Curtains (musical)

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Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes.

Based on the original book and concept by Peter Stone, the musical is a send-up of backstage murder mystery plots, set in 1959 Boston and follows the fallout when the supremely untalented star of Robbin' Hood of the Old West is murdered during her opening night curtain call. Can a police detective/musical theatre fan save the show, solve the case, and maybe even find love before the show reopens, without getting killed himself?

Stone died in April 2003, leaving the book unfinished, and Holmes was hired to rewrite it.^[1] Ebb also died before the musical was completed. Curtains had its world premiere on July 25 2006 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Local reviews were mixed but not discouraging^[2], and the producers decided to transfer the show to New York City.

After twenty-three previews, the Broadway production, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Rob Ashford, opened on March 22 2007 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre to mixed reviews. The cast includes David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba, Edward Hibbert, and John Bolton (reprising the roles they played in LA), as well as Ernie Sabella. The musical garnered eight Tony Award nominations, with Hyde Pierce winning the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.

1 Synopsis
- 1.1 Principal Broadway Cast
2 National Tour
3 Song list
4 Awards and nominations
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Robbin' Hood of the Old West, a bad Western adaptation of the Robin Hood story is reaching its conclusion. The egregiously untalented leading lady, Jessica Cranshaw, is a triple threat: she can't sing, act, or dance (or remember when to say her lines). She is murdered during her opening night curtain call. The entire company comes under suspicion, and Lt. Frank Cioffi of the Boston Police Department is called in to solve the homicide. Believing that the perpetrator is still in the building, he sequesters it.

The suspects include the hard-bitten lady producer, Carmen Bernstein; her husband, Sidney, another producer; the show's flamboyant director Christopher Belling; divorced songwriting team Aaron Fox and Georgia Hendricks; stage manager Johnny Harmon; choreographer/leading man Bobby Pepper, ingénue Niki Harris, and ambitious chorine Bambi Bernét.

The company uses the down time to attempt to fix the show's problems. Niki, Ms. Cranshaw's understudy, is passed up for the leading role in favor of Georgia, whom the producers convince to assume the part despite the protests of Aaron, who has fallen in love with her again, and despite her long absence from the stage. Cioffi, a theater fan and amateur actor, becomes more involved with saving the show than solving the case. The detective also finds himself falling for Niki, and she seems to return his affection, so he hopes she's not the murderer. Meanwhile, secrets are surfacing, the production numbers in Robbin' Hood are rewritten, rehearsed and rewritten again, and the body count is rising. Cioffi eventually solves the case, saves the show, and gets the girl, while avoiding the killer himself.

[edit] Principal Broadway Cast

Lt. Frank Cioffi — David Hyde Pierce
Carmen Bernstein — Debra Monk
Georgia Hendricks — Karen Ziemba
Aaron Fox — Jason Danieley
Bobby Pepper — Noah Racey
Niki Harris — Jill Paice
Christopher Belling — Edward Hibbert
Bambi Bernét — Megan Sikora
Johnny Harmon — Michael X. Martin
Daryl Grady — John Bolton
Oscar Shapiro - Michael McCormick
Sidney Bernstein - Ernie Sabella

[edit] National Tour

A U.S. (and possibly Canadian) tour of Curtains is scheduled to start in September 2008. See ^[3] and ^[4]

[edit] Song list

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Act I

Wide Open Spaces - Randy Dexter, Niki Harris, Jessica Cranshaw, Bobby Pepper and Ensemble
What Kind of Man? - Carmen Bernstein, Oscar Shapiro, Aaron Fox and Georgia Hendricks
Thinking of Him - Georgia, Aaron and Bobby
The Woman's Dead - Entire Company
Show People - Carmen, Lieutenant Frank Cioffi and Company
Coffee Shop Nights - Cioffi
In the Same Boat 1 - Georgia, Niki and Bambi Bernét
I Miss the Music - Aaron
Thataway! - Georgia , Bobby and Ensemble

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Act II

The Man is Dead (reprise) - Sasha (the conductor)
He Did It - Company
It's a Business - Carmen and Stagehands
Kansasland - Randy, Niki, Harv Fremont, Bobby, Bambi and Ensemble
In the Same Boat 2 - Bobby, Randy and Harv
Thinking of Him/I Miss The Music (Reprise) - Aaron and Georgia
A Tough Act to Follow - Cioffi, Niki and Ensemble
In the Same Boat 3 - Company
A Tough Act to Follow (Reprise) - Company

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[edit] Awards and nominations

Image:CurtainsPoster.jpg

Poster for Curtains on Broadway

Tony Award for Best Musical (nominee)
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
Tony Award for Best Original Score (nominee)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Hyde Pierce, winner)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Debra Monk, nominee)
Tony Award for Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical (Karen Ziemba, nominee)
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)
Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical (nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical (winner)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Hyde Pierce, nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Monk, winner; Ziemba, nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee)
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music (nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (nominee)
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (nominee)
Outer Critics Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Ziemba, winner)