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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

'The Drowsy Chaperone' comes to Ruth N. Halls Theatre

entdrowsychaperone

“The Drowsy Chaperone” premiere is the last performance for the the former head of the BFA in Musical Theater.

George Pinney, a 2001 Tony nominee and Emmy winner, retired earlier this year after 10 years of his head position and altogether 30 years at IU.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a musical within a musical. It is the story of the unnamed Man in Chair, played by Pinney, as he listens to the record of his favorite fictional musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” The musical comes to life in his apartment, and the Man in Chair does a running commentary on the performance.

The musical is being put on by the IU theater department, and the cast is made up of both faculty and students.

Juniors Claire Logan and Ryan Sandy play two of the main characters. Logan plays Janet Van de Graaf, a 1920s starlet who is leaving the stage to be married. Sandy plays Underling, an older dry-humored butler.

Every actor has a different process for becoming the character they are portraying. For Logan, it comes down to a lot of research especially for period pieces such as “The Drowsy Chaperone” and practicing the scenes until it is no longer just memorization, instead becoming a process of response..

To connect with Janet, Logan has to portray a character that is trying to decide between following her dreams and continuing with stardom or marrying the love of her life.

“That struggle is always there for people,” Logan said. “Your passion versus your personal life – they can really conflict. That’s where I empathize with Janet.”

Sandy said he likes to go through the script thoroughly to make sure he picks up every detail he wants to bring out in the character.

“I liked to think about what my characters do when they’re offstage,” Sandy said. “I think that always helps to get an idea of, like, the real person rather than the little glimpses.”

With the character Underling, Sandy said he had difficulty connecting with the older negative man until a friend advised him to find moments to be shady and that was when it clicked for him.

“I try to get in touch with my sassy side and my negative side,” Sandy said.

Pinney said that “The Drowsy Chaperone” meant a lot to him as his final show.

“A lot of the things the Man in the Chair says come out of me,” Pinney said. “The nature of the material is very close and innocuous to my retirement and my passion for theater and my passion for my students.”

Logan and Sandy both said they were excited to work with Pinney and sad to see him go.

“Working with George has been enlightening,” Logan said. “He’s a great role model in terms of preparation and work ethic and making sure you know what you’re doing on stage.”

Logan said it has been amazing to work with Pinney who has been supporting and teaching her for three years.

“Closing night when that finale comes on it’s probably going to trigger some things for all of us,” Logan said. “We do all feel a connection with George. He’s the reason why we’re here. He’s the reason we’re studying what we love.”

Pinney was the first person Sandy talked to upon deciding to attend IU for musical theater.

“We all have a profound respect for George,” Sandy said.

Pinney said if he were to go back in time, he would only be tempted to change little things, but overall he is extremely proud of his career. He said he is very thankful for his time at IU.

“Being a research institution they really understand how to support a professor’s career,” Pinney said. “A lot of that is through the support of IU understanding that the profession and the education must go together.”

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