The past two weekends the Iona Players have graced Doorley Auditorium with their performance of The Drowsy Chaperone. With five performances over two weekends, the Players had a demanding schedule to perform at their best every night. The final performance on March 3 possessed as much energy and high spirits as one would expect to see on opening night.

Starting the show off, junior Brian Sears as the Man in Chair immediately got the audience laughing. His comedic timing and interaction with the audience brought the character to life. When a cell phone rang in the audience, he worked it into his lines when his own house phone interrupted the play. At one point something fell down, and Sears commented about the construction going on in his old apartment. Throughout the show, he did not miss a beat. Even when he was not the main focus of the play, he was still in character, getting into the music and the dance moves.

While Sears provided a solid performance throughout, the show was definitely stolen by seniors Brendan Hall and Randall Slaughter. As the two gangsters hired to ruin the wedding, their slapstick comedy and over-the-top Italian stereotypes really made the play feel like it was the 1920’s. Hall’s facial expressions throughout the show were not to be missed. They were contrived and blatant, following the manner of a slapstick comedian. One can go so far as to say that his performance was reminiscent of Michael Keaton’s Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing.

Another strong male in the show was junior P.J. Kokias as Adolpho. The self-proclaimed ladies man flirted with the audience and took any word against his person as a call for revenge, like a true romantic character. Kokias did not just play Adolpho; he became Adolpho on stage. Almost unrecognizable when he first emerged on stage, he held character the entire time and made every action his own. His solo left the audience laughing at the seduction of his egocentrism.

Even though the men stole the show, senior Alex Cammett played the airhead Mrs. Tottendale perfectly. From her voice to the sheer surprise she expressed every time she learned about a wedding, Cammett added to the air of the comedy. Senior Jaimie Grangio as Kitty also put on a good show. Annoying and ditzy, Grangio not only added verbal but physical comedy to her character with the way she followed Mr. Feldzieg around stage.

While the show seemed to have pointless scenes and strange musical numbers, it was a lighthearted and good-humored musical meant to make people smile. The Man in Chair provided perfect commentary that many would normally have while watching such a musical, adding to the humor.

Watching the cast physically skip or jump or shut down when the same actions happened with the record player made it even more realistic that the whole musical was just a record brought to life in one man’s imagination. It was truly a musical within a comedy, reminding viewers that musicals are meant to provide an escape from reality and transport one to another world.