Theatre Guild of Simsbury Gets Primed for 'Curtains'

It's been a 'hurry up and wait' period for the Theatre Guild of Simsbury (TGS) as the group anticipated its opening performance of the Broadway musical, Curtains. 

With an intense eight-week rehearsal schedule and an opening date in sight, October's winter storm took everyone by surprise and of course, the first performance scheduled for Nov. 4 was cancelled. 

Simsbury High School, the venue for the show, while closed from the storm, served as an emergency shelter.

With power restored in town there's no turning back now for the Theater Guild of Simsbury's performance of Curtains. 

"Keep the focus on yourself and your moves, but be aware of who and what's around you," said Doreen Cohn, director, to the actors on stage during dress rehearsal Wednesday evening.

The group worked hard over the next several hours fine-tuning choreography, lines, lighting and props. Making up for missed time due to the storm, TGS is on track to deliver a weekend full of laughs and entertainment to Simsbury audiences and theater lovers from surrounding towns at large.

The production is set to open for a special post-storm matinee scheduled 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 at Simsbury High School's auditorium. Ticket prices are at a reduced price of $10.

For the Saturday night and Sunday matinee shows, tickets are reduced to $20 at the door, not $22. The discounted ticket prices are intended to be a break for people due to the massive power outages and can be purchased at the door.

The theatre guild will celebrate its 40^th Anniversary of providing quality community theater for the town of Simsbury and the greater Farmington valley area. To kick off the celebratory year, the local theater guild is proud to premier the recent Broadway musical Curtains.

With music and lyrics by the award-winning team of John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by Rupert Holmes, the “musical comedy whodunit” delighted audiences when it opened on Broadway in 2007. David Hyde Pierce won the Tony for Best Performance for a Lead Actor in a Musical, and the show was nominated for seven other awards as well. 

Curtains, set in 1959, takes the audience backstage of a musical theater production during its pre-Broadway tryouts in Boston. The comedic storyline follows the cast and crew of the musical and a local homicide detective as they attempt to unravel the mystery of who killed their untalented and unliked leading lady. The intrepid detective secretly longs to be in show business himself, and manages to solve the crime, improve the show, and fall in love with the show’s ingénue, all before the final curtain comes down on Curtains. 

Theater Guild of Simsbury's production crew of Curtains is as follows:

Directed by: Doreen A. Cohn; Musical Direction: Will Minton; Set Design/Technical direction: Ken Jones; Choreography: Mark Simpson; Costumes: Cindy Braunlich; Producer: Rosemarie Beskind; Lighting Design: Michael Hunter; Ass't Director: Chris Weed; Props: Terry Rowe; and Scenic Artist: Nora Goeler. The full cast is displayed as a PDF on the site alongside stage photos. For more information visit the TGS link.