Customer Reviews

Curtains (2007 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Here's a terrific cast album, one that will remind you of an earlier, more sophisticated time in the history of the Broadway musical. John Kander and the late Fred Ebb wrote some of my favorite scores--CABARET, CHICAGO, THE RINK, and my personal favorite, ZORBA, among others. CURTAINS is a charming show, a real throwback to the musicals I loved when I was younger. Musicals have definitely changed in the last few years, and not all those changes are for the better. This original cast album is a brilliant reminder of that fact.

The score of CURTAINS is a delight, start to finish. It's deliberately silly and old-fashioned, and it's very witty, too. You can always count on Kander and Ebb to provide one new standard song per score, and here the showstopper is the rousing, infectious "Show People." There are also some genuinely funny comedy numbers and a couple of lovely ballads. David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk are right at home with this material, and they are joined by a supporting cast that really knows how to put on a show.

I don't know when we'll see such a tuneful, intelligent work of art on Broadway again, if we ever do. CURTAINS may well be the last of a vanishing breed of American entertainment. Let's enjoy it while we can. Highly recommended.

This old-fashioned murder-mystery musical (and one of the final collaborations of composing team Kander and Ebb) is an amusing, tuneful show that frequently dazzles as it quietly builds charm making for a satisfying entertainment by it's final curtain. Much of the credit goes to it's expertly chosen cast. Chief among them -- David Hyde Pierce, delightfully mixing wide-eyed, kid-in-a-candy-store wonder with wry earnestness as Boston detective Frank Cioffi, whose community theater credits have given him an addiction to greasepaint. Matching him is Debra Monk, dead-panning up a storm as brassy, trash-talking producer Carmen Bernstein. (One can picture the great Ethel Merman in this role had it actually been written and produced back in 1959!)

Set in 1959, the show opens, appropriately, with the closing scene and curtain calls for "Robbin' Hood of the Old West" (think Destry Rides Again) at Boston's Colonial Theater, its proscenium re-created within that of the Hirschfeld by designer Anna Louizos. The disastrous and detested leading lady (Patty Goble) flubs her lines and screws up her dances before collapsing during the bows. Blistering reviews from the Boston critics next morning coincide with news of her death by poisoning. Enter Cioffi, who sequesters cast and crew in the theater for the investigation's duration.

While sizing up suspects, Frank becomes de facto show doctor, making subtle creative suggestions at first and later entirely overhauling numbers. His ideas are happily accepted by swishy director Christopher Belling (Edward Hibbert, all precision whip-turns and haughty attitude), who has no problem taking credit for other folks' work. Running parallel to the search for the killer in a company rife with motives is the bid to salvage the show's Broadway hopes. Former stage performer Georgia Hendricks (Karen Ziemba), the show's lyricist, is recruited to replace the slain lead, adding further friction to her relationship with ex-husband and composing partner Aaron (Jason Danieley). There's also a gentle courtship between Frank and peaches-and-cream ingenue Niki (Jill Paice).

The first act is like a congenial game of Clue, and as the conductor turns to face the audience at the top of act two to confirm the second murder, the musical really starts clicking. One musical high point, made irresistible by Monk's effortless delivery, is Carmen's cynical showstopper "It's a Business," in which she disses Gorky, Moliere, Beckett and O'Neill in favor of crowd-pleasing commercial froth. Also witty is "He Did It," in which suspicion rips through the company ranks; and "A Tough Act to Follow" a sugary fantasy that transforms Frank and Niki into Marge and Gower Champion. The most poignant moment is the sweet lament for a broken collaboration, "I Miss the Music," with lyrics, as well as music, penned by Kander after Ebb's death.

More than anything, Curtains is a glittery, hysterically funny homage to the those fluffy musicals of the1950s. An old-fashioned musical comedy that spares no expense in its quest to wow, amaze and excite.

And even if you are not---the music is great!!!!!! This is the final collaboration between John Kander and the late Fred Ebb--plus throw in the efforts of Rupert Holmes (who wrote the underated MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD--and everyone's favorite guilty pleasure 70's tune--THE PINA COLADA SONG). Anyway, I always thought David was robbed of a TONY nod for SPAMALOT--so his win for this was quite overdue!

Every song is a winner---and it is not just because of Pierce--Deborah Monk also has one of the great show stoppers "IT'S A BUSINESS"!

All theatre buff will enjoy--I certainly did!

From Kander & Ebb, who gave us the brilliant "Chicago" & "Cabaret", comes the last score they worked on together - "Curtains".

