Curtains

I can't remember the last time I could wholeheartedly say that I loved a new musical on Broadway. The Light in the Piazza, perhaps? Either way, I'm now stopping people on the street and telling them how amazing Curtains is. A true old-school spectacle, it features a totally lovable Kander and Ebb score, a book by Rupert Holmes that will leave you howling, and an ensemble with nary a weak link. David Hyde Pierce is divine as a Boston detective in love with Broadway musicals; give me Lt. Frank Cioffi over Man in Chair any day. Karen Ziemba and Jason Danieley sing and act beautifully as a pair of formerly married songwriters, and Edward Hibbert had me screaming with laughter as the effete, angry British director. Of course, the showstopper is Debra Monk as the ruthless, Weissler-esque producer; her big Act Two number "It's a Business" is the perfect proof as to why she's one of the theatre's reigning Grande Dames.