‘Curtains’ delivers old razzle dazzle

The company of “Curtains,” a subplot-filled, hilarious send up of musicals past.

By Scott Harrah

This much-anticipated musical by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb (who died in 2004) probably isn’t going to be a classic like the duo’s blockbusters “Chicago” and “Cabaret,” but it still has all the elements of an entertaining hit: clever one-liners, lavish costumes and choreography, infectious songs, a serviceable plot and a great cast. Granted, “Curtains” has little of the aesthetic power or the type of seamless score that shines throughout most of Kander and Ebb’s greatest works, but this production is a crowd-pleaser nonetheless.

Here is the type of show that definitely delivers what Kander and Ebb once called the “old razzle dazzle,” with enough glitz to justify the hefty Broadway ticket price. “Curtains,” with its kooky plot and endless over-the-top musical numbers, deserves a good run, and it will thrill audiences hungry for fun, lighthearted escapist fare. Like last season’s “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the story in “Curtains” revolves around a “show within a show.” It is 1959 at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. A bad Old West musical, “Robbin’ Hood,” has just opened in a pre-Broadway, out-of-town tryout and has been tarnished by both scathing reviews and the mysterious, on-stage death of its star, Jessica Cranshaw (Patty Goble). Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (David Hyde Pierce of “Frasier” fame) is called in to solve the crime and quickly quarantines the entire cast. He won’t let anyone leave until the mystery of the leading lady’s death is solved.

As the dashing Boston detective, Hyde Pierce is as delightful and convincing as ever, and he plays alongside a talented army of stage performers. Debra Monk, arguably America’s finest character actress, is phenomenal as Carmen Bernstein, the tough-talking producer with a very unfaithful husband, Sidney (Edward Sabella). Edward Hibbert, also a former “Frasier” regular, is outrageously amusing as the fey director Christopher Belling. Also noteworthy are Jason Danieley as composer Jason Fox and lyricist/actress Karen Ziemba as lyricist/actress Georgia Hendricks. Great, too, are Megan Sikora as the Bernstein’s daughter Bambi, a chorus girl with designs on a bigger role, and John Bolton as Daryl Grady, the Boston Globe drama critic that panned “Robbin’ Hood” and is now investigating the murder.

“Curtains,” with its paper-thin whodunit premise, favors proverbial style over substance, and primarily lampoons and pays tribute to elaborate musicals of yesteryear, sending up everything from “Showboat” to “Oklahoma.” While “Chicago,” like any truly great musical, used its songs to propel the story forward, “Curtains” mostly uses its high-tech, intricately choreographed extravaganzas as amusing filler. However, some of the show’s songs are noteworthy and do more than pass the time with panache. The show’s second song, “What Kind of Man?” is a scabrously witty roast of theater critics. The manner in which critics and their “poison pens” can make or break a new Broadway show is hilariously satirized throughout “Curtains.”

Besides the murder, there are numerous subplots, most notably the romance between Lt. Cioffi and young starlet Niki Harris (Jill Paine). Many might contend that at a running time of two and a half hours, some of the unnecessary production numbers could be cut to make the show more streamlined and compact, but “Curtains” is an old-fashioned musical that spares no expense in its quest to wow, amaze and excite audiences.

More than anything, “Curtains” is a glittery, hysterically funny vehicle for David Hyde Pierce and the incomparable Debra Monk. Whether she’s guest starring on TV shows like “Desperate Housewives,” playing bit parts in Hollywood films or tackling demanding stage roles, Monk can take even the flimsiest material and, with her imposing stage presence and amazing comic timing, turn it into theatrical magic.