![]() ![]() Those purists also sniffed that Jersey Boys was essentially an all-male (and white) Dreamgirls, which was loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes, and therefore lacked originality. Thus a show that people liked became a show that people objected to on principle. While Jersey Boys was an enjoyable jukebox musical, it was still a jukebox musical, which is a lower form of musical theater disdained by purists. Then The Drowsy Chaperone came along, aroused the nostalgia of Broadwaygoers, and suddenly there was a backlash. Jersey Boys not only became the hit of that season, but many people felt that it broke the mold of the jukebox musical by telling the true story behind the music as opposed to a made up story centered around a music catalogue. ![]() So a lot of critics went into Jersey Boys expecting to hate it like they did with previous jukebox musicals, but they came out of the August Wilson Theatre pleasantly surprised. Yet, the shows that came after that such as Good Vibrations, All Shook Up, and Lennon had failed. Ever since Mamma Mia! became the hit that it was, producers were trying to cash in on it by creating their own jukebox musicals. When the latter show first came to Broadway earlier in the fall, there wasn’t a whole lot of anticipation for it. Why Didn’t The Drowsy Chaperone Win?: According to the New York Times' survey that year, the race for Best Musical between The Drowsy Chaperone and Jersey Boys was a complicated one. The Drowsy Chaperone had the benefit of being the only original musical of that season, and not an adaptation of any pre-existing source material. Yet, despite winning the most awards of the night on the musical side, it still couldn't overcome the smash hit of the season that was. Going into the Tonys that year, industry insiders and voters were all over the place with their predictions/votes. The production received 13 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Bob Martin), Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Danny Burstein), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Beth Leavel)*, Best Direction of a Musical (Casey Nicholaw), Best Book of a Musical (Bob Martin & Don McKellar)*, Best Original Score (Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison)*, Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw), Best Orchestrations (Larry Blank), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Ken Billington & Brian Monahan), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (David Gallo)*, and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes)*. Tottendale, Edward Hibbert as Underlining, Lenny Wolpe as Feldzieg, Jennifer Smith as Kitty, Kecia Lewis-Evans as Trix, Jason Kravitz as Gangster #1, and Garth Kravitz as Gangster #2. Martin then collaborated with McKellar on the book to create a full-length musical, including a central lead who served as a narrator known as The Man in the Chair.Īfter having gone through so many iterations, The Drowsy Chaperone finally came to Broadway with very little buzz, opening at the Marquis Theatre on May 1st, 2006. The original cast included Bob Martin as The Man in the Chair, Sutton Foster as Janet van de Graaff, Beth Leavel as The Drowsy Chaperone, Danny Burstein as Aldolpho, Troy Britton Johnson as Robert Martin, Eddie Korbich as George, Georgia Engel as Mrs. They loved it so much, that they knew they had to do something with the material. The musical itself began in 1997 when Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison, and several friends created a spoof of old musicals for the stag party of Bob Martin and Janet van de Graaf. As he plays the record of his favorite musical, the (fictional) 1928 hit The Drowsy Chaperone, the show comes to life onstage as he wryly comments on the music, story, and actors. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theatre fan. ![]() The Drowsy Chaperone is a parody of American musical comedies of the 1920s. ![]()
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