The 2009-2010 San Pedro Playhouse season has been a smash. They have successfully mastered a plethora of stellar shows, including Evita, A Christmas Carol: the Musical, Beehive, and the current production of Curtains.
I was fortunate enough to be in the audience for Curtains on opening night. And what a night it was! Curtains, which is brought to us by
Fred Ebb and
John Kander, the same duo that brought us Chicago, and
Rupert Holmes, who wrote the Tony Award-winning musical Drood, is a musical variation of a backstage murder mystery, set in 1950s Boston, Massachusetts. It follows the cast of the fairly unsuccessful production of Robbin' Hood of the Old West when their superlatively untalented lead actress is murdered during the show's opening night curtain call. A musical theatre-obsessed police detective (played here by the charming Ben Gamble) tries to solve the mystery, all-the-while attempting to save the show and falling in love with one of its stars.
Director Frank Latson has brought together the perfect cast, all the way from the show's first deceased, Jessica Cranshaw (played with the right comedic timing by Annella Keys), to "producer" Carmen Bernstein (the always-lovely Anna Gangai), and everyone in between. Byrd Bonner, who recently was on-stage in the San Pedro Playhouse's production of A Christmas Carol: the Musical as Ebenezer Scrooge takes a hilarious turn as director Christopher Belling, with a plethora of one-liners. Paige Blend Hansel plays the sweetly naïve
Niki Harris, with whom Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (Gamble) falls in love, and the two have a really nice chemistry. Hansel and Gamble have a lovely duet in Act 2 with the song and dance number "A Tough Act to Follow". But don't let the title of that song fool you! The whole show is filled with "tough acts to follow". Elise Lopez and Jason Mosher play the playwrighting former husband-and-wife team of Georgia Hendricks and Aaron Fox, respectively. It's a wonder we haven't seen more of Ms. Lopez, who quickly wins the audiences hearts with her beautiful rendition of "Thinking of Him".
The actors cast in the "smaller" roles should certainly not be overlooked. Lizel Sandoval does a touching turn as Bambi Bernet, the daughter of Carmen Bernstein who is always looking for approval from her mother, and has an entertaining dance number in Act 2. Robert Carenzo, as Sidney Bernstein, and Taylor Maddux, as "stage manager"
Johnny Harmon are both a delight to watch. Other stand-out performances include Chris Berry as Bobby Pepper, Mark Hicks as Oscar Shapiro, and Geoffrey Waite who takes on the dual task of music director for the show and Sasha Iljinsky (the music director character in the show).
Curtains is a very technical show, so the backstage crew should not go unrecognized. Many props to the individuals hard at work moving around the gigantic set pieces, and flying in everything from curtains to drops and even actors. Mary Claire Becan's choreography stands out throughout the entire performance, and in particular, the show-stopping number "Show People". Rose Kennedy and Laura Briseño have once again provided beautiful, fun costumes that fit every much the same for both Curtains and Robbin' Hood of the Old West. Lighting designer Chris Muenchow and set designer Vernon Push have both outdone themselves in each respective field.
Curtains runs at the San Pedro Playhouse Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2:30pm through April 25, and is sure to sell out quickly. Visit
www.sanpedroplayhouse.com or call (210) 733-7258 to make reservations while they are still available. The San Pedro Playhouse is located at 800 West Ashby at San Pedro Avenue.
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