A Note from the Director
The tagline for The Drowsy Chaperone is “A musical within a comedy.” This particular production you are about to enjoy should have the tagline “A musical within a comedy within a global pandemic...” To say the deck was stacked against us would be “a grotesque understatement,” as our Man in Chair is known to say. I cannot begin to express how immensely proud I am of our flexible yet resilient cast, crew, their families, and the Leffell faculty and staff. To name just a few of the obstacles they have had to overcome - our initial plan for a production was nixed because we couldn’t obtain the rights, our community suffered an immensely tragic loss which hit particularly close to home for many members of our cast and crew, our rehearsal and performance space changed campuses from the Upper School Black Box Theater to the Lower School Auditorium, our original performances were postponed due to COVID in the community, rehearsal times were extended at the last minute to squeeze in as much practice time as possible, the entire backstage area flooded during our dress rehearsal, “and another thing… AND ANOTHER THING!” (another quote from the Man in Chair!)
And yet, somehow through all that, we have managed to put together what I think is a hugely impressive, funny, charming, delightful production. Even after dozens of rehearsals and run-throughs, I still laugh at the same jokes I’ve heard over and over. That’s how good these actors are. They bring a freshness and wonderful sense of humor to each role, and it is obvious how much fun they are having on stage. We are so thrilled to be able to welcome a live audience to our performances, and we so appreciate everyone else watching the livestreams at home. Thank you all for keeping the theatre alive during these troubling times. I hope you enjoy watching the show as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Special thanks to my wife and son for allowing me to be an absent husband and father for the last few months, I can’t wait to actually come home after school next week! Thank you to my incredible choreographer / assistant director / fellow kindergarten teacher Sarah Ferbank for taking the reins on so many tasks and truly going above and beyond. Thanks as well to Ariana Tullai, Josh Ehrlich, and Jerry Goldman for all of their help behind the scenes. Finally, thank you to Ana and the entire crew. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed, and I hope you know how truly grateful I am. You made my job easier and a lot more fun, and this show could not have gone on without all of you.
And now… “the curtain is going up, I can’t wait!!”
With gratitude,
Zak Ferentz
