And It’s CURTAINS for This Year’s Voices of Hope Musical — In the Best Possible Way!

If loving musical theatre is a crime, then book us immediately.
This April, Voices of Hope is staging the most delightful felony on the North Shore: Curtains, presented April 18th & 19th at North Shore Music Theatre — all to benefit cancer research.

Set in 1959 at Boston's Colonial Theatre, Curtains begins with a Broadway-bound musical that comes to a screeching, spotlight-shattering halt when its leading lady, Jessica Cranshaw played by Jean Chastain (Winchester) takes her final bow with alarming permanence. With the cast and crew locked inside the theatre and opening night looming, one question remains:
Whodunit?

Enter Frank Cioffi — part hard-boiled investigator, part soft-shoe sensation. Played by Chelmsford’s own Kenny Meehan (yes, a real-life police detective — we couldn’t have cast it better if we tried), Cioffi must solve the murder, save the show, and maybe find love — all without missing an eight-count.

And now… the suspects. (Please applaud suspiciously.)

The Lineup: Motive, Means… and Jazz Hands

• Suzanne Neuman (Andover) as Carmen Bernstein, co-producer. She’s got the money, the power, and a headache the size of the orchestra pit. In theatre, the person writing the checks also writes the rules — and sometimes rewrites the cast list.
• Ed Siegal (Stoneham) as Oscar, a Boston clothier who has invested every last penny of his 1958 profits into this show. He came for a return on investment. He may leave with a return to retail.
• Lauren Hall (Reading) as Niki, the wide-eyed ingénue with a voice like an angel and timing that’s almost too good. She seems innocent… but in show business, “innocent” is often just Act One.
• Greg Chastain (Winchester) and Diane Meehan (Chelmsford) as songwriting duo Aaron and Georgia. Their rhymes are tight. Their marriage? Less so. Nothing says romance like arguing over a rhyme scheme while the police dust for fingerprints.
• Paul Amoroso Jr. (East Boston) as Sidney Bernstein, co-producer and man about town. He knows everyone — investors, critics, maybe even a guy who “handles things.” If there’s a back door in the theatre, Sidney has used it, if ya know what I mean.
• Eliza Healey (North Reading) as Bambi, the chorus girl with star quality and a vertical leap that could clear both the footlights and the competition. She’s determined to rise to leading lady the old-fashioned way: talent, grit, and being in the right place at a very convenient time.
• Tom Ostrowski (Dorchester) as Bobby, the show’s leading man and choreographer. He can pirouette, he can plié, and he can definitely deflect suspicion — all while maintaining perfect posture.
• Rob Coughlan (Billerica) as Johnny Harmon, the stage manager. Calm, collected, and armed with a clipboard. In theatre, when the stage manager says “curtain,” it drops. No appeals. No encores.
• Roy Earley (Chelmsford) as the impeccably British director who refuses to suffer fools, amateurs, or bad reviews. He insists the show’s problems began and ended with the dearly departed diva. One might call that… convenient.
• Jon DiPrima (Haverhill) as Daryl Grady, theatre critic for the Boston Globe. His reviews can close a show faster than a trapdoor malfunction. If looks could kill, he’d have a byline and a body count.
  
  Or could the suspect be one of the many disgruntled people in the ensemble???

Curtains is the final completed musical by Broadway legends John Kander and Fred Ebb — the masterminds behind Cabaret and Chicago. Translation: expect brassy showstoppers, razor-sharp lyrics, and more plot twists than a chorus line on espresso.
This is a love letter to the Golden Age of musical theatre — sealed with a high kick and possibly a fingerprint.
People will be dying to see it.
And this time, that’s a rave review.

Secure your tickets at nsmt.org before they vanish without a trace.

Performance Dates: Saturday, April 18, at 8:00 pm
and Sunday, April 19, at 2:00 pm
Doors open one hour early for a silent auction*
 Location: North Shore Music Theatre, 54 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA, www.nsmt.org
 Tickets: $60 (Inner), $50 (Upper) Buy Your Tickets Now!* Box Office 978-232-7200
*Proceeds from the performance and silent auction benefit the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.

About Voices of Hope
Voices of Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with more than 150 volunteer members who believe the arts belong in the fight against cancer. Every performer has been personally touched by cancer and shares stories of hope, loss, resilience, and courage through music, dance, and heartfelt testimony.
Because while Curtains may revolve around a murder…
our mission is saving lives.
And that’s a finale worth a standing ovation.