mrs Darcy (Pride and Prejudice).

The song Love is Always Lovely in the End replaced a song in the original production titled I Remember Love

In many productions, the animal Robert is compared to in Bride's Lament is changed from a monkey to a bunny to avoid racist undertones.

Aldopho says his name 15 times in the song I am Aldopho (the chaperone says it four times)

Whilst on Broadway, TDC had 32 previews and 674 performances before it closed in 2007.

Robert and George's tap dance before Underling's entrance in Cold Feet is approximately 1 minutes and 32 seconds long.

The longest song on the cast recording is Bride's Lament at 5:13, whilst the shortest (excluding Man in Chair's actor backgrounds) is the Act 1 Finale with 47 seconds.

#the drowsy chaperone #musical theatre #trivia #sutton foster #broadway #theatre #theater #theatre kid #tdc #robert martin #janet van de graaff

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lesbiansagainsttheatre · 2 years

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me when my cats record keeps repeating the same 3 seconds in the jellical ball:

haha nice drowsy chaperone reference

#phia.txt #cats the musical #the drowsy chaperone #musicals

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ang-artblog · 2 months

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(Characters in order: Robert Martin and Aldolpho, Kitty Feldzeig, Janet Van DeGraff, Robert Martin, Ace Paige)

There is a group that Ive referred to but never explained exactly who they are, so let’s meet Feldzeig’s Follies!!

imma be real with you, some of these characters come straight out of a musical 😔. Kitty, Alsolpho, Janet Van DeGraff, Robert Martin, and Victor Feldzeig all come from “The Drowsy Chaperone”. A while back, me and some of the cast of ANG were cast in The Drowsy Chaperone. We all really missed the show and, like any hyperfixation does, i subconsciously made a story for Kitty (the character that I played in Drowsy chaperone) that was really good that I just couldn’t not add it in. The other cast members chipped in with their characters story and here they are. Of course, there are slight changes to relationships and how things played out in the musical to make it a bit more believable, but for the most part I stuck true to how they act in the musical (except Adolpho he needed to CALM DOWN).

Feldzeig’s Follies is a traveling act that takes you back to that old jazzy showbiz era, when that burlesque dancer probably shot someone backstage but you’d never know that over the music and hollers from the crowd. Big band, swing, tap dance, the whole shabang and more! Is it a cabaret? Is it just one big musical with no consistent plot? No one knows but it sure is entertaining!

Their latest trip is to Gotham City. Star guest Robert Martin sings carols with the reoccurring sister act Murderers of Mingdol County’s Death Row; Kitty Feldzeig and Ace Paige. In honor of the death of Alice Paige 2 years ago, Ace Paige announces the first ever performance of his new single act; Alice in Wonderland. And on December 26th, the follies proudly presents their partnership with “Cloud-9 Studios” by bringing back former showgirl and now world-famous performer Janet Van DeGraff.

There are a lot of original character inserts with their own subplots that still connect to the main plot. I think it’s good to keep in mind the fact that this storyline purely is for our own entertainment and my influence on how the DC characters act mostly are from the DC media I consume (yummy yummy codotverse mm munch crunch Batman audio adventures tasty tasty mm mm MMM).

#dc #dc comics #abnormal nights in gotham #gotham

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theywontletmebeprincipal · 8 months

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I’m so sorry for liking your old spelling bee posts from 2019 I recognized your url as a reference and I didn’t know there was like. A spelling bee fandom. So I wanted to see if you ever posted about it and I discovered something new… Sorry if I dragged something from your past back up lmao but some of those memes were pretty good

you’re all good I still love the show a lot! holds a very special place in my heart :3

a lot of people bulk like those posts actually! usually it means that they’re doing a production in school (same with my drowsy chaperone posts) so I always shoot em a “break a leg” ask :3

#break a leg if you’re doing it! it’s an incredible show. very fun with a shocking amount of agonizing emotional depth #solidly my Fifth Favorite Musical Of All Time I think #I really want to do it again sometime . it was so so fun #sanswers

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theonlycampix · 7 years

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Is that... a Drowsy Chaperone reference??

Backup dancers!? Holy cats!

The wedding is on!The wedding is off!For the love of God, why!?Robert kissed a French girl!She looked just like you!Chop the nuts, pound the dough, bake it up, nice and slow...I’m not sure what you were referring to when you asked the question, but THESE are most definitely Drowsy Chaperone references. My brother and I were the “pastry chefs” threatening to murder Feldzieg!

