Lights Up! Theatre Company opens its 2023 season with “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the first of two musical productions, Jan. 26-28 at the Marjorie Luke Theater at Santa Barbara Junior High School.
A Tony award-winning spoof of the Ziegfeld Follies-type musicals of the 1920s, “The Drowsy Chaperone” was hailed as the funniest musical on Broadway in 2006.
When a lonely, diehard musical theater lover drops the needle on their favorite cast recording, a zany, wonderful world comes to life before their eyes.
A high-spirited cast of gangsters, showgirls, and matinee idols tango, tap and Charleston their way through the bubbly “musical within a comedy.”
For all its effervescence, though, there is a dramatic undertone. “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a story about how people find hope during a time of isolation, and the importance of love, connection and community to people’s mental health.
Now in its fifth season, Lights Up! Theatre Company, a Santa Barbara teen theater group, is expanding with a new conservatory program that allows actors to train with the company’s acting, dance, and music professionals.
The growth was sparked by “a need to accommodate actors who want to be involved, but who benefit from a more low-key introduction to the exciting world of theater, or who are too busy to commit to a performance based production schedule,” said director Amy Love.
“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this more relaxed, yet vital training ground for actors to build skills and confidence,” she said.
“Many of our performance company members take the conservatory classes as well, so it’s also a great place to make friends and create community before auditioning for the shows,” she said.
Coming up next in the spring is Lights Up! Theatre Company’s production of Stephen Sondeim’s modern classic “Into the Woods.”
“We’re adding some new elements to our production that call out the magic of the woods and the wisdom to be gained there,” Love said.
Performances of “The Drowsy Chaperone” are at 7 p.m., with a 1 p.m. Saturday matinee. Ticket prices: adults $35, students $25, VIP $75.
To buy tickets, visit https://lightsupsb.ticketspice.com/the-drowsy-chaperone.