ITOPA presents The Drowsy Chaperone – first musical in a long time for theatre

ITOPA’s first musical in several years, Tony-award-winning The Drowsy Chaperone, will take the stage from May 29 to June 7. Pictured from left to right: Becky Tanton, Mike Crabbe, Alison Enns, Briar Tanton, James Callaghan, Roderick Spence, Adrienne Enns, Glen McCann, Tanya Thompson, David Cueller, Tracey Price, Dana Fobert and Jacob Larmour. (Emily Stewart photo)

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

The Ingersoll Theatre of Performing Arts (ITOPA) will be presenting its first musical in years.

ITOPA’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone, a five-time Tony Award-winning musical, will run from May 29 to June 7. As a man in a chair listens to his favourite record, a cast recording of a 1928 musical, dynamic characters like an intoxicated chaperone, two gangsters masquerading as pastry chefs, a hostess who isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, two lovers on the eve of their wedding night, and a bumbling best man create an eccentric evening.

“It's a funny comedy. I think generally anyone, whether you're a fan of musicals or not, you'll still enjoy the story and the laughter,” said director Joey Larmour.

The Drowsy Chaperone is the first musical presented by ITOPA in several years. Larmour told the board he was interested in directing a musical and that it would be worth running for the community involvement. The production team has familiar faces in the Oxford County theatre scene, including Lara Larmour as choreographer, Andrew Russo as musical director, Kim Di Lello as stage manager, and Adam Tanton as producer.

The show’s sponsor, PB’s French Fries, is sponsoring ITOPA for the first time.

"That's just a nice little way of expanding the community a little bit, making sure that people know that there is a theatre here,” Larmour said.

In 2025, Larmour directed the successful Theatre Woodstock production of Cabaret. He enjoys the passion from the dedicated volunteers in all aspects of community theatre, whether that’s on-stage, behind-the-scenes, or as a board member.

"Everyone has the sole goal of putting on a good show and entertaining people for a couple of hours and the people who are involved with that are typically very good people,” he said.

Details

The Drowsy Chaperone

Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison Book by Bob Martin & Don McKellar

Original Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone produced by Kevin McCollum, Roy Miller, Bob Boyett, Stephanie McClelland, Barbara Freitag and Jill Furman

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and matinee performances at 2 p.m., with doors opening half an hour prior. Tickets for The Drowsy Chaperone are $26 for adults, $24 for seniors, $22 for students 12 years old and older and $10 for students under 12 years old and can be purchased by calling 519-485-3070 or online at www.itopa.ca.