Curtains: Good Old-Fashioned Fun

On my most recent NYC jaunt, I also saw Curtains, the new show from John Kander and the late Fred Ebb. Overall, it was great fun, if not cutting-edge musical theater. Act one was relatively unremarkable, if pleasant, but the show really got going in act two. An entertaining book, and a very engaging cast.

Tony winner and whodunnit scribe Rupert Holmes doubtless had a hand in crafting the clever plot, which genuinely kept me guessing until all was revealed at the end. Holmes came in to supplement Fred Ebb's lyrics as well as the late Peter Stone's original book. Despite an unremarkable score, the whole show somehow added up to be greater than the sum of it parts, due in no small part to a simply marvelous cast of some of the best Broadway has to offer.

"Frasier" veteran David Hyde Pierce was sweet, charming, and very very funny as the detective investigating a mounting series of murders during the Boston tryout of a fictive Broadway-bound musical. Pierce adopted a very interesting accent, although it didn't seem to originate from any part of Boston that I'm familiar with. After his hysterical turn in Spamalot, Pierce has quickly proven himself a natural musical performer. Why Hank Azaria received a Tony nomination for that show but Pierce did not is still a mystery to me.

The rest of the cast is a veritable who's who of Broadway stalwarts. Debra Monk absolutely stopped the show with her second act number, "It's a Business," as she did in the last Kander & Ebb show to hit Broadway, Steel Pier. Jason Danieley is blessed with the best song in the show, the touching "I Miss the Music," and he delivers it with power and heart. Jill Paice was a fresh and likable ingenue. Edward Hibbert did yet another in his succession of bitter quipsters. And I'll see just about anything with the glorious Karen Ziemba.

And then there's Boston Conservatory grad Noah Racey in the juvenile role. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Sure, he's an attractive man, but that's not really what I'm referring to. He just has this very compelling stage presence: a natural and graceful performer. He even made Rob Ashford's uncharacteristically awkward choreography during the "Thataway!" number seem almost natural. I can easily see Racey in the Fred Astaire role in Never Gonna Dance, which I didn't get to see, now much to my regret.

As for whodunnit, let's just say it all comes together at the end, the guilty parties get their comeuppance, and all is right with the world. And isn't that what musical comedy is all about?

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Chris, I've been anxiously awaiting your review and am glad to know that you enjoyed it, too.

[Caroline]

I thoroughly enjoyed CURTAINS. While not the greatest show ever written, it was one of the most fun nights of theater I've had in a long while. I've seen the show a few times now and everytime I see it or listen to the cast album, I have a big grin on my face.

I also have CURTAINS to thank for truly turning me into a Karen Ziemba fan. I had seen her on TV in "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies" and "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" and heard her on the AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND cd many years ago. But CURTAINS was the first show I had seen her in. Now, like you, "I'd see just about anything with the glorious Karen Ziemba." :)