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There were several clues that I was doomed to be disappointed by Curtains. Although it was the last show written by Kander and Ebb (creators of Cabaret and Chicago) it failed to take home any of the musical Tony Awards. Secondly, the show closed after a relatively short Broadway run with an equally short national tour that never made it to Southern California. Last, but not least, the show was released to Regional Theaters with surprising speed. All of those should have been clues that I wasn't going to be in for one of the great shows of a lifetime but, for reasons I can no longer recall, I decided I wanted to see it. (I wanted to see the show so badly I bought an entire season to Performance Riverside). And, maybe--just maybe, I didn't enjoy curtains because I went to the theater with a blinding sinus headache. Still, the Baroness didn't enjoy the show as much as she might have (and when Robyn, the most UN-critical person on the planet doesn't love something you know there's a problem).
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Curtains is billed as a musical whodunit (except there really aren't any clues to help the audience figure out who the culprit might be). I fingered the killer mainly because I looked at the plot and figured out who was on stage LEAST (not a good way to solve a mystery). The script has a lot of funny bits (and an equal number of bits that fall flat). There are some truly classic songs, (the poignant Lunch Counter Mornings And Coffe Shop Nights and the romantic duet Tough Act To Follow to name just two). Sadly, there are a few songs, (mostly big numbers) that sink like a lead ballon (Thataway and Wide Open Spaces for example) but, by and large, the music is the best part of the show.
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Frankly, I was very disappointed by lead Actor Jason Webb in the role of theater-crazed Lt. Frank Cioffi. As an accent-hobbyist I can tell when an accent wanders (and his wandered from Charleston to London with occasional stops in Brookly (but seldom landing anywhere NEAR Boston). (A SIMPLE RULE OF ACTING: if you can't get an accent right--and hold it--DON'T DO IT!!!) Still, his singing and dancing are more than adequate so his performance wasn't completely excruciating.
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As the song-writing team (and exes) Aaron Fox and Georgia Hendricks Angel Castellanos and Rachel McLaughlin were a bit hard to swallow. (He looked like he was twelve and she on the dark side of 65--Sarcasm ON) but they sang, danced and acted nicely. Debbie Prutsman as, brassy Producer Carmen Bernstein struck all the right notes in her strong, supporting role. Dustin Ceithamer is weirdly-tall (and toothpick thin) but there's no denying he can sing and dance like a champ in the role of Choreographer Bobby Pepper. Jeff Wilson brought his best "fussy queen" as Director Christopher Belling: yes, his performance was frankly sterreotypical but he made it work for him. I found Noelle Marion's thanksless role as inginue Nikki Harris to be completely sterreotypical and frankly grating. Still, she's pretty and can sing and dance so maybe I shouldn't complain that she failed to rise above the script.
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It wouldn't be a Performance Riverside production if there weren't some technical problems: usually the shows are so over mic-ed that they drown out the band--but in Curtains they were so UNDER mic-ed the singers (in every chorus number) were drowned out by the band. Oh, and speaking of the band, the Orchestra, led by Scott Smith (who became a character in the show) were top-notch as usual. Sets ranged from adequate to excellent but the costumes looked cheap and flimsy (and quite a number were in obvious need of repair). The choreography was mostly marching around but on the few occasions when the cast actually got to DANCE most of them did a good job.
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Curtains, while hardly as classic, has enough good moments to save it from being completely excruciating: it didn't hurt that we didn't have to pay a lot to see the show. Honestly, the show isn't BAD--it's just so "un"good... Should you beat feet to see the show, probably not--but Curtains isn't a bad way to spend an afternoon or evening if you haven't anything better to do.
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FINAL GRADE: C
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