#drowsy chaperone #i looked back through my posts #honestly couldn't find any reference I made to the drowsy chaperone #which by the way #is one of my favourite musicals ever #so maybe I did??#anyway I put a bunch here #good god this brought back memories #but that's another song from a much weirder play #ask-revolution-sylveon

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couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 3 years

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Hi! Hoping you're have a good weekend. I wonder if I could ask you for some recs for musicals I can watch (bootlegged or otherwise)? You're like the musical theater expert of my mutuals so I figured I would ask. For reference I've seen three musicals, Wicked, Into the Woods, and Hamilton. Into the Woods was my fave but I loved them all! Take care and stay safe if it's super hot where you are!

the way I have to restrain myself from just listing Every show I've ever seen kshddhjf

okay so first off. my personal favorites (in no particular order): Mamma Mia (jukebox musical more grounded in reality but it's got the glitz and glam and strong female relationships that you probably dig from wicked), Rent (angry and emotional rock-opera about starving artists during an epidemic) American Psycho (based on the book/movie. violent but it was literally one of the best professional performances I've ever seen. lots of fun 80s synth in the music), Next To Normal (about mental health struggles and the effect they have on a family), In The Heights (4th of July weekend for a family as they go through A Lot, LMM wrote it and it, the music is gorgeous and it has more of a plot than hamilton so I tend to like it more lol), Hair (hippies during the vietnam war, essentially changed the face of musicals, fun and funky 60s rock music), Billy Elliot (based on a movie, INSANE dancing, takes place during the miner strike in England in the 80s, mixes classical ballet music with angry protest and some 80s vibes and it's SO GOOD lol), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (concert-set musical about a failing 80s glam rock singer essentially having a breakdown on stage for an hour until they realize they've been emotionally abusing their transgender wife who is the backup vocalist and let's her take over the final performance) Spring Awakening (a play about coming of age and the importance of sex education written in 1891, which was then banned over a hundred times until like 2007 when someone decided to tweak it a little and add some rock music lmfao), The Lightning Thief! (the first percy jackson book lmao it's cheesy but it's SO good!!!), Kinky Boots (guy inherits a failing shoe making factory and decides to market specifically to drag performers, a lot of belting and high energy songs, overall a fun and positive show), Six (the six wives of henry the 8th have risen from the dead to put on a pop concert), Beetlejuice (based on the movie/cartoon and it's so Fun omg)

shows that are kinda Big Popular with theater people that you'd probably like bc frankly most people do lmfao: Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill, Heathers, Chicago, Les Miserable, Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera, Book of Mormon, West Side Story, Cabaret, Hadestown, Waitress, Falsettos, Legally Blonde, The Last Five Years

shows I think are severely underrated: Jekyll and Hyde (based on the story but LISTEN the ballad 'In His Eyes' haunts my every waking move), 13 (extremely cheesy story about a boy moving right before his 13th birthday, every high school Ever has put it on so people tend to find it cringy but I'm here to say it's genuinely funny), Drowsy Chaperone (an old man recounts the plot of his favorite show and it's just literally insane and chaotic it's SO funny), Something Rotten (a play write who sees himself as William Shakespeare's biggest rival sets out to outdo the bard by creating the world's first musical. SO funny and creative and I truly think shakespeare would have wanted this show lmao), Dogfight (a soldier tricks a girl he thinks is ugly to coming to a party with him but then he realizes he sucks and falls in love with her, was NOT expecting to like it as much as a I did but it's sweet???), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (interactive comedy that gets so chaotic)

I'm pretty sure these all have bootlegs (or slime tutorials lmfao) on youtube!!! hope YOU have a good day! :)

#musicals #asks #molly mumbles #after-the-epilogue

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frogssincorner · 2 years

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In the pocket of my dress, I've got a copper key

🍒 ↷ hi!! i'm frogpot, or just frog for short :]

heres a few quick things about me ↴

i use nameself pronouns

im genderqueer

im lesbian, asexual, and on the aromantic spectrum

i love writing, reading and drawing

i do musical theatre and looooove musicals

🍎 ↷ i'm just here having a good time, reading fics, talking to people, and having fun, however i also write fanfics at @imkitty-justkitty feel free to check my stuff out <3 ! :D 🌹

🍒 ↷ always happy to talk in asks, however i'm not comfortable with people dm'ing me out of the blue :) 🌹

🍎 ↷ below the cut is a list of the tags i use to help out with navigation , the @'s for my sideblogs , and explanations for the musical references across my blog for anyone interested <3 🌹

🍒 ↷ I try to tag everything i reblog/post, for the sake of easy navigation and not losing things in the crowd of my blog !

