Clara Musical Society
Clara, County
offaly
Curtains
GAA Social Centre,
Clara
Thursday April 7th
2011 (as published in AIMS showtime's)
With a title like “Curtains” Clara Musical Society’s recent offering might
have been mistaken for a show about window treatments. As it happens, this
was ‘whodunnit’ with a difference, mixing music with crime drama and coming up
with a good evening’s nostalgic entertainment.
The show’s overture had a great Big Band sound, and we in the audience had a
few moments to settle in our seats before realising that we were witnessing the finale
(Wide Open Spaces) of another show called “Robbin’ Hood, a musical of the Wild West”. Our
viewpoint was from backstage, a clever perspective that allowed us to see the
conductor of Robbin’ Hood and the audience behind him. This was
clearly a kitschy show in which the Maid Marion character was played by a Very
Bad Actress called Jessica Cranshaw. Her sudden death by poisoning is the
shocking event that is the catalyst for the “real” show Curtains.
The comedy of Curtains lies in its irreverent take on just about everything that happens,
so the death of Jessica Cranshaw, extravagantly played as tone deaf and clueless
by Niamh Sammon, is viewed by the Robbin’ Hood company as not necessarily a bad
thing. The show’s composer Aaron Fox (Eoghan Fingleton), lyricist Georgia
Hendricks (Sandra Mulvehill) co-producer (Carmen Bernstein)Amanda
Cunningham and financial backer Oscar Shapiro (Wayne Handy) were all strong
characters, with a nice feel for ensemble and deadpan comic delivery. They
looked in vain for good reviews of the show in the papers, and also for any
reason that someone would become a critic in What Kind of Man. The twist
came when they spotted a good review, and the song became a hymn in praise of
critics. Christopher Belling, an outrageously light-on-his-feet theatre
director, was played by James Paradise. His constantly busy, fussy
demeanour was comic in itself, and his every appearance was an example to
‘luvvies’ everywhere.
Nigel Sammon and Johnny Harmon the stage manager was
terrifically deadpan throughout, his ‘New Joisey’ accent consistent and his
movements laconic. The decision to replace Jessica with Georgia has
repercussions among cast members for whom the pecking order of understudy to
understudy is important. Niki Harris, understudy to Jessica was played by
Sinead Handy, whose good consistent American accent and strong singing voice
made her leading lady material for sure. Another woman waiting in the
wings was Bambi Bernet, played by Karen Minnock, an able singer and dancer who
was engaging as someone who also has her eyes on the bright lights of
stardom.
Among the thespians was also Stephen Rabbette as Bobby
Pepper, choreographer and actor, and new love interest of Georgia.
Rabbette was handsome and believable in this role of a song-and-dance man with
an eye for the ladies.
Thinking of Him caused Georgia, Bobby and Aaron to
think about their relationships and The Woman’s Dead was an opportunity for
individual voices from the cast to come out of the choral texture.
The show’s central character was detective Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, the
policeman investigating the murder, played by Malcolm Whelan. His
understated approach was engaging, and he had a facility for mixing speech and
song.
Show People was a nice big number that summed up one of the overarching
philosophies of this musical, the idea that this special breed of folks involved
in the theatre are different from the rest of the world, and as such, have to
stay with the show. In this, Amanda Cunningham proved that she was not
only perfectly cast as the tough-talking and funny Carmen Bernstein but she has
a strong belt-y voice and is a great mover.
Sid Bernstein was Tommy Scanlon, whose tenure in this short role established
him as an able character actor.
The Clara chorus were adept at conveying the predicament of the Robbin’ Hood
cast, sequestered by Cioffi until he finds the murderer. They are engaged
in rehearsals for dance numbers in the Robbin Hood show, and also join in with
songs (like Show People) that are part of the ‘real’ murder plot. The
distinction between the two was subtle, but needed to be in place.
This “show within a show” dynamic made strong technical demands as well, with
props and sets corresponding to the show being rehearsed and also the plot of
Curtains itself. Scene changes were instantaneous, and shifts of location and
mood conveyed by lighting, subtle for backstage scenes and more focussed for
scenes from the show, such as the various versions of the ‘new’ song In the Same
Boat. These were wittily staged and costumed, and the boat props were
ingenious.
Simon Cannon as Daryl Grady, the critic, had the right kind of hard-bitten
attitude and sure-footed accent for this role, and made the most of his time on
stage. Aaron’s song I Miss the Music was staged with some nice miming of
him playing the piano.
