‘Whodunit’ musical comedy at the Warner Theatre

Written by Joanne Greco Rochman
Thursday, 31 January 2013 13:48

The cast of ‘Curtains’ at the Warner Theatre’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre in Torrington.She is a leading lady who can’t sing, can’t dance, and can’t act. Is it any wonder that anyone and everyone in the cast of the pre-Broadway show, “Robbin’ Hood,” would want to kill her? Whodunit fans are in for a treat in the backstage musical comedy “Curtains,” now playing at the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre in Torrington. When the leading lady of “Robbin’ Hood” takes her final bow, it’s literally “curtains” for her. Someone knocked her off during the curtain call and the whole cast is suspect.

The fun starts when the play-within-the-play introduces Lieutenant Frank Cioffi. This lieutenant is a star-struck, musical theater fan. Matt Comish takes on the role and is not the kind of detective who solves murders by the book. Some of the most hilarious scenes in this production involve the comic moments created by Comish. Here’s a detective who always wanted to be in a Broadway musical. While he tries to discover the murderer, he also manages to fall in love with the ingénue, play piano with the composer/lyricist, and get just as involved with the show as he is with his case. He even makes suggestions on how to improve the musical to the neurotic director Christopher Belling.

Considering that John Ozerhoski plays the director, it’s not surprising that Johnny O and Comish keep the audience laughing. Nikki was the understudy in “Robbin’ Hood,” so she is a definite suspect. However, she’s also the ingénue. The detective is gaga over her and disqualifies her as a suspect immediately. 

Lynn Marie D’Ambrosi plays Nikki with just the right amount of naivety and sweetness. Suzanne Powers is in fine voice as she plays Georgia, the character who takes over the lead. Jeannine Gallmeyer plays Carmen, the hard-nosed producer. Gallmeyer really dominates the stage whenever she is on it. She delivers star quality vocals as she insults everybody including her step-daughter and especially her husband, Sidney. Unfortunately, Sidney gets tied up with the curtain ropes and when the curtain rises, so does Sidney’s dead body. 

“Curtains” is very cleverly constructed. Rob Schiller, a two-time Emmy-winner and producer/director of many sitcoms, including “The King of Queens” and “Two and Half Men,” directs this production with T.J. Thompson as musical director and Donna Bonasera as choreographer. 

While the large cast includes mixed levels of talent and accomplishment, overall the community theater does a very good job with a very complex production. The show is selling out quickly. It runs through Feb. 3. Box office: 860-489-7180

Joanne Greco Rochman is an active member in The American Theatre Critics Association, and covers art and culture in a blog for CBS and CBS-CT. She welcomes comments. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

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