The Tony Award-winning Broadway Musical The Drowsy Chaperone is playing at the Providence Performing Arts Center this week, and it is a must see. Dubbed “A Comedy Within A Musical,” this hilarious play was born as a 40-minute series of songs and scenes called “The Wedding Gift,” performed in honor of Bob Martin and his fiancé Janet Van de Graaff, otherwise known as the two main characters of the show.

The story goes like this: A modern day musical theater addict known simply as “Man in Chair” chases his blues away by dropping the needle on his favorite LP - the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. From the crackle of his hi-fi, the musical magically bursts to life on stage, telling the tale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to get married, her producer who sets out to sabotage the nuptials, her chaperone, the debonair groom, the dizzy chorine, the Latin lover, and a pair of gangsters who double as pastry chefs.

The musical is filled with self-aware corny jokes as well as parodies of offensive stereotypes such as the overconfident Latin lover with no brain as portrayed by Aldolpho, played by James Moye, and a hilarious scene mocking The King and I and the fascination Americans have for Asians: “Message from a Nightingale.” Other comical characters include Mrs. Tottendale, the hostess played by original Broadway cast member Georgia Engel, and the impeccably synchronized Italian gangsters posing as pastry chefs, played by twins Paul and Peter Riopelle.

Nancy Opel is fit to impress as the drunken and cynical Drowsy Chaperone. Her performance is almost at par with Beth Leavel’s Tony-Award winning original portrayal of the eponymous character. Lead actress and bride Andrea Chamberlain is worth seeing if only for her performance of “Show Off” and “Bride’s Lament.”

The choreographies are spectacular, especially in songs “Toledo Surprise” and “Cold Feets,” which showcases a flawless tap dancing routine by Mark Ledbetter and Richard Vida, who play the bridegroom and the best man.

The PPAC stage is a perfectly deserving host for the troupe, whose stage and props are quite impressive and ingenious, given that the whole play unfolds in Man in Chair’s living room.

The only downfall of seeing the show on tour as opposed to Broadway is the lack of a complete orchestra. The company travels with conductor Robert Billig, a percussion set and two keyboards. The rest is left to recordings.

That said, The Drowsy Chaperone closed its doors on Broadway last December, so this may be your last chance to see the show. If you are not usually a fan of musicals, this show might change your mind. It runs for 1 hour 45 minutes without an intermission, and will keep you laughing all night, way past the last curtain call. So bring a date, go solo or take the whole family; there’s fun there for everyone.

Performance times for The Drowsy Chaperone, playing May 6-11, 2008, are as follows:

Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 1pm and 6.30pm. Ticket prices range from $41 to $68, depending on the night and seating arrangement. Tickets for all shows can be purchased at the PPAC Box Office window, online at ppacri.org, or by calling (401)-421-ARTS.

Get your tickets now to experience the 1920s like never before, “iced water*” in hand.

Love from your avid theater-going team,

- Mirage and Nicky G

*”iced water” is the term used in the show to mean pure vodka… courtesy of the Prohibition, of course.

Image courtesy of gubbeh.

Actor Alec Baldwin is thinking about running for political office. At one point Baldwin was interested in politics, but said he was only 39 and all the people who ran the world were in their fifties. A few weeks ago, however, he changed his mind. Baldwin feels he is ready for the public scrutiny and realizes the tact one must use when running for office because he’s learned a lesson about what he says and how it can affect others in the nasty divorce-custody battle with his ex-wife, Kim Basinger.If the terminator can become a politician, why can’t Alec Baldwin?

A small group of people held hands and prayed for lower gas prices today at a Shell station in Washington, DC. The “Pray at the Pump” event follows similar demonstrations in Florida. Participants are planning what they call “a more aggressive effort” at the same gas station on May 22nd, just before the Memorial Day weekend. The event organizer says the prayers will cause gas prices to, in his words, “come falling down just like the walls of Jericho did in the Bible.”People normally pray for salvation, for a sick loved one…now lower gas prices?  C’mon, God’s an important man - he can’t be bothered with such trivial requests.

Paris Hilton has revealed she wants to start a family. The socialite believes she would make a great mom. Why? Because she’s so good with her pets. “I have a lot of beautiful animals that I look after and I feel I would have a lot to give my children,” she tells The Sun.

Paris Hilton, a mom? I wouldn’t trust her with my goldfish.

