Curtains: The Bookwriter Did It?

Curtains may not be the kind of show that flies you into musical comedy heaven, but for two hours and forty minutes it cruises securely in the air stream of sock-o.  In the great George Abbott tradition of fast, loud and funny, Curtains barrels through the evening with its aggressive comic antics, brassy romance and musical exuberance in a determined effort to entertain.  It's got its awkward moments, sure, but Curtains is slick and professional musical comedy and a damn fun time.

This is, of course, the first posthumously produced show to carry the name of Peter Stone, a solid craftsman in the difficult field of musical theatre bookwriting and beloved lyricist Fred Ebb.  With Rupert Holmes contributing a new book based on Stone's original and working with composer John Kander to supply additional lyrics where needed, Curtains comes to Broadway with creators of exceptional pedigree.

Set in Boston's Colonial Theatre in 1959 (set designer Anna Louizos replaces the Hirschfeld Theatre's proscenium with a replica of the Colonial's) Curtains begins at the out-of-town opening of Robbin' Hood!, a shaky enterprise that places a Sherwood Forest-type hero in the old American west.  When Robbin' Hood!'s star (Patty Goble) drops dead at the end of the first performance, musical theatre fanatic Police Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (David Hyde Pierce) comes in to solve the murder and try and fix Act II.  Meanwhile, the major Boston critic (John Bolton) who panned the opening night has "generously" offered to review the show again with a new star… the very next night.

Suspects include the musical's husband and wife producers (Debra Monk and Ernie Sabella), the former performer turned lyricist (Karen Ziemba), her composer ex-husband (Jason Danieley) who wants her back, the leading man/choreographer (Noah Racey) who is her new beau, the snarky British director (Edward Hibbert), the chorus girl daughter of the producers (Megan Sikora) who is the understudy for the star's understudy and pretty much anyone connected with the show.  The only one above suspicion is Robbin' Hood!'s ingénue (Jill Paice), but that might only because Cioffi is smitten with her.

When Monk decides that Ziemba will make her acting comeback in the leading role instead of going the normal understudy route, Curtains ping-pongs from murder mystery to a race to get the show ready in 24 hours, while romantic complications simmer.

Though Pierce and Monk are the billed stars, Curtains is very much an ensemble show with a terrific cast doing what they do best.  With a thick Boston accent, Pierce is the awkward romantic intellectual who fantasizes of being Fred Astaire.  Looking quite a bit like Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, Monk belts her numbers with unbridled moxie.  Ziemba throws herself into song and dance routines with loveable showbiz polish while Danieley's one gorgeous solo, "I Miss The Music", is beautifully sung with the kind of confident virility that recalls the days when power ballads were introduced by the likes of John Raitt and Alfred Drake.  Hibbert drops his sarcastic one-liners with droll glee.  Unfortunately, the boyishly dapper and wonderfully entertaining dancer Noah Racey is severely underused in a role that takes little advantage of his talent.

Holmes' book is swift and funny, particularly as staged by director Scott Ellis, though it could do without all the penis jokes.  Likewise, Rob Ashford's choreography for the show-within-the-show cleverly mixes the old west of Michael Kidd and Agnes de Mille (with a snippet of Balanchine at one point), but much of it is too overtly sexual for a 1959 musical.  (Perhaps it was meant to be a homage to Bob Fosse's 1958 "Whorehouse Ballet" from New Girl In Town which was drastically toned town during out-of-town previews, but that may be stretching it a bit.)

If the score isn't top-notch Kander and Ebb (and Holmes) it's still peppy and tuneful, despite again, a sexual reference or two that just wouldn't be in a Broadway musical of that era.  (Okay, except New Girl In Town.)  There's a cute comic number about critics asking, "What kind of man would take a job like that?" (Umm… how about the kind who loves the theatre but can't afford the tickets?), an Irving Berlin-ish anthem to "Show People" and a rowdy saloon chase number called "Thataway!", which has one rhyme that suggests cowboys of the old west had some knowledge of New Jersey geography.

Designers Louizos, William Ivey Long (costumes) and Peter Kaczorowski (lights) all provide attractive contributions that solidly re-create the feel of the late 50's, both on stage and off.

Despite the murder mystery plot, the real mystery behind Curtains is why there's never any mention of the show-within-the-show having a bookwriter.  Perhaps the authors meant it as an inside joke, seeing if anyone would notice the omission of a practitioner of that underappreciated art.  Or perhaps the bookwriter was the first victim and nobody noticed.  'Cause you can look right though him, walk right by him…

Photos by Joan Marcus:  Top:  David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk

Center:  Noah Racey and Karen Ziemba

Bottom:  Jason Danieley, Debra Monk, Michael McCormick and Karen Ziemba