Musical whodunnit 'Curtains' delivers laughs at Surfside Playhouse
Who better to play a police officer than a police officer?
The law enforcer character in question is Lt. Frank Cioffi, the hero policeman-actor in the musical “Curtains,” which will be presented Nov 8-24 at Surfside Playhouse. Retired policeman Rob Kenna plays the role.
“I actually was a police officer in New South Wales, Australia,” said Kenna, a familiar presence in theaters throughout Brevard County since he retired here several years ago. “I’ve spent the last two or two and a half years on stage.”
In this case, Kenna plays a drama-loving detective investigating the death of an actress who had been performing in a bad play. As his investigation goes along, Cioffi indulges both sides.
“He basically takes over the show,” director Bryan Bergeron said. “He reworks it and saves the day.”
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“Curtains” and the westernized Robin Hood play within it make for great comedy, he added.
“It’s not a farce, but the lines and gags are hilarious,” Bergeron said. “It’s a hard show to (put on) because it has got kind of an edgy feel to it, though it doesn’t have the gravitas of ‘Cabaret’ or ‘Chicago,’ (John) Kander and (Fred) Ebb’s other shows. The lines, the gags . . . it’s just so funny.”
Kenna called it “silly fun, with a murder mystery.”
Bergeron called “Curtains” a difficult show to do because “everything take place in the middle of a stage,” with a play-within-a-play. “It’s like blocking Shakespeare,” he joked.
Kenna, who writes music, came to this country in hopes of getting his 80 songs published, an easier task, he believes, if they are “woven into a play,” and he is working on that.
“Then I got the theater bug and now I always am onstage,” he said. “I’ve been in shows at the Henegar Center, Melbourne Civic Theatre and once before at Surfside, in 'Tripp and Fall,’ which was part of its playwrights’ competition."
He called Cioffi, a role that won David Hyde Pierce the 2007 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, “A pretty straight-down-the-line detective from 1959” with enough dialogue to make the role challenging as well as satisfying.
Bergeron also cited strong performances by Karen Monks as Carmen Bernstein, the show’s unhappily married producer; Anthony Mowad as Christopher Belling, the campy English director; Chris Tsocanos as Aaron Fox, the composer who still loves his former wife; and Jennifer Jesseman as Georgia Hendricks, Fox’s ex-wife and songwriting partner.
“They do so well, and it’s just a very funny show,” Bergeron said.
Added Kenna, “What we really want to do is pick up the audience and take it along for the ride, and a funny ride it is.”
“Curtains”
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays and Saturday, Nov. 23
Where: Surfside Playhouse, 301 Ramp Road, Cocoa Beach
Cast: As Lt. Frank Cioffi, Rob Kenna; Carmen Bernstein, Karen Monks; Jennifer Jesseman, Georgia Hendricks; Chris Tsocanos, Aaron Fox; Anthony Mowad, Christopher Belling; Bobby Pepper, John Kurowski; Daryl Grady, Gordon Ringer; Randy Dexter, Rob Dickman; Niki Harris, Tracy Babukovic; Bambi Bernet, SarahBeth Dawson
Tickets: $25 (adults), $22 (seniors, military and students), $10 (children)
On the web: surfsideplayers.com
Call: 321-783-3127