-Hudson

Reporting for WBRU’s Spotlight Entertainment News team, Duchess digs in to the bottled tea and emotional films at this year’s Newport International Film Festival. Click here to listen.

This piece originally aired on the WBRU Brief, which airs Monday nights at 11. Make sure to tune in to future editions of the Brief for a recap of the week’s headlines, investigative reports and special pieces from our Sports and Entertainment News departments.

Photo of the 2006 Newport International Film Festival, right, licensed under Creative Commons and courtesy Flickr user aavarnum.

A couple of crooks in Maryland tried to get away from authorities in an ice cream truck.

According to the “Washington Post,” the two men stole 500-dollars worth of stuff from a pharmacy and tried to outrun police in a Good Humor truck.

All they had in this truck was soap and shampoo from the pharmacy. If I were a criminal, I would totally steal the ice cream.

–EJ

I think Fall Out Boy and the Roots would be a really bizarre and interesting combo, but after Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump was dropped from the Roots’ most recent album, he’s been feeling a bit jinxed.

I think I would, too, if the Roots just kind of pushed me away. That would get me pretty down.  Well, Stump says in a new blog posting that he’s working as a collaborator on a new album that he’s pretty excited about, but will not reveal what it is for fear of not making the final cut.

It looks like he’s being serious, but that would be a great way to really piss off people if you were just going around saying, “Oh, yeah, I’m working with a super-awesome artist on their new album, but I’m not going to tell you who it is.”

Stump calls himself a pessimist before signing off.

–EJ

Pop quiz: what turned 30 this weekend? 

It’s (e-mail) spam!  …Yeah, not really a birthday that not many people will want to celebrate.

“Spam,” those annoying e-mails that ask you to help out Nigerian princes or enlarge certain parts of your anatomy, turned 30 on Saturday.   The BBC reports the first spam e-mail marketing message was sent on May 3rd in 1978.

Four-hundred people complained when they received the e-mail via a network considered the forerunner of the Internet.  Oh, boo-hoo, 400 people.  It feels like I’m being assaulted by 400 spammers every day. 

Statistics suggest that more than 100-billion junk messages are sent every day.  Holy cow!  Or, rather, holy whatever meat product goes into spam.

–EJ

Nine Inch Nails is continuing to drop details on their upcoming concert run.

After recently posting the single “Discipline” at their website, the group has chosen iLike.com as the platform for another new track, “Echoplex.”

I seriously can’t keep up with these online updates sometimes, but as long as the music is out there, I’ll find it or it’ll find me eventually.

Nine Inch Nails is also talking about opening acts, which is always awesome, except of course for those times when the opening act sucks.

After playing the Pemberton Festival in late July, Crystal Castles will join Trent Reznor and company for a handful of shows. Deerhunter, A Place To Bury Strangers, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, and White Williams will also have turns opening for the band.

DJ Lyra would like to add that she has heard of some of those bands. I wish her the best in being more musically aware than I am. But that’s probably for the best, since she’s, um, a DJ.

–EJ

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like every day there’s some major announcement coming from Radiohead.

I don’t know who’s keeping such close tabs on their life, but now we’re hearing that the band is concerned about the effect their concerts are having on the environment.

They’re saying fans should carpool or take public transportation to shows. That sounds really reasonable to me, since my Hummer can fit like 25 people comfortably.

OK, actually, I’m too cheap to invest in a car. I just walk or take RIPTA everywhere.

–EJ

What was one of the first things your parents taught you when you were little? 

Mine taught me that sharing was important.  Well, now an Ohio man may be going to jail for sharing. 

He was being held in a community corrections program last year and he bought a Little Debbie cake from a vending machine.  Timothy Caudill now may be getting jail time for splitting the oatmeal crème pie with a man who was on restriction and wasn’t allowed access to snacks.  

Prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke his probation and put him in prison for nine months.  Nine months!  I think the moral of this story is clearly “Never share anything with anyone.”  Parents!  Pfft!  What do they know?

–EJ

Everclear frontman Art Alexakis has announced he won’t be a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. He was a delegate in 2004 and has decided one year is enough.

The funny thing is, four years ago he says he went in anticipating “fist fights on the floor over delegates.” Ironically, that may actually happen this year. Check out this (slightly pro-Obama) YouTube video from before the Pennsylvania primaries.

–EJ