🍎 ↷ Tags for basic things ↴

refrogs ⇨ reblogging

🗯️ ribbit ! ⇨ talking to people

🕺 frog says hello !! ⇨ intro post(s)

🍒 ↷ Tags for fandoms ↴

i use the term fandom loosely- what i mean by this is just 'tags for media i enjoy and reblog/post abt'

♡ ↷ grease 🐞

♡ ↷ tangle tower 🌿

♡ ↷ marauders 🦁

♡ ↷ golden trio era 🪄

♡ ↷ west side story 🎯

♡ ↷ lamb to the slaughter 🐑

♡ ↷ spider-man 🕷️

♡ ↷ marvel 👽

♡ ↷ anthpo 🐟

♡ ↷ caroline konstnar 🦑

♡ ↷ dear evan hansen 👕

♡ ↷ 35mm 📮

♡ ↷ 25th annual putnam county spelling bee 🐝

♡ ↷ the drowsy chaperone 🧣

🍎 ↷ Fic tags ↴

i reblog fanfiction with the tag 'lily pond ↷ 🌺🐸'

i also tag my fanfic reblogs with tags of the names of the characters the fic centers around (and the fandom theyre from ((fandoms listed above ))) ↷

↷ lily evans 💌

↷ ginny weasley 💌

↷ sirius black 💌

↷ james potter 💌

↷ remus lupin 💌

↷ poly!marauders 💌

↷ regulus black 💌

↷ peter pettigrew 💌

↷ riff 💌

↷ matt murdock 💌

↷ bucky barnes 💌

My Sideblogs ;

🍒 i use different names on different blogs/accounts/profiles/etc as a comfort thing, in the way i experience names gender and pronouns, it feels right to have different names :) 🍒

@dannys-stimboards ; where i make and post my own stimboards !! :D

@eurydi-sees-stims ; i reblog stimboards i like

@sliipperyywhenwet ; starkid focussed

Musical References On My Blog ! ;

Blog Header ; in reference to the musical : Alice By Heart

Profile Picture ; a photo of Amber Gray as Persephone in the musical : Hadestown

Blog Title ; a lyrics in the song 'independence' from the musical : Trail to Oregon

Bio ; lyrics in the song 'fancy dress' from the musical : The Drowsy Chaperone

Lyrics at the top of this post ( In the pocket of my dress, I've got a copper key ) ; lyrics in the song 'crazy town' from the musical : 35MM

#new theme means intro post with new theme :D #i could edit the original post but hhhh #frog's introduction

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bastardtetsu · 4 years

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haikyuu + musical theatre boys

hq characters & what they’d be like as musical theatre boys - what they’re good at, what kind of shows they book, how they are to work with, roles they’d play, etc. | starring: sugawara, oikawa, bokuto, kuroo, tendou (+ tsukishima, kenma, akaashi)

for weeks my head has been full of hq!MT boys, inspired by over a decade of being a theatre kid, and @karasimpno has only enabled my debauchery. these are just a few of my faves, but i have more theatre boys where this came from so if this doesn’t flop maybe i will post more hehe

PART 2

tw swearing, musical theatre references, oikawa slander

SUGAWARA [tenor] this bitch is SO talented it should be illegal and he books like crazy. nothing like a pretty soft boi with the voice of an angel in musical theatre <3 not really a dancer but moves very well, also can act the house down like you think he’s this basic MT boy but then it turns out this mf has range and is not afraid to use it. will go from playing the sweetest, most charming leading man to a complex, terrifying villain, and the whiplash will make you fall in love with him. a dream to work with, obviously. very strong with classical text as well. his ability is frankly terrifying and far too powerful. the type of boy you cold read with once at a callback and never see again, but playing opposite him for those 2 minutes is enough to make you think about him for the rest of your life

lucas in the addams family, anthony in sweeney todd, the princeton/rod or nicky/trekkie/bad idea bear track in avenue Q, the emcee in cabaret PLS

