Lakewood Theatre Company To End Season With CURTAINS, Performs 5/7-6/13

Lakewood ends its 2009-10 season with the hit musical that closed on Broadway in 2008... Curtains. This hilarious show-within-a-show, murder mystery musical is a real knock-out tribute to show business, with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb - the composer/lyricist team from Cabaret and Chicago.

Lakewood's production of Curtains, with stage direction by Ron Daum and musical direction by Alan D. Lytle, will continue through Sunday June 13, playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 7:00 PM (May 9, 16, 23 and June 13) and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM (May 16, 30, June 6 and 13).

The theatre is located at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State St. in Lake Oswego. Tickets are $30.00 for adults and $28.00 for students and senior citizens. For reservations call 503-635-3901 or order online at www.lakewood-center.org.

The story: Curtains unfolds backstage at Boston's Colonial Theatre, where a new musical could be a Broadway smash, were it not for the presence of its talent-free leading lady. When the star dies on opening night during her curtain call, Lt. Frank Cioffi (Sammuel Hawkins) arrives on the scene to conduct an investigation. But the lure of the theater proves irresistible, and after an unexpected romance blooms for the stage-struck detective, he finds himself just as drawn toward making the show a hit as he is in solving the murder.

The 21-member cast of Curtains includes Sammuel Hawkins as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, Katie McWethy as Niki Harris the ingenue and understudy, Louise Stinson as Georgia Hendricks, the show's song writer and new leading lady, Corrie Graham as Carmen Bernstein the brassy Producer, Darren Hurley as Christopher Belling the Director, Philip M. Meyer as Daryl Grady the Boston Globe Reviewer, Bobby Jackson as Aaron Fox the composer and Rick Warren as Sidney Bernstein the tough self-serving Producer. Others in the cast include Michael Dederian, Charlie Wilson, Megan Carver, David Ian, Kate Carson and Benjamin Farmer, Daniel Goodman, Ellie Simnitt, Erin Shannon, Jerrod Neal, Matt Brown, Megan Misslin, and Vanessa Elsner.

Lakewood's production of Curtains is directed by Ron Daum, the assistant director is Alan Anderson, musical direction is by Alan D. Lytle, associate musical director/conductor is Matt Grossman, choreography is by Amy Beth Frankel, the stage manager is Brian Guerreros, scenic design is by John Gerth, costume co-ordination and design is by Allison Dawe, lighting design is by Chris Whitten, sound design is by Bombastic Sound, wig design is by Jane Holmes, technical director is Kurt Herman, properties are by Felix Kelsey and the producer is Kay Vega.

Curtains features a book by Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Accomplice, Say Goodnight Gracie), music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning team of John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret, New York, New York, Kiss of the Spider Woman) and original book and concept by Tony Award-winner Peter Stone (1776, Titanic, The Will Rogers Follies).

About Lakewood Theatre Company

57 Years of Live Theatre: Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1952, Lakewood Theatre Company is a semi-professional theatre dedicated to the study and presentation of drama in all its forms; the training and development of actors; and the creation, maintenance and operation of a theatre in which to present plays and other forms of entertainment. Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continually operated, not-for-profit theatre company in the Portland Metropolitan area. It annually provides more than 500 theatre artists the opportunity to learn and display their craft and attracts more than 40,000 people to its shows.