Community Theater Is Alive at Redlands Theatre Festival With Musical ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’

On a Saturday morning inside Prospect Park, the Redlands Theatre Festival stage was already alive with the sound of summer theater.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 13, nearly 20 cast members rehearsed alongside a live orchestra as choreography, comedy and production cues began coming together inside the festival’s outdoor amphitheater, nestled in Prospect Park near the historic Kimberly Crest Mansion. By opening night, that rehearsal energy will become “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a jazz-age musical comedy filled with weddings, showgirls, tap dancing and the kind of theatrical chaos meant to make audiences laugh under the trees.

“The Drowsy Chaperone” opens at 8 p.m. June 27 at Redlands Theatre Festival in Prospect Park, 1170 Cajon St., as part of the festival’s Summer 2026 season. The production features music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar.

IECN attended the June 13 rehearsal and spoke with Producing Artistic Director Shannon Cabanilla Galuszka and cast members Gideon Logan and Elise Marie Lindenau about the production, the festival’s rare repertory format and why local theater in Redlands continues to deliver professional-caliber work rooted in community.

The musical is built around a fictional 1928 show that comes to life through the imagination of a narrator, pulling audiences into a fast-moving world of romance, mistaken priorities, larger-than-life characters and old Hollywood flair.

For Lindenau, who plays Janet Van de Graaff, the showgirl at the center of the musical’s romantic dilemma, the production is designed to transport audiences.

“It is such a funny story,” Lindenau said. “There is a man guiding us through an old musical, supposedly from 1928, and the audience sees it through his imagination. It is this crazy cast of characters telling the most ridiculous story, with so many different storylines happening at the same time.”

Lindenau’s character is deciding whether to leave the stage behind to marry her fiancé, Robert Martin, played by Logan. That decision becomes one of the show’s central engines, driving both the comedy and the spectacle.

“The dancing has been so fun,” Lindenau said. “The choreography is high energy, and we have a live orchestra that sounds incredible. I’m really honored to sing with them.”

She said the music carries the feel of the 1920s, with Charleston-inspired movement and each character bringing a distinct style. For Janet, Lindenau said she has drawn from the Follies, the Rockettes, Mae West, Judy Garland and the golden age of Hollywood.

Logan, who plays the groom on his wedding day, said the show works because it refuses to fit neatly into one category.

“It is kind of an animal of its own,” Logan said. “There are so many genres mixed into it — comedy, drama and this really interesting artistic take on the show. It is a great fit for RTF because it reflects the variety the festival brings.”

For Logan, the role also comes with a challenge: a tap number he has been sharpening ahead of opening night.

“I would not call myself much of a dancer, so I have been putting in the practice and the hours to get that clean,” Logan said. “I’m excited for that.”

While Redlands Theatre Festival is rooted in local community theater, Galuszka said the quality of the work reflects the professionalism of the artists, educators and performers who contribute to the company each summer.

“I think community theater gets a bad rap sometimes as not being sophisticated enough,” Galuszka said. “But if you look around, especially at organizations like ours, we have a lot of professionals who work with us and a lot of educators who work in the field.”

Galuszka said the company draws talent from across the region, including educators, students, working performers and artists who bring professional experience to the stage while still preserving the collaborative spirit of community theater.

“Theater may be one of the last existing collaborative art forms where we depend on each other, rely on each other and have to show up,” Galuszka said. “That is how you build community. It is not online. It is not by streaming Netflix at home. You have to get out and commune with people.”

That professionalism is also reflected in the festival’s demanding repertory format. Instead of staging one production at a time, Redlands Theatre Festival rotates multiple shows throughout the summer. This year’s season includes “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “Men on Boats,” “Native Gardens,” “Blithe Spirit” and “The Drowsy Chaperone,” along with New Works performances and a one-night concert.

“We do a different show every single night in rotation for about six weeks,” Galuszka said. “We switch out the sets, put up a new set and keep repeating that.”

That format means performers and crew members share responsibility across the season. Someone starring in one show may be helping with tickets, sets, props or lighting for another.

For Logan, that full-company effort is one of the most meaningful parts of working with RTF.

“It is a very front-to-back experience,” Logan said. “You might be an actor on stage, but you are also helping backstage. People are helping with props, sets, costumes, lighting and sound, even if it is not the show they are acting in.”

The setting itself adds to the experience. Redlands Theatre Festival performs outdoors in Prospect Park, where audiences sit close to the stage and experience live performance surrounded by trees, bamboo and the natural sounds of the park.

“You get the live music, the outdoor setting and that up-close experience,” Logan said. “You are maybe five feet away from the stage and the actors. It is a really cool and intimate experience.”

Galuszka said that sense of discovery has long been part of the festival’s identity. From the street, visitors see stonework, an orange grove and the entrance to Prospect Park. Inside, she said, the amphitheater feels like a hidden garden.

“When you come up into the park, you are really in a botanical garden,” Galuszka said. “It is usually about 10 degrees cooler than it is down on the street because of all the greenery, bamboo and trees. It is shaded, quiet and lovely.”

The festival was founded in 1972 by Galuszka’s father, Cliff Cabanilla, who was also the founding faculty member of the theater program at Crafton Hills College. Galuszka said she grew up in the festival and performed in “Gypsy” as a child when the Prospect Park structure opened around 1981.

“My whole family was here,” she said.

More than five decades later, the festival continues to draw performers whose lives extend well beyond the stage.

Logan, a John W. North High School graduate who first performed as Troy Bolton in “High School Musical,” now balances theater with school, work as a Disneyland performer and plans for a future in medicine. He said community theater remains a place to build friendships, decompress and connect with people beyond everyday routines.

“Theater brings people of all different demographics and backgrounds together,” Logan said. “It becomes a catalyst for human connection, and I think that is something we need.”

Lindenau’s path to the stage began when she started ballet at 4. She discovered musical theater around 11 and later leaned further into singing and storytelling after a dance injury at 16 changed her path. Today, she performs, teaches dance and works with the National Theatre for Children, bringing educational performances to schools.

“Live theater forces us to interact and immerse ourselves in a whole new story,” Lindenau said. “It makes us think in a more abstract way, and I don’t think we often get the opportunity to do that.”

Her commitment to “The Drowsy Chaperone” includes commuting from Orange County to Redlands, a drive she said can take anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours. But she said the park, downtown Redlands and the theater community make the trip worthwhile.

“The park is gorgeous, and I love performing here,” Lindenau said. “The people are kind and very welcoming.”

For audiences, cast members said part of the fun is that no two performances will be identical. Opening night brings urgency, the middle of the run brings deeper character work and closing night carries its own emotion.

“You will never get the same experience twice,” Logan said. “That is the beauty of live theater. It is always going to be new, unique and engaging.”

“The Drowsy Chaperone” opens at 8 p.m. June 27 at Redlands Theatre Festival in Prospect Park, 1170 Cajon St. The Summer 2026 season runs Tuesday through Sunday nights through Aug. 1. Tickets and full season information are available at rtfseason.com.