OIKAWA [tenor] let’s be real oikawa already has an MT personality and it’s the worst kind. he thinks he’s rachel berry but really he’s kurt. he still books though bc he’s pretty and sings like an angel~ he can move really well and his jazz/MT style dancing is very strong, can also tap a little but it’s like barely enough to get by. his acting is kinda mediocre but his stage presence is out of this world and he’s hot so it doesn’t rlly matter, he stays booking leading men & disney princes left and right. truly is very talented at what he does, he’s just so annoying about it and constantly fronting all these skills he does not have, like he keeps trying to put leading lady songs in his book in their original key which is just.... not what those pipes are built for girl. bringing a whole new meaning to the nickname “flattykawa”

fiyero in wicked, pippin in pippin, conrad in bye bye birdie, aaron samuels in mean girls, joseph in joseph & the amazing technicolor dreamcoat, just all the basic mt boy shit

BOKUTO [baritone, tenor, everything in between, HIS RANGE] an absolute star. all-around amazing dancer (those muscles aren’t just for show babyyy) but especially tap and partnering (imagine him just lifting u.. god) powerhouse vocals across the board, his diaphragm is insane. he’s the type of MT who is always yelling even when they aren’t on stage, not even aware of it he’s just loud asf. always spitting everywhere too. no one is safe. acting is probably his weakest point just bc he doesn’t have a lot of versatility style-wise, but in no way is he bad at it i meannnnn have u seen how expressive and energetic that man is?? he does literally any golden age musical comedy leading man soooo well and is a blast to work with, such posi vibes & the character choices his himbo brain comes up with are so silly they’re genius

don lockwood in singin in the rain, gabey in on the town, bobby in crazy for you, jimmy in nice work if you can get it, robert in drowsy chaperone, will in oklahoma!

KUROO [baritenor] one of those fuckers who started doing theatre by accident, and immediately started booking out the wazoo with no training because he’s naturally talented and hot. i hate him so much. has that “idgaf i don’t have to try” aura about him, but his work ethic is actually?? really good??? once he starts learning more he really does put the work in. has that feeling of ease in his stage presence & good instincts that make up for his lack of training, plus his vocals have no right sounding that good on their own wtf. fucker thinks he’s frank sinatra, and honestly, it’s criminal how good he is at golden age material when most of what he books is contemporary bc of his dumb hair he’s not exactly a dancer but like…. bitch can move. plus he’s got body so that helps him a lot. mostly books leads anyway because that’s just how it goes when ur a hotboy with charm and talent. also he can fieRCE classical text??!?? (hint: it’s bc he’s a nerd) just stop being talented already jesus

melchior in spring awakening, sky masterson in guys & dolls, demetrius in midsummer, BENEDICK IN MUCH ADO PLS I NEED IT FOR MY HEALTH

TENDOU [countertenor] kicks ass at everything like he’s so talented and so versatile. vocals are insane, he has mad range and can do any number of character voices/impressions/dialects/what have you. his falsetto is unmatched (nice try flattykawa). we been knew his instincts are killer - character acting, comedy, improv, clown, mime, devised/alt theatre, contemporary MT, golden age MT, classical text you name it he can slay it all. his resume is so chaotic. he can body a super intense scene too, i feel like he trained in meisner & got traumatized from it and for a while he had an issue with getting too into character & doing crazy shit bc it was “method,” but eventually learned better<3 excellent mover, used to be a trina ballerina so his technique always shocks people even though he’s been out of practice for a long time (the dance world can be toxic and he was over it, so he yeeted all the way out of there a while ago). all around a wild human being with the ability to transform into numerous other wild human beings, creatures, abstract concepts, etc.

beetlejuice in beetlejuice, almost any track in cats but especially mungojerrie, mary sunshine in chicago, the porter in macbeth, CALIBAN IN THE TEMPEST PLEASEPLEASRPKEASE

----------------------

+BONUS: NOT MTs

characters who have zero MT energy but still fit elsewhere in the theatre world:

TSUKKI is a sound tech who is mean to performers esp during sound check, has a particular vitriol against MTs (except yamaguchi)

KENMA is an ASM who rarely gives a fuck, also does lighting & projection design. doesn’t hate MTs like tsukki, but their energy is usually a lot for him so he tends to avoid

AKAASHI is a playwright & dramaturg, but he used to act and can recite shakespeare on a dime, sonnets, soliloquys, whatever ur heart desires <3 may also play an instrument and sometimes writes lil songs but he doesn’t flex them bc he’s shy bby