Thataway!, set in a saloon, was ‘rehearsed’ by the company and provided a
rousing end to Act I. There was some attractive movement involving chairs
and the choreography generally in this was witty and suggestive, and nicely
within reach of the lively Clara dancers. The only thing to mar their mood
was the unexpected sight of Sid Bernstein hanging at the back of the
stage.
The Man is Dead featured an ingenious lift for Clara’s MD and Director Alan
Recks, a device that certainly got the audience’s full attention. He Did
It involved the cast in late-night speculation about the identity of the
murderer. Again, this gave chorus members scope to develop their roles in
the show, and the triple ‘bedroom’ setting was comical and worked very
well. The singing of the three chorus groups in canon at speed was agile
and quite clever. The set-up for It’s a Business was well done, with Bambi’s pleading to be
given a number for her and Bobby and Carmen reacting in a predictably hard-nosed
way. The costumes for this were particularly nice, with a great dress for
Carmen and brown and black for the male chorus who join her. The
Chorography was classic, stylish and very effective. Kansasland reached
for another extreme, a lively number with colourful costumes from the Wild West,
great hairstyles and dance elements including pinwheel formations and other
square-dance moves.
Karen Minnock and Stephen Rabbette as Bambi and Bobby are good movers and
this number had great momentum. The growing relationship between Frank
and Nicki developed nicely, as did the rekindled romance between Aaron and
Georgia. There was a good sense of chemistry between these characters, and
the other ‘romance’ in this story, that of Cioffi’s love for the theatre was
also nicely and gradually explored. It finally burst into the fantasy
sequence A Tough Act to Follow, which was beautifully staged with a curtain of
light and two Hollywood-style staircases, complete with chorus in sparkling
outfits. The choreography for this was smooth and evocative.
The twists and turns of this plot continued to surprise, including the
shooting of Bobby, the murder of stage manager John and the discovery of the
identity of the killer. Each of these ‘reveals’ was well done and
supported by good technical production. The scene in which Ciofi’s
investigation takes him high above the stage was cleverly put together.
Another very well-resourced number was the final version of In the same Boat,
featuring moving water conveyed by cutouts, two boats, mermaids, river boat
gamblers and a paddle steamer.
Complications of the plot not withstanding, this detailed and witty show for
all its lightness and melodrama was no small undertaking, and Clara rose to the
occasion with a bright and colourful production that conveyed exactly what Show
People are all about.
have been mistaken for a show about window treatments. As it happens, this
was ‘whodunnit’ with a difference, mixing music with crime drama and coming up
with a good evening’s nostalgic entertainment.
The show’s overture had a great Big Band sound, and we in the audience had a
few moments to settle in our seats before realising that we were witnessing the finale
(Wide Open Spaces) of another show called “Robbin’ Hood, a musical of the Wild West”. Our
viewpoint was from backstage, a clever perspective that allowed us to see the
conductor of Robbin’ Hood and the audience behind him. This was
clearly a kitschy show in which the Maid Marion character was played by a Very
Bad Actress called Jessica Cranshaw. Her sudden death by poisoning is the
shocking event that is the catalyst for the “real” show Curtains.
The comedy of Curtains lies in its irreverent take on just about everything that happens,
so the death of Jessica Cranshaw, extravagantly played as tone deaf and clueless
by Niamh Sammon, is viewed by the Robbin’ Hood company as not necessarily a bad
thing. The show’s composer Aaron Fox (Eoghan Fingleton), lyricist Georgia
Hendricks (Sandra Mulvehill) co-producer (Carmen Bernstein)Amanda
Cunningham and financial backer Oscar Shapiro (Wayne Handy) were all strong
characters, with a nice feel for ensemble and deadpan comic delivery. They
looked in vain for good reviews of the show in the papers, and also for any
reason that someone would become a critic in What Kind of Man. The twist
came when they spotted a good review, and the song became a hymn in praise of
critics. Christopher Belling, an outrageously light-on-his-feet theatre
director, was played by James Paradise. His constantly busy, fussy
demeanour was comic in itself, and his every appearance was an example to
‘luvvies’ everywhere.
Nigel Sammon and Johnny Harmon the stage manager was
terrifically deadpan throughout, his ‘New Joisey’ accent consistent and his
movements laconic. The decision to replace Jessica with Georgia has
repercussions among cast members for whom the pecking order of understudy to
understudy is important. Niki Harris, understudy to Jessica was played by
Sinead Handy, whose good consistent American accent and strong singing voice
made her leading lady material for sure. Another woman waiting in the
wings was Bambi Bernet, played by Karen Minnock, an able singer and dancer who
was engaging as someone who also has her eyes on the bright lights of
stardom.
