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Audio CD
Publisher: Manhattan Records
John Kander
Format: Cast Recording
Curtains is an entertaining play within a play, as well as a "whodunit" new musical comedy featuring one of the last scores by legendary, Tony Award-winning songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, New York, New York). Starring David Hyde Pierce (Spamalot, "Frasier") and Debra Monk, the Curtains original Broadway cast album is produced by nine-time Grammy Award-winner Jay David Saks.
Sadly, Curtains is the final entry in the long and fruitful partnership of lyricist Fred Ebb (who died in September 2004) and composer John Kander. While the show doesn't reach the heights of the team's previous masterpieces, such as Cabaret and Chicago, it's certainly a lot better than, say, their middling 1997 offering Steel Pier. Deliberately old-fashioned (it even features a real overture, something that's fast becoming a rarity), Curtains is a whodunit rolled into a musical--or vice versa. Set in 1959 Boston, it takes place backstage at a singing-and-dancing Western corker titled Robbin Hood. Someone gets killed, and a show tunes-crazy homicide detective (David Hyde Pierce) is called in. The plot is just a pretext for a series of very entertaining, characteristically brass-heavy songs that may not have the bite of old Kander and Ebb but are still very catchy. Above all, Curtains is (both thematically and stylistically) a love letter to old-school showbiz, and it's delivered on a silver platter by a cast of pros that includes the aforementioned Hyde Pierce, Kander and Ebb habituée Karen Ziemba, endearing Jason Danieley and, a notch above the rest, Debra Monk. Unsurprisingly, she chews the scenery and spits it right back in a pair of rowdy numbers: "Show People" and "It's a Business." --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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| I love Jason Danieley |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I bought this because of Jason Danieley. "I Miss The Music" gives me goosebumps and brings me to tears - every time. The CD was worth it for that song alone.
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| Curtains is the best |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I am a big fan of Kander and Ebb. I especially like Ebb's way with lyrics. Unfortunately, since Ebb has died, this really is "curtains" for their collaboration. This is the best K&E production I have ever seen, especially with the original cast. It is hilarious, romantic, typical theater attitudes, and a happy ending. Debra Monk is the best performer, but the character of "Bambi" has to be seen on stage to truly appreciate her dancing ability. David Hyde Pierce sings and dances better than I would have expected. This album doesn't give you the true ending, so you have to go see it on the stage to see how the murders are all solved and everyone is happy. It's worth just listening to, even if you don't really know how it ends.
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| Gotta Love Broadway! |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Lovers of Broadway will appreciate thaat the Musical genre' is alive. Here is a refreshing "new" work, with a clever story and a great cast. Buy the cd & then see the show! You'll leave the theare with your toes a tappin'.
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| Fun show |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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We only went to see it because of David Hyde Pierce. The show was lots of fun and the cast amazing. There was great talent on the stage and the music fit well. I had to get the CD. Not the best of Kander & Ebb, but "Show People" still knocks your socks off... and it transfered to the CD beautifully. Hearing the music won't ruin the ending and it gets you ready to follow along or relive the energy.
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| Good cast, bland score... |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
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The cast recording of "Curtains" features a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb (with additional material by Rupert Holmes) that is just too bland-- especially given the songwriting team's track record. Tony-winner David Hyde Pierce and a gathering of Broadway pros perform admirably on disc and the orchestra is lively, but most of the tracks had me bored within about thirty seconds. The story involves a murder mystery behind the scenes of a terrible musical and the investigation by a show business-loving detective (Pierce), whose love of theater gets in the way of solving the crime. It's a promising premise with a good enough cast that might make this one of those musicals that's still enjoyable without having a distinguished score. "Curtains" is obviously a throwback to old fashioned musical comedies (in keeping with the 1950's setting), but even as nostalgia, the recording doesn't offer a whole lot. The songs for the musical-within-the musical are intentionally dopey, and therefore pretty tedious on disc. There are bits here and there that work okay-- particularly when some cynical humor breaks through. I liked "The Woman's Dead," in which the cast of the show-within-a show use the occasion of the star's unexpected death to engage in an impromptu "acting exercise." But the darker bits really only made me want to listen to edgier Kander and Ebb fare, like "Chicago" or "Kiss of the Spider Woman."
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Act 1. Overture
Act 1. Wide Open Spaces
Act 1. What Kind of Man?
Act 1. Thinking of Him
Act 1. The Woman's Dead
Act 1. Show People
Act 1. Coffee Shop Nights
Act 1. In the Same Boat #1
Act 1. I Miss the Music
Act 1. Thataway!
Act 2. The Man Is Dead
Act 2. He Did It
Act 2. In the Same Boat #2
Act 2. It's a Business
Act 2. Kansasland
Act 2. Thinking of Him / I Miss the Music (reprise)
Act 2. A Tough Act to Follow
Act 2. In the Same Boat #3
Act 2. In the Same Boat Completed
Act 2. Show People (reprise)
Act 2. Wide Open Spaces Finale
Act 2. A Tough Act to Follow (reprise)
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