California Chronicle Talks THE DROWSY CHAPERONE with Jay Douglas

While many actors aspire to direct, few ever achieve fame in both disciplines.  The Drowsy Chaperone's Jay Douglas, however, is one exception.  He performed six roles in the production on Broadway during it's 2006 - 2007 run, including the lead Man in Chair, and at one point served as the show's dance captain. 

When the second national tour of the production launched last year, he was, for producers, an natural choice for a director.  The tour opens Friday, January 1 at the RiverPark Center in Kentucky as part of the BB&T Broadway at the RiverPark series.

In a recent Q & A with the California Chronicle, Douglas discusses his new stint and what it feels like to be a genuine actor-director.  Says Douglas: "To say one of the most cliche things an actor can say, I've always wanted to direct. This was such a perfect way for me to get my feet wet doing it. Aside from that, I do just love the show. It's a very special show to me. I knew that it would be a lot of fun to direct."

"I do love performing, don't get me wrong," Douglas said. But "there is much more of a feeling of artistic control on this end (that) you don't get as an actor."

To read the full profile on Douglas in the California Chronicle, click here.

The Drowsy Chaperone features a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on May 1, 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old musicals written by friends for the wedding of Martin and his wife, Janet. The show has had major productions in Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, London, and Japan, as well as two North American tours.

In The Drowsy Chaperone, to chase his blues away, a modern day musical theatre addict known simply as "Man in Chair" drops the needle on his favorite LP -- the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. From the crackle of his hi-fi, the uproariously funny 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. Man in Chair's infectious love of The Drowsy Chaperone speaks to anyone who has ever been transported by the theater.

The Drowsy Chaperone play at 7 p.m. Friday at the RiverPark Center. Tickets cost $47 and $38. Student rush tickets are available one-hour prior to the show for $20 with student ID. For more information, visit www.riverparkcenter.org.

For more information on the tour and to purchase tour tickets, visit www.drowsychaperoneontour.com.

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