The murder mystery, show-within-a-show is great fun and has an outstanding cast, including: David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba, Jill Paice, and Jason Danieley. The show's score may be somewhat inconsistent, but contains several great numbers:

Show People
I Miss The Music
Thataway!
It's A Business
A Tough Act To Follow

i saw this show on broadway the week it opened and it is the most amazing show ever. it spoofs thespians and if you are one, you will love the song "show people" it gives you an inside look at putting together a broadway musical. you don't have to have seen the show to understand the music and the show! it is awesome! buy the cd, you won't regret it! and if you can, i highly recommend going to see the show on broadway.

"curtains" is a wonderful show full of fun and laughter and fantastic music.
Isn't it great to have an other show by Kander and Ebb who have giver us such
pleasure in the past. The cast are perfect not one dud in the whole pack.
I can thoroughly recommend this show to everyone with a love of musical theatre

In the tradition of good old-fashioned musicals that entertain for entertainment's sake comes this terrific, witty, clever, fun musical with a top notch cast and some swell songs. We were lucky enough to see this show several weeks ago. And as grand as it is to watch-- it is super to listen to as well. David Hype Pierce is totally terrific, as is Debra Monk. Karen Ziemba and Jason Daniely are first tier performers as well. The show moves along at a great pace, consistently entertaining. There are some wonderous Kander and Ebb melodies--maybe not on par with Cabaret and Chicago--but nonetheless still extremely good. Everything about the CD says high quality. It is well recorded and the performances are excellent. If you get a chance to see the show, grab the chance! If not, you can still enjoy the show with the playing of this CD. Highly recommended!!

This is a very entertaining cast recording. I have never seen the show live, so this cast recording is the next best thing. The late Fred Ebb did a great job writing this funny entertaing songs. John Kander did an equally superb job composing the music for them. Curtains is a musical within a musical plus a murder mystery. Every cast member shines on this. Debra Monk is one of the stars. I think she steals the show on tracks like "Thataway" and "It's A Business. These songs are so funny. Debra Monk has a wonderful sense of humor, and it shows on these tracks. David Hyde Pierce is the detective investigating the murder. He has a pleasant delivery on the track "Coffee Shop Nights" David Hyde is so charming on the duet "Tough Act To Follow" with his love interest in the musical Jill Paice. Jason Danieley really stands out on the track "I Miss The Music" This track is one of my favorites, because of his strong resonant singing voice. "In The Same Boat" is such a cute sounding number too. I enjoyed this cast recording so much.

Nice, witty and pleasant music. Sadly, as the teams last work, it is not on a par with their earlier efforts. I kept expecting the big, gorgeous, soaring ballad of other shows, but it never really comes. I still think Steel Pier is their best work (tho the show didn't work). However when you are the composers of Cabaret, The Happy Time, Zorba, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Woman of the Year, Chicago, and The Rink (among others...), you go down in history as one of the great songwriting teams in American theater.

The performers are all first rate, David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk are hoots. Karen Ziemba, as always, is wonderful. A major disappointment is that Jason Danielly's beautiful tenor voice is not given more to do. Overall, pleasant fun!!

CURTAINS is an entertaining murder mystery musical comedy set in the late 1950s and its score is evocative of that period. This is one of a handful of musicals by John Kander and Fred Ebb that were unproduced at the time of Ebb's death two years ago and has been doctored extensively by Rupert Holmes, composer-lyricist-librettist of THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. While not in the top tier of the Kander & Ebb canon, the CURTAINS score is nonetheless melodic and not without its charms. The 1950s musicals it evokes are not MY FAIR LADY and GYPSY, but the entertaining second tier hits like and REDHEAD and NEW GIRL IN TOWN. The plot of CURTAINS concerns a troubled Boston tryout for a new musical whose leading lady is murdered at the curtain call. Virtually everyone connected with the show has a motive and the means to do it. When the local detective is called in to solve the crime, he sequesters the entire company in the theatre. It turns out he's a major musical comedy buff and he not only solves the crime; he fixes the show and falls in love, too. Ah, musical comedy. The cast consists of top notch Broadway performers who deliver the score superbly. Among the highlights are Deborah Monk as a tough Leona Helmsley-like producer socking across "It's a Business," the always-delightful Karen Ziemba warmly crooning, "Thinking of Him" and the terrific Jason Daniely's heart-rending "I Miss the Music." Other delights are David Hyde-Pierce's "Coffee Shop Nights" and "Tough Act to Follow," and the whole-company rouser, "Show People." It's a pity that Megan Sikora's wonderful dancing can't be experienced via an audio recording because she's sensational. The Ebb and Holmes lyrics are the star of the show-within-a-show's comic production number, "Thataway." Fans of 1950s musical comedy will find this CD a nostalgic delight. I'll give this recording three and a half stars, rounded up to four.