Curtains (The SOB Revisit)
Curtains (The SOB Revisit) - Al Hirschfeld Theatre, New York, NY**** (out of ****)
Ever go see a musical where one solitary song follows you wherever you go? For over a week?
That's been my experience ever since last Sunday when I once again went "Thataway" to see Curtains, a show I first saw during its Los Angeles tryout over one year ago. Act One's final tune "Thataway," which only mildly captured my attention upon my first viewing (and which I had tended to skip over when listening to the cast album), somehow has burrowed its way inside my mind. I find myself waking up with the clever tune still playing in my head.
In my original review, I called Curtains a "real honest-to-goodness old-fashioned backstage musical." I recognized that some fine-tuning would take place, but there was little to quibble about.
Apart from a couple tunes being reordered -- "Kansasland," Curtains' homage to Oklahoma! now comes a tad later, while "A Tough Act To Follow" appears earlier -- most of what I saw in Los Angeles remains intact. Sure, a couple minor casting changes have occurred, most notably with Broadway veteran Ernie Sabella assuming the role of Sidney Bernstein from Robert Walden. But thanks to Scott Ellis' guiding hand, Curtains now zings with even sharper precision.
David Hyde Pierce -- and the rest of the cast, for that matter -- have never been more on their game. Tony-winner Pierce and Jill Paice are breathtaking in their sweet duet, the aforementioned "A Tough Act To Follow." Debra Monk, Megan Sikora and Edward Hibbert have never been funnier. Noah Racey has never danced better. (Although could someone please tell me why the fantastically talented Jim Newman hasn't been scooped up for bigger roles?) And Jason Danieley's "I Miss The Music" (written by John Kander as a lasting tribute to his late musical partner Fred Ebb) is even more poignant this second time around.
Fortunately for me, with "Thataway" ringing in my brain, I won't miss the music anytime soon.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
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Labels: Broadway, Curtains, David Hyde Pierce, Debra Monk, Fred Ebb, John Kander, Los Angeles, Musical, The SOB Revisit
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, October 12, 2007
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