Among the thespians was also Stephen Rabbette as Bobby
Pepper, choreographer and actor, and new love interest of Georgia.
Rabbette was handsome and believable in this role of a song-and-dance man with
an eye for the ladies.
Thinking of Him caused Georgia, Bobby and Aaron to
think about their relationships and The Woman’s Dead was an opportunity for
individual voices from the cast to come out of the choral texture.
The show’s central character was detective Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, the
policeman investigating the murder, played by Malcolm Whelan. His
understated approach was engaging, and he had a facility for mixing speech and
song.
Show People was a nice big number that summed up one of the overarching
philosophies of this musical, the idea that this special breed of folks involved
in the theatre are different from the rest of the world, and as such, have to
stay with the show. In this, Amanda Cunningham proved that she was not
only perfectly cast as the tough-talking and funny Carmen Bernstein but she has
a strong belt-y voice and is a great mover.
Sid Bernstein was Tommy Scanlon, whose tenure in this short role established
him as an able character actor.
The Clara chorus were adept at conveying the predicament of the Robbin’ Hood
cast, sequestered by Cioffi until he finds the murderer. They are engaged
in rehearsals for dance numbers in the Robbin Hood show, and also join in with
songs (like Show People) that are part of the ‘real’ murder plot. The
distinction between the two was subtle, but needed to be in place.
This “show within a show” dynamic made strong technical demands as well, with
props and sets corresponding to the show being rehearsed and also the plot of
Curtains itself. Scene changes were instantaneous, and shifts of location and
mood conveyed by lighting, subtle for backstage scenes and more focussed for
scenes from the show, such as the various versions of the ‘new’ song In the Same
Boat. These were wittily staged and costumed, and the boat props were
ingenious.
Simon Cannon as Daryl Grady, the critic, had the right kind of hard-bitten
attitude and sure-footed accent for this role, and made the most of his time on
stage. Aaron’s song I Miss the Music was staged with some nice miming of
him playing the piano.
Thataway!, set in a saloon, was ‘rehearsed’ by the company and provided a
rousing end to Act I. There was some attractive movement involving chairs
and the choreography generally in this was witty and suggestive, and nicely
within reach of the lively Clara dancers. The only thing to mar their mood
was the unexpected sight of Sid Bernstein hanging at the back of the
stage.
The Man is Dead featured an ingenious lift for Clara’s MD and Director Alan
Recks, a device that certainly got the audience’s full attention. He Did
It involved the cast in late-night speculation about the identity of the
murderer. Again, this gave chorus members scope to develop their roles in
the show, and the triple ‘bedroom’ setting was comical and worked very
well. The singing of the three chorus groups in canon at speed was agile
and quite clever. The set-up for It’s a Business was well done, with Bambi’s pleading to be
given a number for her and Bobby and Carmen reacting in a predictably hard-nosed
way. The costumes for this were particularly nice, with a great dress for
Carmen and brown and black for the male chorus who join her. The
Chorography was classic, stylish and very effective. Kansasland reached
for another extreme, a lively number with colourful costumes from the Wild West,
great hairstyles and dance elements including pinwheel formations and other
square-dance moves.
Karen Minnock and Stephen Rabbette as Bambi and Bobby are good movers and
this number had great momentum. The growing relationship between Frank
and Nicki developed nicely, as did the rekindled romance between Aaron and
Georgia. There was a good sense of chemistry between these characters, and
the other ‘romance’ in this story, that of Cioffi’s love for the theatre was
also nicely and gradually explored. It finally burst into the fantasy
sequence A Tough Act to Follow, which was beautifully staged with a curtain of
light and two Hollywood-style staircases, complete with chorus in sparkling
outfits. The choreography for this was smooth and evocative.
The twists and turns of this plot continued to surprise, including the
shooting of Bobby, the murder of stage manager John and the discovery of the
identity of the killer. Each of these ‘reveals’ was well done and
supported by good technical production. The scene in which Ciofi’s
investigation takes him high above the stage was cleverly put together.
Another very well-resourced number was the final version of In the same Boat,
featuring moving water conveyed by cutouts, two boats, mermaids, river boat
gamblers and a paddle steamer.
Complications of the plot not withstanding, this detailed and witty show for
all its lightness and melodrama was no small undertaking, and Clara rose to the
occasion with a bright and colourful production that conveyed exactly what Show
People are all about.