press release
The Uproarious Comedy The Drowsy Chaperone Opens at the Ogunquit Playhouse June 9
For Immediate Release:
May 21, 2010
Be transported to a magical, wonderful world in the season opener, The Drowsy Chaperone, on stage June 9 through June 26, 2010 at the Ogunquit Playhouse. This new musical comedy was the darling of the Tony Awards, winning the most statues in 2006, including Best Sets and Costumes - the very same sets and costumes will be featured in the Ogunquit Production! This uproarious musical is starring Bravo’s top-rated star, Carson Kressley as the Man in Chair, alongside Georgia Engel, Georgette from the smash TV hit “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Engel is reprising the role of Mrs. Tottendale, the role she created for the original Broadway production. Broadway veteran Liz Larsen also joins the cast as The Drowsy Chaperone.
This show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical fan, Kressley, imagines performers coming to life in his shabby apartment whenever he plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 hit called "The Drowsy Chaperone." Throughout the performance the musical bursts to life as the Man in Chair continuously brings the audience in and out of the fantasy. Audiences are instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast and the audience soaring into the rafters.
Helming the Ogunquit production as Director is Casey Hushionwho worked under Casey Nicholaw on the original Broadway show. Among her many Broadway and national credits, she is the Assistant Director of In The Heights, winner of 4 Tony Awards including Best Musical, for both the Broadway and the National Tour. Casey is currently the Associate Director of the Broadway workshop of Elf and recently worked as Associate Director of the new musical Minsky’s at the Ahmanson Theatre. She is also currently the Artistic Director of the North Carolina theatre.
Carson Kressley is probably best known for his Emmy Award winning work on the breakout Bravo network hit, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" as well as for hosting Lifetime's highest rated and critically acclaimed reality show, "How to Look Good Naked."
Georgia Engel is best known to audiences as Georgette Baxter from the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” for which she received two Emmy nominations. Georgia launched her theatrical career playing Minnie Fay in Hello, Dolly! with Ethel Merman and has gone on to a very successful Broadway and Television career. In addition to “MTM” she starred in four more television series, most notably as Shirley Burleigh in the ABC comedy, “Coach.”
Liz Larsen was last seen in Ogunquit as Miss Adelaide in the smash hit Guys and Dolls. This Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominated actress has appeared in many Broadway productions including Damn Yankees, A Little Night Music and Fiddler on the Roof. Her television appearances include “Law and Order, Special Victims Unit,” “Third Watch,” “Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.”
The Ogunquit Playhouse season continues with The Sound of Music, starring Rex Smith, June 30 through July 24; Sunset Boulevard, July 28 through August 14; Monty Python's Spamalot, August 18 through September 11; Chicago, wraps up the Playhouse season, September 15 through October 24 featuring Sally Struthers in the roll of Matron “Mama” Morton.