The Setting: A chaotic, Great Gatsby-esque, flamboyant wedding, in 1928

The Story: A dramatic bride and groom, their party guests, and a sarcastic but passionate narrator.

Following last year’s hit performance of The Addams Family, prepare to be sent to the time of flappers and the Golden Age of Hollywood. This year’s Upper School musical brings you a comedic satire – The Drowsy Chaperone. Written by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, with music by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, this commentary on 1920s theater pokes fun at jazz-era musicals and leaves the audience feeling joyful and nostalgic. Directing her second Bryn Mawr musical is Kelly Cardall, working with music directed and orchestrated by Todd Twining, and choreography by Brooke Berman. 

The main ingredient to a well-made show is having a cast and crew that work hard to create it. That being said, here are a series of interviews with the cast and crew to show the amazing people behind this show.

Get to know the cast, crew, and directors! 

Ms. Cardall- Director

Interviewer: As the director, there are so many different parts to put together and details to pay attention to, so how did you choose what to prioritize and how to organize the overall production of The Drowsy Chaperone? 

Ms. Cardall: It’s really important for me to sit with the script for a while before I start developing a concept and vision for it. I spent time this summer reading and re-reading the script, listening to the music, and considering both the physical space and the community here at Bryn Mawr. At the same time, I leave a lot of ideas open until after casting because I never know exactly how the dynamics will be on stage until I see the actors together in rehearsal. 

Interviewer: Why did you choose The Drowsy Chaperone as the musical? What was the most intriguing quality of this 1920s comedy? 

Ms. Cardall: I felt like we needed a comedy and Golden Age musicals are a blast but are often myopic in their storytelling. Drowsy affectionately makes fun of the shortcomings of classic musical narratives while still celebrating the fun of the genre. I also considered the incredible talent I would be working with and appreciated how many featured roles it had. 

Mr. Twining- Music director

Interviewer: You used to vocally train professional actors to be stage-ready; has teaching students who are aspiring theater actors given you a new perspective on teaching music?

Mr. Twining:  Yes, teaching aspiring actors typically brings an enthusiasm to the music studio where everyone is eager to become the best version of themselves.

Interviewer: What's your favorite part about teaching and directing the music for the musicals?

Mr. Twining: I always seem to learn several things from my students. I am there to teach, and hopefully each one walks away having learned new skills and talents as a result of my participation and pedagogy, but I think as a lifelong learner, my ears are open to see what I can learn from my students as they navigate the many facets of a show.

Interviewer: What's some advice you have for people who might want to learn how to sing and or join the musical?

Mr. Twining: Take vocal lessons where you can immerse yourself in the wonderful world of singing and musical theater! Prepare, and whenever there is an audition, go! You will never know until you try.

Anay Agarwal(Gilman 2023) - Man in Chair

Interviewer: What do you bring to your role? What does your character mean to you?

Anay: I think I bring sarcasm…there’s a lot of sarcasm throughout the show and I think we are alike in that way. He definitely has a lot of anxiety around a lot of things in his life. I definitely get in my head sometimes and that's something I relate to and care about in this character.

Interviewer: Why do you think audiences will enjoy this musical?

Anay: I think it's very personable. I think it’s a unique format that audiences will hopefully gravitate towards. And it's a commentary on stereotypes in old musicals so hopefully, audiences will connect to some of those and find the irony in the show.

Interviewer: What are you most excited for in the show?

Anay: To see how each audience will react. Every night you do it there's a different audience… and there's a different energy in the audience. It’ll definitely be interesting to navigate where the laughs go and where the laughs don’t go. 

Mia Boydston (BMS 2023) - The Drowsy Chaperone

Interviewer: With theater having been such a big part of your life, do you plan on having a career in theater, if so, where and how do you see yourself pursuing that in the next few years?

Mia: I would love to pursue a career in theater; I also understand that it’s a very competitive world, and it might not always be for everyone. So I am attempting to double major when I go to college in both musical theater and music cognition, so I will hopefully after college be able to go to New York and try to audition for Broadway shows.

Interviewer: You are a senior this year, so this is one of your last musicals. What are some takeaways you’ve taken away from all the Upper school musicals you’ve done here in the past years?

Mia: I will say that the biggest takeaway is to get to know your cast. If you don’t have a tight-knit cast, then it’s not as much fun. But if you do, it makes it much better, and much more fun, people can talk….I want to make sure that freshmen come back, and that they enjoy it as much as I do. 

Interviewer: To move onto your actual character; this show does take place in the 1920s-the era of the roaring 20s-and so have you done any research on the roaring 20s and theater productions of that time?

Mia: I have done a little bit of research, much more on the era of that time considering I’m playing the Drowsy Chaperone, and ‘drowsy’ basically means ‘drunk’. So I’ve been doing a lot of research on prohibition, speakeasies, what kind of liquors were very popular at the time, and how they were drunk. 

Jenna (BMS 2025)- Janet Vandegraph

Interviewer: What’s your first musical, favorite musical, and the reason you got into theater?

Jenna: My first musical was Cats at ACT. My favorite musical is Legally Blonde. I always felt a connection to the stage and I found it easy to be confident on the stage… it's helped me grow as a person.

