Kander and Ebb's Curtains to Go Up on Broadway in '06'-07?

According to Variety, Broadway will likely be bringing up the Kander-Ebb-Holmes musical Curtains during the 2006-2007 theatre season.

"Curtains will close Sept. 10, and lead producer Roger Berlind, who is backing the show with Daryl Roth and Roger Horchow, is hoping for a swift transition to Broadway. But if they can't get the show into a proper house by late fall, they'll put it in storage and wait until the spring, Berlind says," states the industry paper on the show, which presented by the Center Theatre Group, opens on August 9th for a run through September 10th.  The transfer would cost around $10 million.

David Hyde Pierce (Spamalot, "Frasier"), Edward Hibbert (The Drowsy Chaperone, Noises Off), Tony Award-winner Debra Monk (Chicago, Steel Pier) and Tony Award-winner Karen Ziemba (Contact, Steel Pier), Jason Danieley (Candide, The Full Monty), Noah Racey (Never Gonna Dance), Jill Paice (The Woman in White), and Michael McCormick (The Pajama Game, Gypsy) will star in the production.

Curtains, which has been long in development, is a musical comedy murder mystery with music by John Kander, lyrics by the late Fred Ebb, and a book by Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, "Remember WENN"). Scott Ellis--who previously directed the Kander and Ebb musicals The Rink and Steel Pier--will helm the show, which will feature Hyde Pierce as a detective who sings showtunes when not solving crimes. Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie) is set to choreograph. It will be presented by the Center Theatre Group.

The musical, which is set in 1959 during the tryout of a Broadway-bound musical, whose cast and crew all become suspects after the the show's leading lady mysteriously drops dead onstage while taking her final bow to the sound of applause. The detective "is a fervent musical theatre fan, (who) allows the company to continue rehearsing while he conducts his murder investigation. He soon finds himself in the middle of the uproarious bedlam of theatrical egos and eccentricities, more murders and even a budding love affair," according to press notes.

Holmes adapted his book from an original libretto by Tony Award-winner Peter Stone (Titanic, Woman of the Year, 1776), who passed away in 2003; lyricist Fred Ebb died in 2004. Work on Curtains has continued since then, and the show would be the first Kander and Ebb musical to premiere on Broadway since the beloved lyricist's passing.

The show will feature sets by Anna Louizos, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Brian Ronan. William David Brohn will provide orchestrations, while David Loud will serve as musical director. Roger Berlind, Roger Horchow, Daryl Roth and the Center Theatre Group produce.

The songwriting partnership of John Kander and Fred Ebb marked one of the most successful and enduring collaborations in Broadway history. Together, they penned Flora, the Red Menace, Cabaret (their first major hit), The Happy Time, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Steel Pier, as well as The Visit (which was presented at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago but has yet to see Broadway). They also wrote the scores for films and TV specials such as New York, New York, Funny Lady and "Liza with a Z."

Tickets to Curtains can be purchased by visiting the Center Theatre Group box office, calling CTG Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or by visiting www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.