Its 'Curtains' for HCT
Michelle Blake stars as Georgia Hendricks in the Hale Centre Theatre's production of "Curtains."
Playing the "Curtains" role of Aaron Fox in West Valley City is a wee bit harder than playing the same role on Broadway.
"I play the writer of a musical in a show within a show," said Quinn Dietlein of Farmington, who plays Fox during Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night shows. "I get to play piano onstage for a couple of numbers. On Broadway, the piano's back is to the audience. But in theater in the round, at the Hale Centre Theatre, somewhere between 200 and 300 people can see if I'm really playing."
So he is.
"Between piano numbers, I am singing, acting and dancing as little as possible," said Dietlein, 31, who works in corporate development at Hale. "It's as big a challenge for me as anything I have ever done artistically. I'm hoping it pays off in euphoria, but right now I still feel the stress."
Michelle Blake of Layton stars as Georgia Hendricks, Fox's estranged wife, in the evening shows on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and in the Saturday matinee.
"I saw the show on Broadway a year and a half ago," said Blake, 35, a stay-at-home mom of a 6-year-old daughter. "I left the theater thinking, 'This is a part I have got to play someday.' I just didn't know it would be so soon."
Getting the show so quickly after its Broadway run ended last year is a coup for the Hale, which presents the musical in its regional premiere, continuing through Nov. 21.
"The show closed on Broadway after five years, not because it was struggling, but because the star, David Hyde Pierce, was moving on to other projects, and no one could imagine the show without him," Dietlein said. "I know the producers of the theater were able to meet with the publishing company while the show was still on Broadway, and somehow they struck a deal, and got it here before touring companies got hold of the show. So it's a pretty big deal for the Hale."
"Curtains" is a Tony-winning murder mystery musical by Fred Ebb and John Kander, who also wrote "Cabaret" and "Chicago." "Curtains," intended as a sort of valentine to the big Broadway musicals of the past, is written in 1950s style, with big dance numbers and energetic choreography.
The show tells the story of the murder of a leading lady, which occurs during her show's opening-night curtain call. A theater-loving detective, Lt. Frank Cioffi (played on Broadway by Pierce), locks down the cast and crew as he investigates the crime and offers suggestions to make the show better.
The characters of Fox and Hendricks are theater people recruited to make improvements on the script, who find themselves camping in the theater with the rest of the suspects. And Hendricks finds herself cast as the show's new leading lady.
Also appearing in the production is David Stensrud of Roy, who plays Sidney Bernstein, philandering husband of the show's co-producer.
"I think the biggest draw for the average Joe coming to see the show is that it's a fun whodunit," Dietlein said. "It has all kinds of clever one liners, and really great characters and beautiful music. And I haven't spoken with one person yet who has guessed the killer correctly.
"It's written so all the clues are there, but you have to put the pieces together. It's not like 'CSI' shows, where you can't figure it out until they give that last bit of information that comes out of the blue."
Despite being set in the 1950s, Dietlein said, "Curtains" is written for today's audiences.
"It definitely speaks to a modern audience," he said. "Today's pacing is there, but the dance numbers harken back to Fred and Ginger, and all the beautiful MGM stuff you can still catch on the music channels. It's a lovely tribute, but it's got today's pacing and humor without being trendy. I'm encouraged to see a show like this come off Broadway. This is one of those shows, like 'Oklahoma' and '42nd Street,' that will be around for years to come."
PREVIEW
WHAT: 'Curtains'
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, with some matinees, through Nov. 21
WHERE: Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Lane, West Valley City
TICKETS: $22-$26, $15-$16/children. (801) 984-9000.
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