***Press Release***
MEDIA CONTACT: Jeanine Piskurich ([email protected]) 713.501.9433
Stratford Playhouse presents The Drowsy Chaperone • The last show in the original Stratford High School auditorium – a “Musical within a Comedy” – will be a loving tribute to the golden age of Broadway and a befitting end to an era of performance excellence at its first theater.
The award-winning Stratford Playhouse will be presenting The Drowsy Chaperone Jan. 30 through Feb. 8 under the direction of its artistic director, CeCe Prudhomme. The production’s student director, Janet Hagedorn, describes the play’s setting and theme. “To cheer himself up from feeling blue, a current-day musical theatre fanatic, “Man in Chair,” drops the needle on his favorite LP – the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. The uproariously hilarious musical is brought to life inside his New York apartment,” she said. “Mix-ups, mayhem and a happy wedding time for all, The Drowsy Chaperone is a feel-good, family friendly show.” This Tony Award-winning musical features the best book of a musical by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and the best original score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. “We are thrilled to celebrate the end of an era at the original Stratford auditorium by closing with The Drowsy Chaperone. This is the perfect homage to American musicals of the Jazz Age, examining the effect musicals have on the fans who adore them,” says Prudhomme, artistic director. In her directing role at Stratford for over 25 years, she is grateful for the continuing support of the community, and also “looks forward to celebrating this historic moment in the narrative of the Stratford Playhouse.” Construction of the new auditorium begins after this show’s closing. The new theater with supporting performing and public spaces will open in 2021. Tickets for The Drowsy Chaperone are $17 and available for purchase online at shsplayhouse.org, or at the Stratford Box Office. Performances are scheduled for Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 9. Performances will take place for the last time at Stratford High School’s original main stage theatre, 14555 Fern Drive. For more information or to buy tickets, go online or call 713-251-3449. The Drowsy Chaperone is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
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Photos for Stratford Playhouse’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone are courtesy of Leigh Leigh Melcher with special thanks to Hotel ZaZa Memorial City.
Photo 1: 1st row (L to R) Connor Padron (“Gangster”) and Matthew Prudhomme (“Gangster”); 2nd row Luke Centanni (“Aldolpho”), Sydni Moon (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) , Will Larrabee (“Man in Chair”), Lindsay Bates (“Janet Van De Graaff”), Nicholas Rhew (“Robert Martin”); 3rd row Kylie Gallien (“Trix”), Catherine Piskurich (“Kitty”), Caleb Balladares (“Feldzieg”), Grant Shyer (“Underling”), Madi Sanders (“Mrs. Tottendale”) and Zachary King (“George”) star in the Stratford Playhouse production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo Courtesy of Leigh Leigh Melcher with special thanks to Hotel ZaZa Memorial City.
Photo 2: (L-R) Catherine Piskurich (“Kitty”), Lindsay Bates (“Janet Van De Graaff”), Caleb Balladares (Feldzieg”), Connor Padron (“Gangster”) and Matthew Prudhomme (“Gangster”) enjoy the mix-ups and mayhem of The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo courtesy of Leigh Leigh Melcher with special thanks to Hotel ZaZa Memorial City.
Photo 3: The 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone is magically brought to life by 1st row (L-R), Connor Padron (“Gangster”), Will Larrabee (“Man in Chair”) and Matthew Prudhomme (“Gangster”); 2nd row (L-R) Catherine Piskurich (“Kitty”), Caleb Balladares (“Feldzieg”), Nicholas Rhew (“Robert Martin”), Lindsay Bates (“Janet Van De Graaff”); 3rd row (L-R) Madi Sanders (“Mrs. Tottendale”), Grant Shyer (“Underling“), Kylie Gallien (“Trix”), Luke Centanni (“Aldolpho”), Sydni Moon (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) and Zachary King (“George”). Photo courtesy of Leigh Leigh Melcher with special thanks to Hotel ZaZa Memorial City.