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu crack #haikyuu #sugawara koshi #oikawa toru #bokuto koutarou #kuroo tetsuro #tendou satori #tsukishima kei #kozume kenma #akaashi keiji #mt boyz #.txt #e shitposts

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sofia-not-sophie · 4 years

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So here is the morbid/spooky art I mentioned earlier this week. So yeah, it’s Harry’s headstone from my Cedric fic

The Drowsy Chaperone reference is the word L’ved

The scene it comes from is where there is a cane that is dropped in the middle of the word and the audience and narrator aren’t sure if the line is supposed to be “Live while you can” or “Love while you can”

I though it was fitting since he sacrificed himself out of love but was know for living but hated that title

#cedric diggory and the many horcruxes #cedric diggory and the goblet of fire #cedric x harry #harry x cedric #fuck jk #appie doodles #The boys who l’ved spoilers

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fuckyeahbrownuniversity · 5 years

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what is the musical theatre scene like? are there extracurricular musicals?

My golly, you are in for a treat. The musical theatre scene is huge.

There’s four main groups I’m aware of: Brown University Gilbert and Sullivan (BUGS), Musical Forum, Production Workshop (PW), and Shakespeare on the Green. Here’s a couple things my friend (who’s very involved in the theatre scene) has to say.

BUGS - “BUGS only does one show a semester, but they’re always really big comedy shows like with a big ensemble and stuff (they used to do only Gilbert and Sullivan shows, but recently they expanded to do shows that are written in a similar spirit to Gilbert and Sullivan ie comedies with big ensembles). This year, they did Drowsy Chaperone and Into the Woods.” (I was personally involved with the pit orchestra for Into the Woods - a fantastic production.)

Musical Forum - “Musical Forum does a show plus a mini musical festival for student written, 45 minute long shows. This year, they did Merrily We Roll Along and The Wiz.”

PW - “PW is (I think) the oldest of the three, they have their own building and they actually do many different shows throughout the semester - I think they have four slots throughout the semester for various things. They don’t just do musicals, they also do a lot of plays, dance shows, and student written productions. In terms of musicals, though, they did Spring Awakening and a student written production called Firefly in the Light this year.”

Shakespeare on the Green - “They do Shakespeare plays and shows about Shakespeare or shows that reference Shakespeare.”

I believe that all of these groups are entirely or almost entirely run by students.

“The Theatre Arts & Performance Studies (TAPS) department also puts on shows - and you don’t have to be in the TAPS department to do them. they also do both plays and musicals. This year they did Next to Normal and several plays.” (This is not student-run.)

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magicalgirlmascot · 5 years

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Okay like it’s been the better part of a year and I’m still not over the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat we went to see for my dad’s birthday last year. I’ve loved this musical since I was a kid and we grew up listening to the CD where Donny Osmond played Joseph and like. It’s a good musical and I enjoy it a lot. It’s the only musical I know that can pull off having an old west cowboy type song and also an overdramatic starving Frenchman song sung by the same group of characters in a fucking Bible story and make it work. But this particular production was just so fucking perfect? You know how sometimes you see a production of a show and you can never watch another production’s version of it without comparing it to the other production because it was that good? That’s how this production of Joseph was for me. (I have similar feelings about my local community theatre’s production of the Drowsy Chaperone but that’s another post.)

I mean...first of all, the framing device they used was similar but different from how it usually goes. The general framing device used for Joseph is that the story is being told to...someone. Sometimes it’s the audience, sometimes it’s a group of schoolchildren, what have you. In this case it’s being told to one particular child who is mocked at the start of the show for not fitting in (more later). Said child is a fairly major part of the show, and this could have been extremely obnoxious, but it worked really well. (Also the Child was deliberately made to be androgynous and was referred to with they/them pronouns in the program which is cool.)

The show opened with children selecting robes from a box which matched robes being worn by couples (exclusively m/f couples, we’ll get to that), which dictated what family they were going to become a part of. It was all nice and whatnot until our main Child pulled a brightly coloured fanciful robe out, and not only did they not match anyone else but they were soundly laughed at and abandoned for not fitting in. This is when the play started for reals and the Narrator sang her opening song about dreamers and stuff.

Then the rest of the show happened. (More on this later because the show itself was excellent.)

At the end Joseph and the Narrator start the ending song and the Child goes and gets their robe from the chest again, and is welcomed into the arms of Joseph and the Narrator. The families from the beginning are all back again to join in the ending, but instead of all of them being mother/father/child, now we have two dads and a child, a mother and father and multiple children, a daughter/mother/grandmother family, just all kinds of families with all kinds of dynamics, and it honestly made me sob I was so happy.

