Queasy Chaperone

My friend Paul from Queasy, Mass. blew through town early this week and we cadged half-price tickets (on him) to Drowsy Chaperone. Paul is a lot more forgiving than I am as far as musical theater goes and his one-word reaction/review was “cute.” I have trouble keeping things that simple but if limited to one word I would go along with that except, for me, maybe “non-offensive” might be a better choice (do hyphens count?). As a spoof it was certainly head and shoulders better than Xanadu but not quite as good as Curtains. Chaperone has been on the boards for a couple of years now but it probably would have gotten the same monosyllabic reaction from us if we had gone to opening night (it did garner several Tony awards although I can’t remember which ones). As in Curtains, and others, you just can’t beat the happy dancin’ feet of a Broadway show although, egad, one cast member in Chaperone did a roller skating bit. I’m going to start putting roller skates up there with revolving stages as a revoltin’ development in modern theater.

We also had pre-theater dinner (I do love expense-account dining) at a nifty place called Etcetera, Etcetera on West 44th. Cool and pricey with a short, but choice, menu and I love the food and the place if only for the Maker’s Mark manhattans (perfectly served). Right next door is a joint called The Bull Moose Saloon, the polar opposite of Etcetera, Etcetera. Maybe next time we can wear jeans and a lumberjack shirt and have, mmm, ribs and a Bud at the Moose.