April 10th 6-8 PM Music Room, Mt. Blue High School, Farmington
April 11th 6-8 PM at the RFA Lakeside Theater, Rangeley
April 12th 6-8 PM at the RFA Lakeside Theater, Rangeley

The Rangeley Friends of the Arts will produce a live theater event of “Curtains”, the musical.

Auditions will be held April 10th 6-8 PM at Mt. Blue High School music room in Farmington & April 11th and April 12th 6-8PM at the RFA Lakeside Theater in Rangeley. Auditions are open regardless of prior experience.

Those wishing to audition, please fill out and submit the audition form linked below. If you are unable to attend, but still want to audition, select the appropriate materials, and using your phone record your reading, song and dance and send as an attachment to rangeleyarts@gmail.com.  RFA with a memo of Audition from …
Audition’s must be submitted no later than 1PM on Friday April 10th.

TECH WEEK/PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Rehearsals will generally be 2 days a week and last 2-3 hours.
Rehearsal Dates and Times TBD and based on cast availability.
Tech week Dates and Times: TBD

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

For FULL audition process:  CLICK HERE
For DANCE audition videos: CLICK HERE
To SUBMIT audition Form:    CLICK HERE

We encourage performers of all ethnicity, sexual orientations/expressions, and at least of High School age, to audition for the show.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS 

 LIEUTENANT FRANK CIOFFI (30’s – 40’s) — Sweetly endearing local Boston detective who idolizes the world of musical theatre and has reveled in the thrill of performing in community theatre. Called upon to solve the murder of the star of “Robbin’ Hood” (a musical intended for Broadway that is currently out of town in Boston), Cioffi is very good at his job and, lamentably, married to his work. He is instantly smitten with ingénue Niki Harris. The undisputed central character of the musical. Requires deft and charming comedy, good singing, solid dancing in one extended “Fred and Ginger” number.

NIKI HARRIS (20’s-early 30’s) — Pretty, almost too innocent ingénue, a local performer in a small role hoping “Robbin’ Hood” will be the Boston production that at last takes her to Broadway. Love interest for Lieutenant Cioffi, apparently reciprocated. Requires a legit soprano and strong dancing in an extended “Fred and Ginger” number.

GEORGIA HENDRICKS (30’s – mid-40’s, similar age to AARON) — Female half of our show-within-a-show’s songwriting team on the lyric-writing side. Ends up taking on the leading lady role. Must sing and dance extremely well.

CARMEN BERNSTEIN (45-65) — Brash and brassy Broadway producer. Terrific comedic actress with a belt.

AARON FOX (30’s – 40’s, similar age to GEORGIA) — The composer of the show-within-the-show. His songwriting partner, Georgia, is also his wife, from whom he’s separated but for whom he still pines. He’s a handsome, intense, somewhat tortured artist-type. Requires a strong vocalist with comedy.

SIDNEY BERNSTEIN (Late 50’s-Mid 60’s) — The always-angry, sleazy, philandering producer of the out-of-town flop. Sidney is rough around the edges and completely self-serving. Requires a cartoon-like character actor who is funny on arrival. No singing required.

CHRISTOPHER BELLING (40-60) — English director. Very camp. Very droll. Noel Coward meets Addison DeWitt meets Clifton Webb. Requires a superb comic actor.

BAMBI BERNÉT (Early 20’s-early 30’s) — Performer in the chorus, daughter of Carmen, step-daughter of Sidney. Genuinely brassy and artificially blonde. Hungry to work her way out of the chorus; many think she was only hired because of her mother. She surprises everyone, however, when she shows genuine dancing and singing talent when at last called upon. Requires great dancing, strong “street-smart dumb blonde” comedy, and singing.

OSCAR SHAPIRO (45-65) — from the garment district and sole investor in “Robbin’ Hood.” A likeably gruff man who knows nothing about theatre and frets over every dime of his that’s spent. Requires good “rough around the edges” comedy and singing.

BOBBY PEPPER (30’s to early 40’s, similar age as Georgia and Aaron) — The Gene Kelly of “Robbin’ Hood,” its choreographer and male star, and a handsome rival to Aaron for Georgia’s affection. Requires strong dancing, singing, comedy.

DARYL GRADY (30’s-40’s) — Caustic and smug theatre critic for the local Boston newspaper. Patronizingly pompous, enjoys using his power to make or break shows during their Boston tryouts. Does not require strong singing or dancing.

JOHNNY HARMON* (30’s-60’s) — Stage Manager of the show-within-the-show, and both drill sergeant and mother hen to the cast. Barks orders but has a pleasant side as well, he keeps the company in line and on their toes throughout the rehearsal process. Comic actor who can sing.

JESSICA CRANSHAW (40’s-60’s) — Faded Hollywood star, a grand diva with no right to be one, and a plague to the show-with-the-show and to her cast. An absolutely dreadful singer and inept actress who stars in the show-within-a-show and gets murdered on its opening night in Boston. Must be skillful enough to sing hilariously out-of-tune and ineptly, and adroit enough to dance perfectly out of step with the rest of the cast. Appears only in the first minutes of the musical; on Broadway, this performer then adopted a different look and became part of the ensemble.

RANDY DEXTER (20’s – 30’s) — A member of the singing and dancing ensemble featured in “Kansasland,” pleasant but with a sensitive side.

HARV FREMONT (20’s – 30’s) — A member of the singing and dancing ensemble who bears a bouquet.

ROBERTA WOOSTER (20’s – 30’s) — A member of the singing and dancing ensemble who speaks from experience.

ENSEMBLE

Casting Note:
The role of JOHNNY HARMON can be played by a woman using the name JENNY HARMON, with all the same character traits as described. It is not recommended that any other roles described above be played by the opposite gender, as it would be contrary to the dynamics of the mystery, the comedy, and the period.

Those wishing to be involved with the production in any other way (tech, backstage, band, costumes, etc) please send an email to RangeleyArts@gmail.com.

Curtains is presented through special arrangement with TRW, Theatrical Rights Worldwide.  All authorized performance materials are also supplied by TRW, Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Book and Additional Lyrics by Rupert Holmes
Music and Additional Lyrics by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Original Book and Concept by Peter Stone

Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins / Script adaptation by David Thompson

PRODUCTION DATES:
July 23-27 *specific dates of 4 night show TBD

PRODUCTION CREW:

Director by:                Ethan Wright

Music Director-          Ethan Wright

Choreographer-          Erin Smith

Accompanist-              Ethan Wright

Producers-                  Millie Hoekstra and Valerie Zapolsky

SYNOPSIS:
CURTAINS is a delightful and suspenseful musical comedy, featuring a Golden Age-style score by the legendary songwriting duo John Kander & Fred Ebb, the creative minds behind CABARET and CHICAGO. With a sharp, witty book by Rupert Holmes, CURTAINS combines the best elements of classic Broadway with a clever whodunit twist that will keep audiences laughing and guessing until the very end.

Set in the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959, Boston’s Colonial Theatre is playing host to the opening night performance of a new musical. When the leading lady mysteriously dies on stage… the entire cast and crew are suspects. Enter a local detective, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan!

With standout roles for triple-threat performers and a featured ensemble full of rich, comedic characters, CURTAINS is a musical that celebrates the joy of theatre while offering a thrilling experience for performers and audiences alike.

For the RFA’s complete schedule of events and programs, visit rangeleyarts.org.