Then also the production value was fantastic? The costumes! The set! There were two choruses, a child chorus and an adult chorus. They were kind of off to each side where they weren’t obtrusive on the main stage space (more on that later too) and occasionally during songs where they were singing but not present onstage they’d grab extra costume pieces and props and jam out. Like when they did Benjamin Calypso they all put on Hawaiian shirts and it was RAD. Everyone was clearly living their best life.

Also the guy playing Joseph had a fucking voice holy shit. That man could sing.

And like the last big thing wasn’t necessarily to do with the show itself but the venue it was in was super cool because it was in an old barn that was turned into a theatre. If you live in Ontario and have a chance to go to Westben Theatre you totally should just for the experience.

Just thinking about that show makes me so happy and I’m more than a little sad I’ll never be able to see that specific production again ahhhhh I love theatre

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phanfeed-ao3 · 6 years

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An Accident Waiting to Happen

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2OiLd1O

by ltuhura

When Dan joined technical crew for the school’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone it was mostly because PJ was the head of design. He was planning on stealing free cookies and avoiding lifting heavy set pieces, not having some random emo kid steal his heart and then avoid him.

Words: 903, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: PJ Liguori, Louise Pentland, Cat Valdes, Chris Kendall, Tyler Oakley

Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Dan Howell & Phil Lester

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Musical References, drowsy chaperone

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2OiLd1O

#phanfic #phanfiction #phan #danisnotonfire/amazingphil #dan howell/phil lester

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theywontletmebeprincipal · 3 years

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can you give me drowsy headcanons, ramble, or anything please, i am so deprived. do not be afraid to make it super long, the more the better, i just love drowsy chaperone and love to hear other people (plus you’re one of the only people i’ve seen who knows a lot abt it)

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE

I’ll divide this into a few different parts, going from least to most excruciatingly sad :)

1. general headcanons

2. in canon things i noticed and think about daily

3. a full analysis of man in chair’s connections with the drowsy chaperone as an in universe show (trigger warning for abuse ment, alcoholism ment, suicide ment)

SECTION ONE: HEADCANONS

- okay the chaperone is trans I don’t make the rules

- also her name is ambrosia :) she forsook her last name :)

- she’s about 12 years older than janet and kinda hung with janet’s family after leaving her own for a while . essentially she’s a big sister to janet

- aldolpho has some lines where he asks if the bride is big and/or burly and while in canon this is supposed to show he’s kind of a womanizer I like to believe it’s because he was fully prepared to fight her if needed

- speaking of which Of Course janet is ripped she does gymnastics

- my batshit crazy headcanon for this show is that dee dee allen from the prom is a descendant of roman bartelli no I will not elaborate

- is aldolpho one of those bitches with pets that definitely shouldn’t be legal? yessir

- post show kitty becomes a star okay I just want her to be happy

- the “pastry chefs” do discover a love of baking post show and now run a shop along with performing in feldzeig’s follies which might maybe be a front for some crime too

- TRIX DROWSY AND ALDOLPHO WORLD TRAVELING POLYCULE CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE

- underling’s name is james I will not elaborate on this either

- show never says what trix does so I’ve decided she’s an explorer. she charts maps and punches colonialists and drags her stupid friends along with her, the only bitch in the show with a braincell

- drowsy was a former vaudeville child star pre transition - she left the business but was a mentor to janet

- I do have a headcanon for mic’s name but in the spirit of every actor who’s ever played him I won’t fucking tell

SECTION TWO: SHIT I NOTICED

- robert refers to himself by full name a lot of the time which is v interesting given he’s named after the writer, bob martin (whose wife is also named janet van de graaf). the real bob martin is like five feet away at all times playing mic

- idk how to describe it but the dynamic kitty and feldzeig (VICTOR felgzeig. we have a name from one (1) line) have when talking to each other is so snappy and funny and good

- aldolpho’s lines in spanish are mostly romantic bullshit but his first one hints that he has/had a wife who, if we’re taking the translation literally, refused to touch him. yeah I’ll bring this up in analysis

- the “pastry chefs” provide liquor for the wedding even though it has absolutely no relevance to their mission of stopping it :)

- drowsy is like. SUPER endearing towards janet and despite her bad social skills it’s super clear she cares a lot about her