Interviewer: What do you bring to your role? How might you get in character? What does your character mean to you?

Jenna: I use everything that is going on and I take what I’ve seen other people do and I put my own spin on that. And I kinda use a little bit of myself and the competence that I have on stage. Janet means a lot to me because I was in the show when I was twelve and watching our Janet do it made me want to be Janet.

Morgan Fanyo-Tabak (Gilman 2023)- Robert Martin

Interviewer: Describe your character in three words.

Morgan: Attention-seeking jerk

Interviewer: Your character is created to be a caricature of an ideal 1920s man, which is vastly different from how people act in modern-day society. How do you get in character for an exaggerated role like this? Have you based your character off of another character or person you’ve seen? 

Morgan: I actually took inspiration for getting into character from the Great Gatsby. I think that Robert Martin is basically an ignorant version of Gatsby, so it was easy to base movements, expressions, etc. off of that.

Interviewer: What’s something that has challenged you while preparing this production?

Morgan: This is my first time playing a lead, so memorizing lines and learning to project has been a bit of a challenge. 

Interviewer: What is it like juggling the musical and college application?

Morgan: It's not as nightmarish as people make it out to be! For most rehearsals we have time to work, so it takes a lot of stress off of college apps. Of course, when you've been working too much, you can hang out with friends.

Jameson Maumenee (Gilman 2024) - Feldzieg

Interviewer: Was there a reason you got into theater? A first musical?

Jameson: I got into it in third grade, my third grade reasoning was that I wanted to be on the Disney Channel, and I told my mom, and she was like, Oh…well… you got to do theater. So I started doing this theater camp…I had a really fun time and I really enjoyed it.

Interviewer: Why do you think audiences will enjoy this musical?

Jameson: It’s just a fun time. You get to see your friends [performing], and hang out. It’s also a theme in the show too where you just get to forget everything for about 1 or 2 hours.

Patrick Hervy (Gilman 2024) Aldolpho

Interviewer: Last year in the Addams Family, you were a part of the ensemble, but this year you were chosen for one of the leading roles in The Drowsy Chaperone. How has the transition from blending into a group of people to being in a spotlight been for you?

Patrick: I definitely prefer to be in the spotlight, it kind of makes everything easier, surprisingly. You don’t have to worry about being subtle or anything, you can be as extra as you want and people will probably ask for more. And I also will admit that being a lead, you get a surprisingly less amount of scenes than ensemble, which most people don’t realize-ensemble deserves more credit-but I say if anything, it’s kind of easier, but it’s also a lot more pressure. You have to make sure you do it right.

Interviewer: As for the musical itself, why do you think audiences will like this show?

Patrick: I think that audiences will like this show because it’s very light-hearted, very comedic, just generally funny. It is a very basic plot, but that isn’t a bad thing. And it has some very lovable characters that have very unique personalities. It’s fun to watch!

Eli Asiedu(Gilman 2025)-Underling 

Interviewer: What was your first musical, favorite musical, and the reason you got into theater?

Eli: My first musical was Musicville in 5th grade. My favorite musical is Into the Woods. I originally did theater just for something to do after school but then I started talking to new people and it became a new way to socialize. 

Interviewer: What do you bring to your role? How might you get in character? What does your character mean to you?

Eli: I think I play into the sarcasm well. I don't have a special ritual to get into character, I just think about what I think would sound good and then do it. Underling is the perfect counter to everyone else in the musical and I like his energy of just wanting to get things over with and move on.

Idoko Obeya (Gilman 2025)- George 

Interviewer: What's some advice you have for people who might want to join?

Idoko: Just have fun…don't overthink it.

Interviewer: Why do you think audiences will enjoy this musical?

Idoko:How it takes you into another world.

Sophie Gourmand(BMS 2024)-Kitty 

Interviewer: What was your first musical and the reason you got into theater?

Sophie G: The reason I got into theater was solely because of my love for singing. My first musical was Shrek Jr. and I put on an incredible performance as one of the 3 pigs and Duloc dancer #2. From there my love for performing only grew! 

Interviewer: What do you bring to your role? How might you get in character??

Sophie G: To get into character as Kitty, the first thing I have to do is warm up vocally in order to achieve the iconic, nasal voice that she has. Then, to embody her physically, I change my posture, how I stand, how I walk, and how I express myself.

Chandler Prettiman-Watkins (BMS 2024)-Mrs. Tottendale

Interviewer: What was your first musical, favorite musical, and the reason you got into theater?

Chandler: My first official musical was The Addams Family. I really like Hairspray. Music, theater, and being on stage has always been a part of my life. Musicals are kind of just like bringing everything together.

Interviewer:  What's something that has challenged you while preparing this production?

Chandler: I'm supposed to be really old. Navigating how I'm supposed to talk, act, or sing…Even though I’m old I'm still very childish.

Interviewer: What's some advice you have for people who might want to join the musical?

Chandler: Give it your best shot. You don't know how things are going to turn out but just try your best. Also make sure you know your schedule because you don’t want to take on too much and you want to make sure you stay committed.