We used a chaise that also came out of a bookcase, then we didn't have to worry about the mechanics of a murphy.
We did use roller skates. The biggest thing we made sure of was that the actor could actually see through the blind fold that he was wearing, and he felt very comfortable with his scene partner.
For Nightingale, we didn't use the actors that are in the script. I used ensemble members that I added in the show (they were also wedding guests, maids, etc.) . The ensemble members used Bunraku style puppets to do this scene. That made the scene look completely different from the rest of show and added humor in an otherwise awkward scene. We were lucky to have Lisa Lambert, the lyricist, in the audience one night and she found that scene to be a great way of doing it.
Enjoy the show. Putting it together was a blast!
Justin
------------------------------
Justin Indovina
Director/Dept. Chair
Brooklyn NY
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 12-05-2018 06:53
From: Karen Malone
Subject: Drowsy Murphy bed
I was wondering if anyone had suggestions about the Murphy bed in The Drowsy Chaperone. Did you use a real bed or did you construct something? Besides "Nightingale," is there any other advice you would offer? Did you use roller skates for "Accident"?
Thanks so much!
------------------------------
[Karen] [Malone]
[National Board Certified Teacher of English]
IB Theatre Teacher
ITS Advisor
[Commack High Schoo]
[Commack] [New York]
------------------------------