CURTAINS at Runaway Stage

The verdict: There's a lot of murderous fun (ouch! did I really say that?) at Runaway Stage's "Curtains"

It is opening night of a new Broadway-bound musical and nefarious deeds are afoot. The show - "Robbin' Hood of the Old West" - is a rollicking retelling of the Robin Hood saga set in frontier Kansas. The show's star, the notoriously untalented Jessica Crenshaw, drops dead during the final curtain calls, setting off a murder investigation involving the entire company. The Boston police arrive and end up confining the entire cast and crew in the theatre while the investigation proceeds. Mix a multitude of suspects, a bit of blackmail, some fractured and tortured romances and, oh yeah, a show that badly needs fixing before it moves to Broadway and you have "Curtains," the recent Broadway musical making its Sacramento debut at Runaway Stage.

"Curtains" is the final collaboration between renowned Broadway writers John Kander and Fred Ebb, the team that produced such classics as "Chicago" and Cabaret." Based on an original book by Peter Stone, "Curtains" was actually completed following the death of both Stone and Ebb, and Rupert Holmes was brought in to finalize the script. It debuted on Broadway in 2007, garnered several Tony nominations (and a win as best actor for David Hyde Pierce), and ran for a couple of seasons. It is that most rare of animals in today's world - an original musical not based on a movie, play or TV Show. It seems to be a rare treat these days to go to a show for the first time and not know what is going to happen because you've seen it in some other medium in the past.

There is a lot going on in "Curtains," and for the most part it all works. The talented actors gave it their all, the premise was cleverly conceived and the songs were enjoyable. The resident orchestra, led by James Lohman, did its usual outstanding job. There was just that pesky little bit that didn't that kept the experience from being truly enjoyable. As one of the characters says about the show-within-the-show "It's kinda lackluster. It lacks... luster."

But, first, the good stuff, and there was plenty of it. As Detective Frank Cioffi, the Boston homicide detective investigating the backstage murder, Darrell Strohl may be a bit understated to carry the show. But he plays the role with sincerity and a puppy dog earnestness that manifested itself anytime he got to be near his real love, the theater and its denizens. And he gets extra bonus points for the show's excellent choreography.

One of the strong casts' standouts was Andrea St. Claire as the amusingly innocent Niki,who strikes up a romance with the Boston detective while somehow constantly implicating herself in the murder (what was with all those fingerprints, anyway?). Ms. St. Claire and Mr. Strohl show convincing chemistry as their budding romance blossoms, and their extended second act song and dance to "A Tough Act to Follow" was a high point. The always enjoyable Liliian Baxter plays Carmen Bernstein, the show's coarse but driven producer, who is determined to see the show move to Broadway despite the pesky inconvenience of an ongoing murder investigation and the cast's indifference. Like Mr. Strohl, Ms. Baxter performs double duty, as she also designed the show's outstanding costumes.

Kate Richardson and Dan Masden play the former songwriting team of Georgia and Aaron. Both are outstanding singers, and Mr. Masden's performance of "I Miss the Music" in the first act is perhaps the show's finest musical moment. Kris Farhood, as Carmen's ditsy daughter Bambi Bennett, also has some nice moments throughout.

Stealing almost every scene he appears in, however, is Michael McElroy, who plays renowned British director Christopher Belling, who prowls and prances and delivers his lines with flamboyant Britishy abandon. McElroy's enthusiasm was apparent, and he often seemed to show up just in time to breathe new life just when the show started to drag.

Much of the genius of "Curtains" (and I use the term "genius" guardedly, as the show's frequent high points are often offset by sections that drag and by a too complicated plot) lies with the homages to and ripoffs of classic musical theatre tropes. Their "show within a show" bits were especially right on, with the songs perfectly spoofing such Broadway classics as Oklahoma, right down to a rousing chorus that spells out the name of the state and finishes with a loud "hurrah!" They also had some fun with Broadway's obsession with "Stunt casting" - the doomed Jessica Crenshaw is apparently a TV star devoid of Broadway-worthy talent ("She just has tits," is how the producer Carmen Berstein sums up Jessica's qualifications). And there was a little bit of the old 'let's put on a show in the barn' theme running through the production, as Detective Cioffi, while trying to crack the murder case, also sets out to solve the crime that is "Robbin' Hood."

I will be honest that, despite all the good stuff I've just mentioned, I really wanted to like "Curtains" more than I actually did. There were too many moments when the show seemed to drag. For such a light bit of entertainment, the running time was far too long, and I found myself quietly checking my watch throughout the second act. The dense plot seemed to include too many elements that were neither fleshed out nor brought to a satisfying conclusion - the eminently talented Scott Woodward was pretty much wasted in the role of Bobby Pepper - his character's entire motivation for his actions throughout the show were revealed in one brief line that I nearly missed, as it was delivered almost in passing. And some sub- sub-plots were barely hinted at, although they seemed to have quite a bearing on the overall plot. I came away thinking the entire show would have benefited from one final re-write - maybe it needed a real life Detective Cioffi to work out the final kinks.

("Curtains", directed by Bob Baxter, is playing at the 24th Street Theatre, 2791 24th STreet, from July 9 through August 1, 2010)