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<p>Ask Dawson Kerch about his favorite song in the musical &#8220;The Drowsy Chaperone,&#8221; and the student actor from Allentown will tell you about &#8220;Accident Waiting to Happen,&#8221; a duet his character sings while wearing a blindfold and roller skating.</p><p>That&#8217;s right. A blindfold and roller skates.</p><p>So, if you didn&#8217;t know it before, now you&#8217;ll realize &#8220;Drowsy&#8221; is a madcap show, heavy on the hilarity.</p><p>&#8220;Just about every second, you&#8217;ll laugh. I know I do,&#8221; said Erika Serafin, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, who plays Janet to Kerch&#8217;s Robert in the Misericordia University production, set to open Nov. 21 in the Lemmond Theatre on campus.</p><p>Janet and Robert are engaged in the plot, which is set in 1928, and if she gets married Janet will have to give up her showbiz career.</p><p>&#8220;It all comes down to whether love or fame is more important to her,&#8221; Serafin said during a recent rehearsal break.</p><p>Oh, but in this send-up of vintage melodrama, how can Janet resist love? Especially when that &#8220;Accident Waiting to Happen&#8221; song makes it sound so inviting?</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m an accident waiting to happen,&#8221; Robert sings to Janet. &#8220;I&#8217;m a mishap about to ensue. I&#8217;m the toy on the stair, the three-legged chair, the hem that&#8217;s been caught by a shoe.&#8221;</p><p>After the two of them compare Robert to &#8220;rags in the cellar,&#8221; &#8220;a broken umbreller&#8221; and &#8220;a branch hanging loose from a tree,&#8221; Janet will urge him to &#8220;hurry and happen to me.&#8221;</p><p>There are many other characters in this ensemble cast, and there&#8217;s a lot of potential for them to pair off. But as the story gets under way, the chaperone of the title seems to be close only to her hidden flask, not to another human being.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s lonely,&#8221; said Natalie Deutsch, 20, of Paramus, N.J., who plays the chaperone.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why she has a relationship with a bottle. I can see parallels between her and Man in Chair,&#8221; Deutsch said, referring to a character who serves as narrator and seems to keep to himself.</p><p>&#8220;She went down that dark rabbit hole,&#8221; director Jeff Kelly said, praising Deutsch for giving the chaperone an interesting backstory.</p><p>Not that the musical is dark. Villains and vaudevillians alike seem whimsical if not downright lovable as they sing and hoof their way around the stage.</p><p>&#8220;I just spent an hour tap dancing,&#8221; Deutsch said, appearing flushed and happy during a rehearsal break. &#8220;I just learned how to shuffle.&#8221;</p><p>So, what can you expect if you come to the show?</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s over the top,&#8221; Kerch said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s slap-sticky,&#8221; said Deutsch.</p><p>&#8220;It is such a joy,&#8221; Serafin said. &#8220;Everyone is so gifted and very hard-working.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Misericordia Players Adam Myers of Bear Creek Township, Dawson Kerch of Allentown and Patrick Joyce of Avoca, rehearse one of many dance numbers for the Misericordia University production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0001.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia Players Adam Myers of Bear Creek Township, Dawson Kerch of Allentown and Patrick Joyce of Avoca, rehearse one of many dance numbers for the Misericordia University production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0003.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The character played by Ryan Wilson, second from left, begs a favor in a scene from &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone&#8217; as Maddie Mokychic, Erika Serafin and two &#8216;bakers&#8217; played by brothers Noah Schweiger and Jacob Schweiger, look on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0003.jpg</photo1><caption1>The character played by Ryan Wilson, second from left, begs a favor in a scene from &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone&#8217; as Maddie Mokychic, Erika Serafin and two &#8216;bakers&#8217; played by brothers Noah Schweiger and Jacob Schweiger, look on. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0004.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia Player Leah Brown of Nazareth, reacts to a statement by Erika Serafin of Wilkes-Barre, during a rehearsal for the upcoming production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone,&#8217; set for Nov. 21-24 in Lemmond Theater at the Misericordia University campus in Dallas Township, Pa. Looking on are Zoe LaPorte of West Pittston, Lauren Schuster of Nazareth Elizabeth Cote of Douglassville, Paige Eiswerth of Sweet Valley, Ashley Nadolny of Hamilton, N.J., and Natalie Deutsch of Paramus, N.J. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0004.jpg</photo2><caption2>Misericordia Player Leah Brown of Nazareth, reacts to a statement by Erika Serafin of Wilkes-Barre, during a rehearsal for the upcoming production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone,&#8217; set for Nov. 21-24 in Lemmond Theater at the Misericordia University campus in Dallas Township, Pa. Looking on are Zoe LaPorte of West Pittston, Lauren Schuster of Nazareth Elizabeth Cote of Douglassville, Paige Eiswerth of Sweet Valley, Ashley Nadolny of Hamilton, N.J., and Natalie Deutsch of Paramus, N.J. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0005.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia Players Cody Palubinsky, Nina Owen, Adam Myers, Aidan McAndrew and Natalie Deutsch rehearse a scene from &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0005.jpg</photo3><caption3>Misericordia Players Cody Palubinsky, Nina Owen, Adam Myers, Aidan McAndrew and Natalie Deutsch rehearse a scene from &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photo </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0008.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Misericordia University student Alec Aversa of Thornhurst, has plenty to say in the role as &#8216;Man in Chair&#8217; during The Misericordia Players production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_MU_102319_DrowsyChaperone0008.jpg</photo4><caption4>Misericordia University student Alec Aversa of Thornhurst, has plenty to say in the role as &#8216;Man in Chair&#8217; during The Misericordia Players production of &#8216;The Drowsy Chaperone.&#8217; </caption4><photoCredit4>Submitted photo </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Performances are Nov. 21 through 24 on Dallas campus</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO </strong></p><p><strong>What: </strong>The Drowsy Chaperone</p><p><strong>When: </strong>Nov. 21 through 23 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Lemmond Theater, Walsh Hall, Misericordia University, Dallas Township.</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $8 general admission and $5 for students, Misericordia alumni, and senior citizens. Available at the door or in advance at misericordia.edu/mup and 570-674-6719</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Misericordia University to present ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’