Green Valley School presents The Drowsy Chaperone

Potential audience members would do well to buy their tickets now, as Green Valley School prepares to host The Drowsy Chaperone, a musical filled with nostalgia and plenty of laughs.

The cast has been preparing for the three shows that will be hosted on May 1 and 2.

“The story concerns a musical theatre fan who, feeling blue, decides to play for the audience an LP of her favourite musical, the fictional 1928 show The Drowsy Chaperone,” a synopsis states. “As the record plays, the show – a parody of 1920s American musical comedy – comes to life onstage, as she wryly comments on the music, story and actors.”

“Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, four gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and a befuddled chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight.”

Kevin Hiebert, one of four directors for the school’s first production since the 2023 production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory said the idea is to have a narrator sharing something personal with the audience,

“We’ve all had occasions where we have something that’s special to us, that we want to share with somebody,” he said. “We don’t know how they’re going to react, and we hope they love it the same way we do and that’s kind of the premise of the play.”

Hiebert said the musical is lighthearted, includes infectious songs and lots of dancing, choreography and laughs.

The cast is made up of more than 20 Green Valley School students, most of them in Grade 9 to 12, though a few Grade 8 students are included.

Hiebert said the process has been exciting.

“They’ve been great to work with,” he said. “They put in a ton of hard work.”

Meet the cast

Students playing some of the major roles took time on Tuesday to discuss the musical on stage while dressing the part.

Brooke Peters has the role of narrator; a character she says is in her own world enjoying the record and trying to get others to enjoy it with her.

“I get to be an energetic goofball the whole time,” she said, adding that is already “pretty much” her personality.

Preston Leurquin plays Gangster 1, a man hired to stop the wedding while disguised as a pastry chef.

Leurquin said he loves the role.

“I get to walk around all confidently and push people aside,” he said. “I’m a gangster. I can do whatever I want you know.”

Calleigh Reimer plays Trix, a pilot who appears in the production early and comes back to save the day later on. But Reimer said she makes an impression.

“I’m pretty outgoing,” she said of her character. “I’m very bold because back then they really didn’t have female pilots.”

Thayne Dawydiuk plays Robert Martin, the son of an oil industry CEO who makes his father’s oil interests his entire personality.

He meets a glamorous showgirl and proposes to her within 10 minutes.

“It was a bit difficult to get into the personality of someone that confident in the beginning,” he said.

Kailee Wiens plays Janet van de Graaff, the glamourous showgirl planning to step away from the spotlight for the married life, though she admits her character is more interested in the oil money than the character of Robert Martin.

“I’m like the centre of all attention,” she said. “I’m famous and I want all the attention.” While she plans to quit the stage life, her producer wants her to stay.

Adam Klassen plays Aldolpho, a suave personality who fancies himself a ladies’ man.

“This was a little outside the box for me,” he admitted. “It took a little while to get the confidence to walk and talk like that.”

Melissa Falk plays the drowsy chaperone which is Janet van der Graaff’s chaperone.

“I’m supposed to keep an eye on her,” she said. “But I’m not really paying attention.”

A fondness for alcohol and jealousy that she no longer is in the spotlight helps round out the character.

“It’s a really fun role to play,” she said. “I really enjoy it.”

The cast agreed the experience in preparing for the musical has been challenging but enjoyable, and they’re confident the audience will like it as well.

“I just think it’s really comedic,” Falk said.

“It was really difficult for us to get into our characters but once we did, we just stuck with them,” Reimer added.

The Drowsy Chaperone will play on May 1 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tickets for rush seating cost $10.

Two dessert theatres with a limited number of tickets will be held at 7 p.m. on May 1 and 2. Tickets cost $15 for those shows.

Tickets can be purchased at Green Valley School office in person or over the phone.