- robert speaks fluent french apparently

- everyone says “ew” after aldolpho reveals his affair with drowsy despite her being a certified milf

- the body language of drowsy in the end of the show where she takes mic’s hands and breaks the barrier between reality and fiction is just so good. she was iconic the whole show but I honestly think this final bit is what won beth leavel the Tony in the end

SECTION THREE: OH NO

before diving into the way the drowsy chaperone affects his character, we need to understand what exactly it’s playing off of. to fully understand mic’s attachment to the drowsy chaperone, we need to outline what led him to isolating himself and living in fiction to the extent that he does.

mic’s father left his family at an early age and his semi estranged alcoholic mother was the one who began his love for theatre. mic grew up in a broken household and eventually moved on to land in a one sided marriage, which lasted a few months until he slipped up and expressed his discomfort with the situation, after which he and his wife split. nowadays, he lives alone in his apartment surrounded by records he uses to escape to a better life - his favorite of which being the one his mother gave him, the drowsy chaperone.

symbolism in the drowsy chaperone regarding mic’s life can be split into two main categories - mommy issues and internalized homophobia. there isn’t nearly as much mom symbolism as there is the latter, so I’ll cover that first.

drowsy covers both bases, but she definitely has some undeniable mom symbolism going on. drowsy marries aldolpho and mom dreams of being swept off her feet by a latin lover, both feel they’ve wasted their chances at love, both drink to forget, etc. this is where the idea of the drowsy chaperone being mic’s ideal way for things to work out, a positive parallel, comes into play. given that we don’t hear too much about mic’s mom other than her connections to major life events and the record itself, we can assume they grew apart in one way or another. the key difference is that drowsy finds a happy relationship for herself and retains her bond with janet, unlike what we’re led to assume mom was like.

further elaborating on the drowsy chaperone representing mic’s ideal fantasy version of events is the wedding the drowsy chaperone’s plot centers around. here’s a list of the things that didn’t stop that damn wedding:

- a minister not showing up

- the groom cheating on the bride with the bride

- the bride having a complete mental breakdown

- indirect mafia interference

- direct mafia interference

on the flip side, what little mic says about his wedding indicates it sucked absolute ass. he spent the entire ceremony in internal distress as he went through with a life changing event he, at that point, knew at least a bit that he didn’t want. I think he also implies he had severe diarrhea on the wedding day? it gets worse when you realize mic’s relationship before the wedding wasn’t any good for him either - he was playing along the whole time because it would be cruel not to, right?

throughout the show, mic is pretty clearly shown as an extremely repressed gay man. there are five specific instances that point at romantic and/or sexual attraction to men directly and another moment outside of his commentary that pretty much confirms it if you look a little bit deeper. thus, here is what I propose - to mic, the drowsy chaperone’s wedding plot represents a world where he was able to ignore that part of himself and have a happy marriage with his wife despite all the overwhelming obstacles thrown at him. however, bits and pieces of that internalized homophobia manage to show themselves throughout the drowsy chaperone anyway despite its happy ending. here’s a rundown on a few significant instances:

- by the end of the show, the “pastry chefs”, who had literally been planning to kill feldzeig, have left their life of crime to perform with him. this symbolizes how in mic’s ideal world he would have been able to turn away from what he perceived at the time as living wrongly - his homosexuality

- at the same time, the “pastry chefs” have this line, spoken in regards to janet: “if she gets married and leaves the show... there ain’t no show.” this is a take on mic’s subconscious concern that he might lose himself if he goes on with his marriage pretending everything is alright - of course, as we already know, he doesn’t listen

- “cold feets” is a pretty obvious instance of mic’s hesitation

- aldolpho’s line in spanish regarding the wife who won’t touch him flips to reflect on mic’s treatment of his own ex wife - she was alien to him as a lover, just as aldolpho was to this woman

- janet recalls her meeting robert at a point in the show and states “we spooned, briefly, then he proposed.” though mic’s relationship pre marriage was much longer than that, it must have felt that way to him - just as quick and nonsensical as janet describes

- just as janet is caught in showbiz but has a toxic love for it, so does mic with his own repressed life

- janet has a line in “show off” that alludes to her experiencing harassment/assault: “I don’t wanna be cheered no more/ praised no more/ grabbed no more/ touched no more/ loved no more” , which I believe represents the way mic perceived his intimacy with his wife - labeled as love yet unenjoyable for him

