Show biz folk enjoy nothing more than poking fun at what they love to do and how they do it. In that vein, ˜Curtains, a musical comedy by Fred Ebb and John Kander, is a show about show business and all the œbusiness that gives it life, and in this case, to some unfortunate thespians, death.
This show within a show dishes up all the juicy elements that have drawn audiences to live theater for decades - good music, lively dance, belly-busting comedy, heart-warming romance and, let us not forget the glue that holds it all together, good old-fashioned murder.
The shows opens at the end of the opening night performance of a mediocre play, Robbin Hood, a knock off of the Robin Hood story set in the wild west. The performance closes with the curtain call of its leading lady, aging diva, Jessica Crenshaw, who the audience has come to painfully realize can neither sing, act or dance. Bowing with arms her arms embracing congratulatory bouquets, Jessica and the cast accept the final accolades of the audience as the curtain falls, and so does Jessica. We will come to learn that it is not the adulation of the audience that has caused Jessicas collapse but the foul deed, murder.
Of course, any of you who have enjoyed this formula for good, old-fashioned entertainment in the past know that the brilliant, detective mind that will solve the case now enters the scene.
In ˜Curtains this Sherlock Holmes arrives in the person of Lt. Frank Cioffi of the Boston police department, a man who not only solves the crime but is a musical theater buff who helps save the play to boot. Oh, and also finds the love of his life in his spare time. ˜Curtains then takes the audience on an entertaining ride with a cast of fascinating and flamboyant theater types who display all the motivations that make for good backstage intrigue - jealousy, love, envy, greed and manipulation. A tall order when its done while your singing and dancing.
˜Curtains had its premier at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in July 2006. A little less than a year later it opened on Broadway. In 2007 it was nominated for eight Tony Awards and its leading man, David Hyde Pierce as Lt. Frank Cioffi, won the Tony for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical.
Although reviews were somewhat mixed, one reviewer noted that œ˜Curtains aint ˜Cabaret or ˜Chicago, two of Ebb and Kanders masterpieces, the show ran for 511 performances and closed on Broadway in June 2008.
Since its Broadway close, ˜Curtains has found acclaim around the world in future productions. The reason for that might be that ˜Curtains is a show about theater people who will put up with jealousy, greed, manipulation and all those other worthy motivations because, as a Chicago Tribune reviewer put it, œ...they (the actors) love what theyre doing enough to put up with anybody, anywhere. How could you not like a show that entertains while its showing you characters who love theater enough to risk death.
˜Curtains, book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, opens at the Pennsylvania Playhouse on October 5th and runs for three weekends. The show is directed by Vince Rostkowski with choreography by Mariel Letourneau. Tickets are $22 for adults and $19 for seniors and students (Fridays and Saturdays only).
To order tickets, visit www.paplayhouse.org or call 610-865-6665.