I should totally be a casting director.

Whenever I’m listening to The Drowsy Chaperone and, upon her entrance, Beth Leavel asks “Where’s the bar?” I always think “I bet Nancy Opel would be hilarious in that role”. Not because I relate Nancy Opel with bellying up to any bar, but because the title role of this show is a perfect match for her deadpan, slow-burn delivery. And voila! I now see that she will be playing the role in the Chaperone national tour. 

I had the pleasure of watching Ms. Opel work throughout the rehearsal process of a musical called Almost September at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. I was assisting the composer, Steven Lutvak and was fascinated by Ms. Opel’s process and performance. 

She has been a staple on and off-Broadway, as well as throughout the regional theatre scene since she graduated from Julliard. Fresh out of school, she was cast as a Person of Argentina, and eventually went on as Eva in Hal Prince’s original Evita. From there she went on to play Frieda and Betty in the original Sunday in the Park with George, as well as in the 1994 concert special. 

She has worked consistently on Broadway since then, as well as originating many roles in playwright David Ives’ All in the Timing, Mere Mortals, Lives of the Saints, and Don Juan in Chicago. Ms. Opel was involved in the off-Broadway American Theatre of Actor’s production of Urinetown, and received a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Penelope Pennywise when the production moved to Broadway.

In October of 2006, she received rave reviews in the title role a spoof of a certain over the top Greek heroine called “My Deah.” Reviews sited her impeccable timing, calling the performance a star turn, and “the funniest thing I’ve seen onstage in a long time.” Most recently she was seen as Mazeppa, the trumpet-bumping stripper in the City Center’s Encore Series performance of Gypsy.

In between acting gigs, she has discovered a second calling as an acting and singing coach, which she says she finds to be exciting and gratifying on a personal and professional level. 

So if you are not lucky enough to live in the great Gotham, but you abide in one of the cities where The Drowsy Chaperone will be tying down for a week or so, be sure to catch this Broadway veteran in a role that, in my humble opinion, seems to have been written for her.

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