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| Madeleine Bien (left, kneeling) is part of the talented ensemble that plays multiple roles in The Drowsy Chaperone PHOTO: Jan Cartwright |
The Drowsy Chaperone is a show-within-a-show
narrated by an unnamed man in a chair who takes the audience back in time has
he recalls his favorite 1920s musical entitled – you guessed it – The Drowsy Chaperone. The Farmington Players production
of Drowsy runs April 26 – May 18 at
the Barn Theater.
Like many musicals, Drowsy involves larger than life lead
characters and a small ensemble that sings, dances, and portrays multiple
supporting roles. In the Barn’s
production, ensemble member Madeleine Bien plays such diverse characters as a
maid, a monkey, and an aviatrix's assistant. As Madeleine says, “Since the characters are already
inherently different, it's pretty easy to jump from one to the other.”
In Drowsy, one of the lead
characters Janet is struggling to decide whether she wants to leave the stage
with all its fame and fortune for a husband she just met. She even loses her
mind over it at one point in the show. Madeleine can relate to certain aspects
of this struggle. As she says, “It's
extremely relatable for me as I've often considered the very same thing,
whether I wanted to make a career out of my passion for the stage or give that
up to focus on starting a family. Fortunately, it's not as black-and-white as
that. Many of us in the cast have families of our own and are able to maintain
the busy rehearsal schedule that the show requires while still keeping up with
everything at home. It certainly speaks to the devotion of the cast and their
ability to put on an amazing show despite having many other things to juggle in
‘real life’.”
Madeleine knows that audiences
will love Drowsy because of “The
TALENT. The comedy, the timing, the music, the people. There's something for
everyone in this musical.” She fell
in love with this story because of the comedy and the music, saying, “I have a
huge appreciation for musicals that can make me laugh (like, really laugh, not just chuckle), with
music you can belt to, all topped off with a big crazy dance number!”
Madeleine hails from Southfield and
studied theater at Wayne State University in Detroit before transferring to
Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo to major in French. She has organized
an improv Meetup, a French Meetup, and an A-Capella quartet. She works at Volkswagen
Group of America. Madeleine says, “The cast of this show always finds a way to
make me laugh, on or off stage. They are a phenomenal bunch of people that I
hope to have the pleasure of working with again in more shows to come. Cynthia
Tupper, our director, is fantastic, and finds unique ways of pulling the show
together to make it an unforgettable musical.”
The Drowsy Chaperone has 12 performances at
the Farmington Players Barn Theater from April 26 – May 18. The show is proudly sponsored by Tru-Vista
Wealth Advisors. Tickets are
available online at farmingtonplayers.org or by emailing
boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org or calling the Barn box office at 248-553-2955.
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