Show stopper: Murderous musical mystery at Shelter Island School

It was curtains for several thespian victims of the Shelter Island Drama Club last weekend when the students presented the Broadway musical “Curtains.” With book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander, this clever whodunit, directed by John Kaasik, ran March 30 to April 2 and it left audiences guessing till the end.

The show within a show revolves around a 1950s Boston-based theater company attempting to put on a not-so-good cowboy musical inspired by the tales of Robin Hood. “Robbin’ Hood of the Old West” is by most accounts — including that of Boston Globe critic Daryl Grady (Paul Murphy) -—  terrible, and the actors are all working for less than scale.

But why? Therein lies the question and the mystery soon follows with the murder of the show’s untalented leading lady Jessica Cranshaw (Bianca Evangelista) on opening night. Just as well, she was a triple threat who could not sing, dance or act.

Enter tough-talking Boston detective Lieutenant Frank Cioffi (Daniel Boeklen) who arrives to investigate Ms. Cranshaw’s perfectly timed death. He suspects the murderer is still somewhere in the theater, and sequesters the entire company in order to to solve the crime. The suspects include producer Carmen Bernstein (Zoey Bolton), her husband Sidney (Nicholas Labrozzi), the show’s dramatic director Christopher Belling (Owen Gibbs), divorced songwriting team Georgia Hendricks (Sophia Strauss) and Aaron Fox (William Garrison), stage manager Jenny Harmon (Julia Labrozzi), leading man Bobby Pepper (Taylor McNemar), engenue Niki Harris (Oliva Yeaman) and chorus girl Bambi Bernét (Lily Garrison/Hayley Lowell-Lisanckie).

But soon, sandbags are falling from the rafters and ropes are going awry as other cast and crew members begin meeting their demise one-by-one. Cioffi has his hands full trying to piece it all together — not just the murder mystery, but also the on-stage solution to the problematic Western. Turns out, Cioffi is an amateur thespian with a love of theater who can’t keep from reworking the musical that is the source of so many deaths. Along the way he falls in love with one of the company’s actresses, a move which seems to cloud his judgment and taint his objective sleuthing skills.

While there was plenty of murder over the weekend at the school, “Curtains” was certainly no tragedy. Along the way, audiences were treated to high energy musical numbers, great singing and dancing, and a fine dose of humor. Bravo for a show well done … and watch out for falling sandbags!

CAST:

Lieutenant Frank Cioffi: Daniel Boeklen

Niki Harris: Olivia Yeaman

Georgia Hendricks: Sophia Strauss

Carmen Bernstein: Zoey Bolton

Aaron Fox: William Garrison

Bobby Pepper: Taylor McNemar

Christopher Belling: Owen Gibbs

Bambi Bernét: Lily Garrison/Hayley Lowell-Liszanckie

Daryl Grady: Paul Murphy

Jenny Harmon: Julia Labrozzi

Olivia Shapiro: Sydney Clark

Sidney Bernstein: Nicholas Labrozzi

Jessica Cranshaw: Bianca Evangelista

Randy Dexter: Domingo Gil/Zebulun Mundy/Nicholas Mamisashvili

Harv Fremont: Matthew Strauss

Detective O’Farrell: Devon Bolton

Saloon Girls: Lyng-Seay Coyne, Amelia Clark, Olivia Yeaman,  Hayley Lowell-Liszanckie, Lily Garrison, Sydney Clark

Saloon Cowboys: Taylor McNemar, Domingo Gil, Zebulun Mundy, Nicholas Mamischvili

Stage Hands: Domingo Gil, Tyler Gulluscio, James Lupo, Nicholas Mamisashvili, Zebulun Mundy, Matthew Strauss

Ensemble: Pacey Cronin, Emma Martinez Majdisova, Olivia Overstreet, Francis Regan, Riley Renault, Domingo Gil, Tyler Gulluscio,  James Lupo, Nicholas Mamisashvili, Zebulun Mundy, Matthew Strauss, Jane Richards, Amelia Clark, Emma Gallagher, Abigail Kotula, Jennifer Lupo, Lyng-Seay Coyne, Amelia Reiter, Jonas Kinsey, Devon Bolton, Lily Garrison, Taylor McNemar, Paul Murphy, Bianca Evangelista, Hayley Lowell-Liszanckie, Sydney Clark, William Garrison

CREW:

Director: John Kaasik

Producer: Anu Kaasik

Musical Directors: Jessica Bosak, Keith Brace

Choreography: Laura Dickerson, John Kaasik

Dance Instructor: Laura Dickerson

Drama Coach: Susan Cincotta

Vocal Coach: Thomas Milton

Costume Coordinator: Anu Kaasik

Costumes: Meg Larsen, Anu Kaasik

Hair/Makeup:  Mary Boeklen, Susan Cronin, Amanda Ellioff, Alexandria Masiak

Microphone Mistresses: Francesca Frasco, Elizabeth Larsen

Stage Manager: Susan Binder

Lighting:  John  Kaasik, Mark Kaasik,

Set Construction: John Kaasik, Paul Mobius

Set Artist: Peter Waldner

Set Painting: John Kaasik, Paul Mobius, Peter Waldner

Box Office: Lisa Goody, Tom Hundgen, JoAnn Kirkland

Stage Crew: James Theinert (Assistant Manager), Caitlin Binder, Christopher Corbett, Wesley Congdon, Stephen Cummings, Justine Karen, Jack Lang, Peder Larsen, David Neese, Isabella Sherman, Emily Strauss, Isabelle Topliff

Program: Meghan Lang

Sound: Anu Kaasik

Sidney Bernstein’s stunt double: Paul Mobius

Musicians: Michael Kendrot, Matthew Suprina, Doug Mandocha, Colin Van Tuyl, Joe Hinton, Dennis Raffelock, Taro Okamoto, Phyllis Power