WHS Theater's 'Curtains' Draws Laughs

Audience members easily will locate their favorite characters during the Westborough High School Center Stage Theater Company’s productions this weekend.

“There’s scenes where all 32 of them are on stage together, which I love,” Westborough High Drama Director Anne Slotnick says.

The theater company will perform “Curtains,” a musical comedy murder mystery at 7:30 p.m. Friday,  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday on the high school’s Charlotte Spinney Auditorium.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students.

The production includes 32 cast members, 30 students in the pit and 25 to 30 in the crew, Slotnick says.

The story, which has “a similar feel to something like ‘Clue,’” focuses on a murder at a play, Slotnick says.

 “They’re producing a show called ‘Robbin' Hood,’ which is a wild, wild western comedy. And opening night, their lead dies on stage,” she explains.

“The theater goes into lockdown, and they basically don’t let anyone in or out. And then, throughout the course of the next couple of days,  ther people die. Other people almost die. And they are reworking the show to make successful on Broadway. So, the detective is in charge of solving the murders and fixing all the problems of the show itself.”

The Westborough High theater program has performed musical comedies, “but we haven’t done anything that I think is so blatantly funny for the audience,” Slotnick says.

“I wanted to do a newer musical comedy. And I was familiar with the show from working in another school where we produced it, and the breakdown of the parts is really good for our company. There’s a lot of really great character roles,” she says.