A local nonprofit community theater group, mad Theatre, will present The Drowsy Chaperone at the Shimberg Playhouse, located at the Straz Center in downtown Tampa, from now through Sunday, October 30. Several members of mad Theatre are local and have long ties with Plant City Entertainment. These include Megan Ziegler, mad Theatre’s music director, and Doug Buffaloe, an actor and director of several Plant City Entertainment productions, including Ruthless.
The Drowsy Chaperone is the winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Original Score. The Drowsy Chaperone is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical, featuring one showstopping song-and-dance number after another.
Buffaloe will be playing Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Justin Batten is the marketing chair for mad Theatre. Batten said, “Hailed by New York magazine as ‘The Perfect Broadway Musical,’ The Drowsy Chaperone is a masterful meta-musical, poking fun at all the tropes that characterize the musical theater genre. The show is a fast-paced, hilarious glimpse of musical theater and promises to lift spirits and produce many laughs.”
The Drowsy Chaperone is directed by Kari Ann Stamatoplos, who said, “The Drowsy Chaperone has something for everyone. If you like musicals, then you will enjoy its nod to the classic musical. If you do not like musicals, then you will appreciate how the show kindly pokes fun at them. The main character (Man in Chair) brings you into his world where his favorite musical comes to life right there in his living room.”
Stamatoplos added, “The Drowsy Chaperone is humorous, poignant and chock-full of strong characters we can identify with or recognize from our own lives. In short, it is just plain fun. It is definitely worth the drive to Tampa for a couple hours of belly laughs and a dose of happiness.”
Batten said, “The Shimberg Playhouse has been our home for years. It is a very intimate theater, where oftentimes the actors are up close and personal and larger than life.”
mad Theatre does three productions a year at the Straz. Batten said, “We have been in the area for more than 20 years and thrive on producing shows that make you think and that push the envelope of creativity.”
For more information and to get tickets, please visit www.strazcenter.org.
