Youth Production of Broadway Favorite Comes to Santa Barbara’s Luke

Lights Up! Theatre Company, an organization that puts Santa Barbara’s youth and high school–aged performers on stage, is producing the outrageous musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. In this Broadway favorite, a lonely theater fan listens to their recording of the (fictional) musical The Drowsy Chaperone to feel better about a messy breakup. The musical comes alive onstage, and the audience shares in the slapstick joys of the show.

“The play is essentially a musical within a comedy,” says Director Amy Love. “It’s such a bubbly, effervescent show, but it also has a dramatic undertone that people find very touching. We’ve all experienced being isolated and having a rough patch. This is an illustration of someone going through that right now on stage, and the only thing that gives this person comfort is putting themselves in a fantasy world, this beautiful musical comedy.”

The Drowsy Chaperone runs January 26-28 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre and features the company’s older, more advanced group of performers, including high school seniors Noah Olorian, Sofia Rakowski, Kyle Fitton, and Vera Sieck. Expect a funny, spoofy musical with all the trappings of the roaring ’20s, including gangsters, flappers, and the Charleston. “Whenever you’re handling melodrama or campiness,” says Love, “you have to hit it just right. That’s a sophistication level with this show that has been a challenge, but they [the cast] are getting it; they’re totally understanding the tone that it has to strike.”

This is Lights Up! Theatre Company’s fifth year of productions in Santa Barbara. Beyond the opportunity to perform, the company also offers classes that hone theater skills, including singing, dancing, and improv.

For more information, visit lightsupsb.com.

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