Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is excited to announce the cast selected to lead the TUTS and Houston debut of the Broadway smash hit, Curtains, scheduled to play March 29 - April 10 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
Director Mark S. Hoebee comments on this talented cast "I'm thrilled to be a part of this brilliant musical. Curtains left an impression on Broadway, and I know Houstonians are going to be quite impressed with the cast, the music, and the performance this show promises to deliver."
Curtains follows the unraveling of a theatre company on opening night shortly after the leading actress is knocked off. Detective Frank Cioffi, a musical theatre fan, takes on the case only to find himself dealing with theatrical egos and eccentricities, deceit, a rising body count and a budding love affair - all while sticking to the golden rule of show business: the show must go on. A throwback to the Golden Age of theatre, Curtains will be a musical murder mystery that keeps everyone guessing until the very end!
Robert Newman takes the lead as super sleuth crime solver Lieutenant Frank Cioffi. Newman, a four-time nominee for the Soap Opera Digest awards and two-time Daytime Emmy Awards nominee, is best known for his role as Joshua Lewis in Guiding Light, although patrons will also know him from his stage work. He starred in North Carolina Theatre's Annie; Algonquin Theater's Sessions, The Musical; Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's A Little Night Music, and he has worked extensively in the Los Angeles theatres. Playing the role of tough-as-nails brassy Broadway producer Carmen Bernstein will be four-time Daytime Emmy winner Kim Zimmer, also of Guiding Light fame as the character Reva Shayne. Her theatre experience includes off-Broadway's Love, Loss, And What I Wore and Four Dogs And A Bone. The duo will reunite on stage for Curtains after spending several years as Guiding Light's on-screen power couple.
Ed Dixon returns to the TUTS stage as the comical, pompous British director Christopher Belling. Audiences will remember Dixon from two previous TUTS productions; he portrayed Thenardier in Les Misérables as well as Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Dixon has played in Broadway productions of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, Les Misérables and The Three Musketeers among several others. His national tours include The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Pippin and Sunset Boulevard.
Amanda Rose plays Niki Harris, the aspiring Broadway actress who attracts the eye of Cioffi. Rose's credits include the Broadway production of Wicked and the national tours of Wicked, Dr. Doolittle and Oklahoma! Joining her is Kevin Kern, whose theater credits include Broadway's Wicked, The Wedding Singer, and Les Misérables as well as the pre-Broadway runs of 9 to 5: The Musical and next to normal. Kern plays Aaron Fox, one half of a songwriting duo; his other half is his separated wife, Georgia Hendricks, played by Helen Anker. Anker made her Broadway debut in the revival of Promises, Promises after enjoying recent West End productions of Beautiful and Damned, On The Town and Parade.
Bobby Pepper is played by native Houstonian David Elder, who starred in the original Broadway production of Curtains in the same role and boasts credits that include the national tour of Damn Yankees and Broadway's 42nd Street, Kiss Me, Kate! and Guys and Dolls. Audiences will remember his turn as J.C. from TUTS' 2007 production of Swing! Featured in the role of Sidney Bernstein is Daniel Marcus, a stage veteran from Broadway's Urinetown, 1776, Woman In White, Pirates of Penzance, A Christmas Carol, The Apple Tree, The Who's Tommy and Cats.
Playing the part of Daryl Grady is Aaron Galligan-Stierle, whose Broadway background includes Ragtime and Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. Assuming the role of Oscar Shapiro, Dick Decareau brings Broadway experience from both Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Raggedy Ann and national tour experience from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Ragtime and Annie. Rye Mullis, who toured with Young Frankenstein and The Scarlet Pimpernel, takes the stage as Johnny Harmon. Alongside him will be Anne Horak as Bambi Bernstein, Carmen's daughter who is looking to step out from her mother's shadow and forge her own path on the Great White Way.
