Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...I think this version of “Drowsy” belongs to Harms. He doesn't come with Martin's honed sense of comic timing, perhaps, but the sincere and wholly invested Harms inhabits this role in a remarkably truthful and lovable fashion and thus gives this warm-hearted piece a much stronger emotional center. Robin uses this to great effect in his original and quite moving take on the finale, which sends Man in Chair to a kind of musical-theater heaven, looking down, no doubt, on Andrew Lloyd Webber in hell."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...At once utterly ingenious and completely inane in the manner of most 1920s musicals devised as escapist entertainment, the show is part farce, part stylish spoof, part dance extravaganza and part edgy commentary. And at the Marriott Theatre, where it is receiving its first Chicago-made production, it remains a surprise-filled package, with in-the-round direction and choreography by Marc Robin (that rare dual talent able to compete with the show's original overseer, Casey Nicholaw) and musical direction by Doug Peck."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Director/choreographer Marc Robin and a cast chock-full of formidable triple-threat talent see to it. James Harms is delightfully breathless as the stage-worshiping Man in Chair, Adam Pelty channels his inner Hank Azaria as a Latin lover, and Andy Lupp just plain taps incredibly well."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...With The Drowsy Chaperone, director/choreographer Marc Robin shows once again why he is the master of re-conceiving proscenium shows into the Marriott's challenging theater-in-the-round space. So what if Robin drags out the show by shoehorning in an intermission and aggrandizing the tap dance sequences? Musical comedy fans will be in heaven by all the dancing dexterity of Tyler Hanes as the groom Robert Martin and Andrew Lupp as his best man."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Accomplished song-and-dance master Marc Robin once again has directed and choreographed a fast-paced, toe-tapping pastiche of Busby Berkeley spectacle, crazy, unforgettable characters, hummable tunes, sparkling costumes, acrobatics and spit-takes. The entire cast is stellar, from Paula Scrofano and Gene Weygandt as the ditzy Mrs. Tottendale and her uptight butler Underling, to Tari Kelly and Tyler Hanes as the multitalented starlet and her handsome fiancé (both supremely talented crooners and tappers). As the title diva, Broadway's Linda Balgord masterfully and hilariously "Stumbles Along" while drinking everything in sight. Andrew Lupp and Adrian and Alexander Aguilar practically tap their shoes off as Best Man George and a pair of gangster chefs. Adam Pelty evokes most of the night's laughter as Aldolpho, the lithe, laughable Latin lover, and Melody Betts brings down the house with her big eleventh hour "I Do I Do In the Sky," complete with an airplane that assembles right before your eyes."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Director-choreographer Robin has mounted a highly stylized musical imbued with elongated tap numbers and walloping vocals. Yet what the production abounds in pizzazz it wants in cerebral substance, a staple of Martin’s original rendering that positioned it to win Tony awards for both book and score (a showtune limned throwback by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison) as well as a sustained resonance with viewers. Robin’s staging too often engenders farce in place of the book’s reverent and implicit satire. Schmaltzy gags and gimmicks have always found home in “Chaperone” (it is a fete of 1920s flap, after all), but the insight regarding musicals’ position in collective culture requires primary focus."
7DAYS - Highly Recommended
"...For those of us who adore and love the old Broadway musicals, I am sure that you have had those moments where you put on one of your favorites and relived the experience of these characters in your own living room. Who better to bring this character to life than veteran actor James Harms, who brings that spark of reality to this faux musical within a play. At this point I must tell you that when this show came in town as a touring show with all the glitzy sets on a regular stage, it was cute, but under the direction and choreography of genius Marc Robin on the "in the round" stage at the Marriott, I developed a greater affection for this play and the characters. Bob Martin and Don McKellar (book) and Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (music and lyrics) would have to be very proud of this production."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...There are a few surprises as this clever show keeps the laughs coming. You’d be hard pressed to see a finer sung, danced and staged musical. The lovable Jim Harms offers the winningly honest framework and loads of wit as Man in Chair. We grow to love this show as much as he does. The show was glorious entertainment proving that musicals are much more than a name—this Drowsy Chaperone is wonderful. Marc Robin’s choreography and staging is first class. Nancy Missimi’s costumes are vividly splendid and Doug Peck’s musical direction captured the 20’s Jazz Era style to perfection. Patti Garwood’s orchestra sounded terrific. Don’t let the name fool you – The Drowsy Chaperone is a new, smart Broadway musical in the classical 1920’s style. It is a treasure of high comedy and stylish song and dance. You’ll love it. Kudos to Marc Robin and the creative team at Marriott Theatre for mounting such a fine show. Don’t miss it!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...I laughed quite a lot with this show, perhaps because I could identify with it but also because the quips and jokes by authors Bob Martin and Don McKellar are really funny. I know that several Chicago area suburban theatres have already jumped at the chance to include "Drowsy" in their upcoming lineups now that the rights have become available, but I offer this review as a warning. The Marriott's production will be a tough one to follow and virtually impossible to top."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...The Drowsy Chaperone an intelligent musical that builds on the foundations of the genre while paying tribute to the work that has come before it. Those kinds of musicals are hard to find. It’s easier to turn a movie into a musical, or take a Billboard artist’s discography and add a plot. Marriott’s production is a journey to another world, and even if we have to watch from the sidelines, the view is great."
