UW-River Falls to present “The Drowsy Chaperone” April 9-12

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Music and Stage and Screen Arts Department will present the Tony Award-winning musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a delightful love letter to the glitzy, goofy musicals of the roaring twenties, April 9-12. Performances will be held in the Blanche Davis Theatre, Kleinpell Fine Arts, 420 E. Cascade Ave., River Falls. 

A diehard musical theatre fan longing for a bit of escape drops the needle on his favorite record – the cast album of a fictitious 1928 musical. As the music begins, his apartment magically transforms and the show bursts to life around him.  

What follows is a whirlwind of madcap fun filled with classic vaudeville-style characters: two lovers on the brink of their wedding, a bumbling best man, an anxious producer, a charmingly dimwitted heiress, two lovable comic gangsters and of course, an irrepressibly inebriated chaperone. Together, they create an evening of irresistible charm, laughter and pure musical joy.  

The production, a collaboration between the music and the stage and screen arts programs, features UWRF students and is led by UWRF faculty director Kathy Welch, vocal coach Momoko Tanno and scenic and lighting designer Kyle Gettelman. 

Performances are slated each night, Thursday, April 9, through Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. Matinees will also be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12.  

Cast members include:  

• Ryan S. Bartley  
• Lucy Curtis  
• Eric Allen   
• Evan Gudmunsen  
• Jack Sonnek  
• Maxwell Labriola  
• Sadie Dorau  
• Michael Kerr  
• Kevin Davis  
• Ali McCloud  
• Mary Rother  
• Emerson Fahey  
• Chloe Skille  
• Angela Siedschlag  
• Ash Skinner   
• Rex Weyers  
• Kar Anderson  
• Alana Forliti  
• Natasha Swatzini  
• Jahnua Sabr  
• Austen Bond  
• Rex Weyers  
• Praneeth Bolukonda  
• Aspen Snyder  

Tickets are available through the UWRF box office one hour before show time or online at uwrfmusasa.vbotickets.com/events. 

Photo: The UW-River Falls Music and Stage and Screen Arts Department will present the musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” April 9-12. From left, cast members Evan Gudmunsen, Emerson Fahey and Mary Rother.