Doing It Her Way: Cindy Williams Makes Broadway Debut in Drowsy

By Kenneth Jones
and Andrew Gans
11 Dec 2007

Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams
Photo by Jonathan Exley

Cindy Williams, best known for playing Shirley Feeney on the long-running ABC-TV sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," makes her Broadway bow Dec. 11 in the award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

Williams succeeds JoAnne Worley in the role of Mrs. Tottendale, a dowager who outrageously shares spit takes with a butler named Underling (played by Peter Bartlett). Worley played her final performance at the Marquis Theatre Dec. 9.

Cindy Williams has been seen onstage in the national tours of Grease!, Deathtrap and Moon Over Buffalo. Her film credits include "American Graffiti," "Travels with My Aunt" and "The Conversation." In addition to "Laverne & Shirley," Williams' TV work includes "Eight Simple Rules," "Law & Order: SVU," "Girlfriends," "Less than Perfect," "Strip Mall, "For Your Love" and "Getting By." She also co-produced the "Father of the Bride" movie franchise.

The Drowsy Chaperone received the most 2006 Tony Awards of any musical that season — five in total, including Best Book (Bob Martin and Don McKellar) and Best Score (Greg Morrison and Lisa Lambert); seven Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical; four Outer Critic's Circle Awards including Outstanding Score; and the Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.

The show is directed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Casey Nicholaw (Spamalot).

"To chase his blues away, a modern day musical theatre addict known simply as 'Man in Chair' drops the needle on his favorite cast album — the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone," according to the producers. "From the crackle of his hi-fi, the uproariously funny musical magically bursts to life on stage. We are instantly immersed in the hilarious tale of a glamorous bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the heavens. Man in Chair's infectious love of The Drowsy Chaperone speaks to anyone who has ever been transported by the theatre."

The Drowsy Chaperone stars Bob Saget, Tony Award nominee Danny Burstein, Mara Davi, Troy Britton Johnson, Garth Kravits, Jason Kravits, Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Jennifer Smith, Gerry Vichi, Patrick Wetzel, Linda Gabler, Dale Hensley, Joey Sorge, Joanna Young, Jay Douglas, Stacia Fernandez, Mamie Parris and Kilty Reidy.

The Drowsy Chaperone is produced by Kevin McCollum, Roy Miller, Boyett Ostar, Stephanie McClelland, Barbara Freitag and Jill Furman.

Show times are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM with matinees Wednesday at 2 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM.

The Marquis Theatre is located in Manhattan at 1535 Broadway. For more information visit www.DrowsyChaperone.com.