Did L.A. Critics Think Kander & Ebb's Curtains Was Ready for Broadway?

A long-gestating project for composer John Kander, late lyricist Fred Ebb and late librettist Peter Stone, Curtains is a backstage musical theater whodunit. With a book and lyrics brush-up by Rupert Holmes, direction by Scott Ellis and choreography by Rob Ashford not to mention a cast of theater faves headlined by David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk, the show finally saw the light of day when it opened at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles on August 9. Did West Coast critics think the musical, which has its sights set on Broadway, was worth the wait?

Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

Phil Gallo of Variety: "Word of mouth should make Curtains one of the toughest tickets to secure in Los Angeles over the next seven weeks and will certainly help pave its path to Broadway. The Kander & Ebb-Rupert Holmes murder mystery tuner has so much going for it—David Hyde Pierce in a rich role, a stellar supporting cast and abundant laughs—that one can forgive its flawed ending, redundancies in the choreography and lack of bite."

Charles McNulty of The Los Angeles Times: "Curtains, which had its world premiere Wednesday at the Ahmanson Theatre in a brilliantly directed production by Scott Ellis, does what musicals rarely do anymore: entertain. Though the plot thickens at times like lumpy oatmeal and the hoary shtick complete with bad honeymoon jokes groans for cuts, the work still manages to charm. You're not likely to love Curtains, which is rumored to be Broadway bound, but you probably won't regret spending an evening in its company—and in these days of American musical drought, that can be enough for multiple Tony Awards."

Evan Henerson of The Los Angeles Daily News: "The musical Curtains is two plays in one. It's a curvy whodunit plot that book writer Rupert Holmes has made his signature. And it's a sugar-and-spiced valentine to the men and women for whom show business really is 'like no business I know.' As both mystery and musical, Curtains is hugely delightful, thanks in large part to a quite-savvy cast and the winning choreography of Rob Ashford. The score likely won't go down as one of Kander and Ebb's most skilled or profound, but there are some sparklers. As for David Hyde Pierce, playing Curtains' solve-it-and-fix-it Lt. Frank Cioffi, the actor's clearly a creature of the stage who has blossomed since shedding the seasonal quirks of Frasier's Niles Crane… Director Scott Ellis makes strong use of Pierce's comic talents, but the show is expertly cast top to bottom."

Paul Hodgins of The Orange County Register: "The star-studded Ahmanson staging is a giggly pleasure, and in its best moments—when those razor-edged Ebb lyrics work in tandem with one of Kander's breezy, disjunct melodies—Curtains carries a healthy hint of something greater than the present sum of its disparate parts… If an evening of hearty laughs and impressive star power is what you're after, Curtains is the perfect product. But those who hold Ebb and Stone to a special standard might be disappointed. Curtains is a bittersweet epitaph, but it's no masterpiece."

Laurence Vittes of The Hollywood Reporter: "With his slight physique and lack of conventional good looks, David Hyde Pierce hardly seems like the deus ex machina type. But once he makes his first appearance in Curtains, he pretty much carries the show. Pierce, cast and crew also might be carrying the pride of Los Angeles: In making the world premiere of Curtains the final installment in new Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie's first season, they must know that a brilliant run could take Curtains to New York's Great White Way… If the slow-to-get-going pacing of the first act, the unclear plot exposition and the relative lack of hummable tunes don't bring it down, Curtains could not only make it to Broadway but triumph there as well, especially if Pierce is along for the ride."