- “I look into his eyes... I get all woozy. and that’s... love, isn’t it?” is another very clear nod to mic’s misconception of love based off the only thing he’s ever experienced, relationships with women he’s had to fake

- this is the part where I tell you the lyrics to toledo surprise are a metaphor for actively suppressing gay thoughts. I’ll just leave you with “if it tries to rise; don’t let it”. these lyrics are not comprehensive enough to make a dish - trust me, I have tried. it’s also notable that they serve a double entendre as instructions on how to beat the shit out of someone, but several lyrics are also directed towards the singer/audience. for example: “it’s a snap/ try it folks/ whip your whites/ split your yolks” is an easy metaphor for the unhealthy mental gymnastics required to repress oneself so wholeheartedly

it’s also worth noting the obvious just for the sake of it - mic copes with all this by isolating himself in a safe spot where he can use musicals to escape and live his ideal fantasy, even if it’s only for a short time. there are plenty of nods to this throughout the drowsy chaperone as well. in “as we stumble along” drowsy notes that “the best that we can do is hope a bluebird/ will sing a song/ as we stumble along” - to mic, musicals are his bluebird. while mic mostly indulges in these fantasies, he knows to a certain extent the sheer amount of time he’s spending in them is unhealthy. the first line of the show is “I hate theatre” and I think that to an extent? he does. obviously mic loves theatre as a concept, that can’t be denied. what he hates is the way he’s allowed it to confine him.

with all that out of the way, let’s move on to the most important moment of the show. if you’ve ever seen the show, you’ll know exactly which scene I’m talking about immediately. I’m referring to, of course, the infamous “l-ve while you can” scene. as janet stands at the alter she asks drowsy for one final word of advice, which is partially obscured by aldolpho dropping his cane. “l-ve while you can.” it’s a simple moment, but mic reveals to us that he’s been agonizing over it for years - did drowsy say “live” or “leave”? it occurs to everyone eventually, whether a couple days after the show like with me, or years after like with bob martin’s replacement on broadway that the most likely answer is that she had said “love while you can”. it’s this moment, when you realize why mic had never seen that as an option, that the drowsy chaperone’s status as a musical within a comedy within a tragedy is solidified. mic had no love in his life - his parents hated each other and he was forcing himself into relationships in which he felt nothing. to him, living and leaving were options, but loving never was. so he locked himself away.

as the final note on the record is playing, all power in mic’s apartment shuts down and the fantasy is ruined. the superintendent arrives and further invades his space, breaking the private sanctity he had built up for so long. she fixes the power and before mic can stop it from happening, the final note of the record plays. and the super recognizes it as a musical. she makes a remark about how much her wife loves musicals and leaves, completely unaware of what she’s just done.

mic sits in silence for a while. and then he begins to sing. gradually, the cast members begin to echo their songs, dancing around him but never touching him. then drowsy appears and sings harmony to mic. and she takes his hands. the show ends with the entire cast, including mic, taking off on trix’s airplane as the curtain falls, drowsy handing mic his record as the plane takes off.

some people interpret the ending as mic committing suicide, finally deciding between live and leave. I don’t personally believe that and neither does writer and original mic bob martin, but it’s still a valid interpretation. the drowsy chaperone’s ending is ambiguous, yes, but not to that extent. no matter what you believe the ending means, it was brought on not by the interruption of the fantasy, but by whatever realization the super’s remark about her wife triggered. as I see it, there are two main options here.

option one - mic realizes he still has time to live and to love. when he was younger the prospect of living as himself was unthinkable to him, yet now he sees that while he was spending countless years alone the world grew. drowsy offers mic her hand, an invitation to finally become what he had admired in her - someone who isn’t anywhere near perfect, but is damn well trying and living life without regret. he accepts.

option two - mic realizes that while he spent years alone the world moved on without him and he’s isolated himself so much from social interaction that he’d no longer be able to make a meaningful connection with anyone outside. so he stays inside instead, never trying, always trapped between live and leave. drowsy offers mic her hand - at least he’ll have a tune to carry with him.

I really want to believe we got option one. I think option one is the intended, really, given mic ends the show with a joyful goodbye to the audience. but the way that the ending is still left open for interpretation makes it so that we can never really know - we as the audience only get to be privy to a small part of mic’s life, and we don’t get the answers we want because at the end of the day they’re irrelevant to us - all we can do is make our own choice.

#the drowsy chaperone #musical theatre #musicals #broadway #musical meta #man in chair

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