‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ gives theatergoers two shows in one

Super Summer Theatre's latest show, "The Drowsy Chaperone," takes audiences back to a 1928 musical for a comedic spin through time.

"To me, it's the sound of a time machine starting up," the play's narrator recites in the first few lines of the production.

The show opens Wednesday at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It starts at 8 p.m. every Wednesday through Saturday until July 30.

"The Drowsy Chaperone" won the most 2006 Tony Awards of any musical on Broadway.

The play is a show within a show, where a diehard musical fan listens to the hit "The Drowsy Chaperone" and is transported to that performance. The fan, known as the Man in the Chair, adds his own quips to the musical as he dips in and out of the fantasy being performed in his living room.

That comedic plot centers around a producer losing his leading lady when she decides to leave the limelight to get married. The producer must stop the wedding or risk being killed by "lov able, dancing thugs," said 37-year-old Joe Hynes, who plays the producer, Feldzieg.

"It's a good, old-fashioned time of musical theater," Hynes said. "It's a fun, cheesy romp. But I think it's the good kind of cheesy."

The volunteer cast said the biggest challenge came in keeping track of how to play characters that are essentially characters in another show.

"I think the show is brilliant because it's basically a show within a show," said 31-year-old Ayler Evan, who plays Adolpho. "The difficult part is it's like we're playing two people at the same time."

Evan said his character, who has a goal to kiss every woman in the world, brings much of the humor to the set because "he's a self-proclaimed ladies man and world-class alcoholic."

"It's a strange mix of slightly racy material and family entertainment," he said.

Contact Southwest and Spring Valley View reporter Jessica Fryman at jfryman@viewnews.com or 380-4535.