Clay Aiken and Tony Winner Beth Leavel to Headline The Drowsy Chaperone in North Carolina

Brace yourselves, Claymates: Clay Aiken is returning to the stage! The former American Idol favorite will join Tony winner Beth Leavel (reprising her award-winning role) in The Drowsy Chaperone at the North Carolina Theatre.

Aiken, who last appeared on Broadway in Spamalot, will play Man in Chair in the forthcoming production, running May 7 through 12 at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Leavel will reprise her Tony-winning performance as the boozy Drowsy Chaperone, a role she created in the show’s original Broadway cast and out-of-town tryout.

The Drowsy Chaperone follows a devoted theater fan’s love affair with the madcap musicals of the 1920s, particularly one title that comes to life in his apartment as he fires up his record player. The Broadway production opened on May 1, 2006 and earned 13 Tony nominations, winning five (including Best Book and Best Score).

Aiken previously starred in NCT's production of 1776 and Shenandoah in 1996. Leavel’s extensive Broadway credits include Elf, Baby It’s You! (for which she nabbed a Tony nomination), Young Frankenstein, Mamma Mia! and 42nd Street, among others. She starred as M'Lynn in NCT's Steel Magnolias in 2012.

Watch Leavel sing her signature Chaperone song, "As We Stumble Along," below!