So color me, like, totally surprised. Free tickets to “The Drowsy Chaperone” were dropped into my hands by an unsuspecting PR agent. I say unsuspecting because I don’t do theater (I’m more of a film person), and I REALLY don’t do musical theater. But, there I was anyway, with a hangover and a dodgy neck and in no mood for prancing and dancing. But, the show is on at the Novello, which is literally right around the corner from my flat, so I had no excuse not to go.

The house was packed, and from the moment the lights went down (for that’s when the show starts) to the moment the curtain went down, I was transported to a magical happy world…which, by the way, is the whole point of musical theater as the “Man in Chair” (played by Bob Martin) reminds us.

The play opens in the dumpy old flat of “Man in Chair,” who tells us that he’s blue. And when he’s blue, he likes to listen to his old musical theater records. His favorite being “The Drowsy Chaperone.” He puts on the record, and the players spring into action as his flat is transformed into glamor and glitter and farcical love. The stage design was amazing, the costumes luscious and the directing and acting was top notch.

My friend, Cecilia, said “It will be good for the summer tourists.” But as a “local,” I must say that I really enjoyed it. It does just what it says on the box: “You can be in the worst mood ever. If you come see ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ a hundred minutes later, you are transported, and you just feel better about the world.”

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