Trent Boyum, who normally works behind the scenes at the Minnetonka Art Center, takes on the main role of The Man in the Chair in 'The Drowsy Chaperone'.
‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
Who: Minnetonka Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. July 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 and Aug. 5, 6, 7; 1 p.m. July 25 and Aug. 4
Where: Arts Center on 7 Main Stage, Minnetonka High School campus, 18285 Highway 7.
Tickets: $17 for adults, $14 for seniors and $12 for youth
Reservations: Call 952-401-5898 or visit www.minnetonkatheatre.com
By Ed Huyck Reporter
You know the cliché about books and covers? It can apply to Broadway musicals as well, especially one with a title like "The Drowsy Chaperone."
"I see every musical that comes to town, but my friends had to beg me to see it," said Trent Boyum. "I said that I wasn't sure I wanted to see a show called 'The Drowsy Chaperone.' They told me 'this show is you.' I bought a rush ticket on closing night. Within five minutes, I thought, 'this is probably my all-time favorite musical.'"
Local audiences can judge for themselves starting this weekend, as the Minnetonka Theatre presents the musical at the Art Center on 7.
Boyum, who normally works behind the scenes at the art center, takes on the main role of The Man in the Chair. Greta Grosch, star of "Church Basement Ladies" and last year's lead in Minnetonka Theatre's "Hello Dolly" plays the title role.
"It's just been a joyful show to work on," says R. Kent Knutson, the show's director. "The show grabs your heart and after it's done, you realize it has the perfect title."
The 90-minute one-act musical is set up as a show within a show. The Man in the Chair is feeling blue one day, so he puts on a recording of his favorite show, a 1920s confection called "The Drowsy Chaperone."
From there, the old musical plays itself out in his apartment - complete with commentary from the character.
"It's an ode to musicals," Knutson said. "If you love musicals, you will see it as a loving parody. Every joke in it connects for those who love the theater. If you hate them, you'll think it's a sarcastic piece."
The show-within-the-show takes its cues from a number of hit musicals from the 1920s and 1930s and features music that evokes the classic works of Cole Porter and George Gershwin.
Meanwhile, some of the comedy routines "come right off the vaudeville stage," Knutson said.
The Minnetonka production is the first local one for the Tony-Award-winning show, which brought out a number of professional actors to auditions. That was also aided by the addition of Ivey-Award-winning choreographer Michael Matthew Ferrell.
"We were lucky with casting. The actors in the Twin Cities know and love this show," Boyum said.
For Boyum, this is the first time he has acted in 15 years, as he turned to directing while in college ("I took a class and it was the first 'A' I ever got," he said). "It's a huge role. I really don't sing, but I drive the show."
"When I saw the show, I said 'that's Trent.' [The Man in the Chair] is somebody who loves the theater, loves the people in the theater and loves the people who come to the theater. I see Trent doing that all the time here. He just makes people feel good about themselves," Knutson said.
Feeling good for an evening is, in the end, what 'The Drowsy Chaperone' is all about.
"It takes you away from the horrors of your life. You get to escape from them for an evening. And that's absolutely something we need this summer," Knutson said.
