{"id":18076,"date":"2015-05-09T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T20:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=18076"},"modified":"2015-05-09T16:37:55","modified_gmt":"2015-05-09T23:37:55","slug":"curtains-at-hillbarn-theatre-struggles-upstream-in-the-same-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/curtains-at-hillbarn-theatre-struggles-upstream-in-the-same-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"CURTAINS at Hillbarn Theatre struggles upstream “In The Same Boat”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bobby (Charlie Fields) and Georgia (Katherine Stein) dance up a storm in \u201cCurtains\u201d at Hillbarn Theatre<\/p><\/div>\n

CURTAINS: A Musical Whodunit. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by Rupert Holmes. Original concept and book by Peter Stone. Directed by Nancy Fitzgerald-Metzler Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 EastHillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA. 650-349-6411 or www.hillbarntheatre.org<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

May 7-31, 2015
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CURTAINS at Hillbarn Theatre struggles upstream “In The Same Boat” [rating:3]\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Kander and the late Fred Ebb began their Broadway debut with the musical Flora the Red Menace<\/em> in 1965. Since that time they have gone on to further fame with shows, to mention a few, such as Cabaret, Chicago <\/em>and Kiss of the Spider<\/em>. \u00a0Curtains<\/em> began in Los Angeles before traveling to the Broadway in 2007 receiving mixed reviews but a number of Tony nominations with a Tony Award for David Hyde Pierce. After a run of over 500 performances it was released for local productions and the West Coast premiere at Foothill College, under the direction of the legendary Jay Manley in 2011 was a smash hit with equity actor Ryan Drummond in the lead role of Lt. Frank Cioffi.
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When the faded screen star and supremely untalented leading lady Jessica (Deborah Rosengaus) of Robbin’ Hood<\/em> is murdered during her opening night curtain call it is up to theatre aficionado Lt. Frank Cioffi to solve the case, save the show, and maybe even find love before the show reopens, without getting killed himself. It just happens that the victim is detested by the entire cast of 25 who are all suspects. The only non-suspects are the fine unaccredited off-stage orchestra. Yes, he solves that murder and two others that take place before the final curtain. The audience, in the final, final curtain call is warned, \u201cFor anyone telling the ending, it will be \u2018curtains\u2019.
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The entire evening is a put-down, or is it send-up, of every musical comedy and mystery play to hit the boards. The time is 1959 when Boston was \u201cthe\u201d tryout city for Broadway bound plays and rewrites were the de rigueur. Well with a dead leading lady would the understudy Niki (Brandy Collazo), be the \u201cleading suspect\u201d thus moving into the lead role? Or could it be Bambi (Jessica Maxey) the understudy\u2019s understudy who would become the real understudy when Niki the understudy moved into the star role? Not so fast, the dictatorial egotistical director (Raymond Mendonca) has other plans, putting the lyricist Georgia (Katherine Stein) in the lead, separating her from her composer partner Aaron (Christopher M. Nelson) thus breaking up a potential romance. (Think Marvin Hammlish in They\u2019re Playing Our Song<\/em>). The corny rewrites of \u201cIn The Same Boat\u201d begin, are rehearsed, dumped and re-rehearsed in hysterical fashion until they finally get it right in the second act.
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Hillbarn mainstay Ross Neuenfeldt severely underplays the role of Lt. Coiffi to the point where his character becomes ineffective. Fortunately, he is supported by some talented cast members. Sasha Motalygo plays the hard-bitten lady co-producer and stage mother Carmen Bernstein with enough verve to take on the role of Rose in Gypsy.<\/em>\u00a0 She dominates the stage every time she belts a song. Then there is Jessica Maxey\u2019s eye-popping transformation from bimbo Bambi to sexy acrobatic dancer that is a show stopper. Brandy Collazo\u00a0 and Katherine Stein have beautiful singing voices that match their beauty. By far the most talented singer is tenor Christopher M. Nelson in his solo \u201cI Miss the Music.\u201d
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Many members of the cast get to throw some great zingers adding greatly to the humorous raunchy lines . . . of which there are many (I would direct the Kama Sutra with a Richard Rogers score!.\u201cTheater is a business and The Show Must Go On . . . horses\u2014t replies the cast!)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On opening night there was an added treat; Artistic Director Dan Deemers fills in as Sid Bernstein and has more than a passable singing voice.
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From this reviewer\u2019s viewpoint, this production of Curtains<\/em> like the play-within-the- play needs fixing to reduce the 2 hour and 35 minute running time and sharpen the direction.
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CAST: Arlene Barruca, Alyson Chilton; Johnny Harmon, Amnon Levy; Roberta Wooster, AnJu Hyppolite; Niki Harris, Brandy Collazo; Bobby Pepper, Charlie Fields; Marjorie Cook, Christine Baker; Aaron Fox, Christopher Nelson; Randy Dexter, Daniel Norberg; Jessica Cranshaw, Deborah Rosengaus; Harv Fremont, Gregory Lynch; Jane Setler, Jessamy Collier; Bambi Bernet, Jessica Maxey; Oscar Shapiro, John Rinaldi; Georgia Hendricks, Katherine Stein; Connie Subbotin, Katie Hontalas; Detective O’Farrell, David Meacham; Ensemble male, Michael Vetter; Roy Stetson, Patrick Lahey; Peg Prentice, Patty Grewell; Christopher Belling, Raymond Mendonca; Lt. Frank Cioffi, Ross Neuenfeldt; Darryl Grady, Russell Ward ; Carmen Bernstein, Sasha Motalygo; Sid Bernstein, Dan Demers; Mona Page,Tori Heibel.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

ARTISTIC STAFF: Choreographer, Jayne Zaban; Scenic Design, A. J. Diggins; Master Electrician, Aya Matsutomo; Assistant Lighting Design, Stephanie Dittbern; Properties Designer, Alexandra Nemchik; Costume Design, Valerie Emmi; Sound Designer, Jesse Scarborough; Hair & Makeup Designer, Emily Bright; Stage Manager,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amanda Roccuzzo; Assistant Stage Manager, Michelle Klingler.<\/em>
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Kedar K. Adour, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bobby (Charlie Fields) and Georgia (Katherine Stein) dance up a storm in \u201cCurtains\u201d at Hillbarn Theatre<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CURTAINS: A Musical Whodunit. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by Rupert Holmes. Original concept and book by Peter Stone. Directed by Nancy Fitzgerald-Metzler Hillbarn…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-kedar-k-adour"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"