It’s not necessary to know that the current show at Signature Theatre is “loosely inspired by true events,” but it makes the new musical “And the Curtain Rises” considerably more interesting. The show, which purports to be about the birth of the American musical, takes place in New York in 1866, where a novice theater producer, William Wheatley (Nick Dalton), is trying to save a melodrama called “Return to Black Creek.”
| Onstage |
| ‘And the Curtain Rises’ |
| Where: Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through April 10 |
| Info: $55 to $81; 703-573-7328; signature-theatre.org |
The only thing Wheatley has going for him is that he has reliable actors on hand. But the cast is ready to revolt over the boring script and its ignorant, vain author, Charles Barras (Sean Thompson). When the Academy of Music next to Wheatley’s theater burns down, he and his company welcome a company of young French ballet dancers to live with them temporarily.
Things go downhill swiftly when all the acting company’s costumes are destroyed by water. The scheming head of the ballet school, Madame Grimaud (Alma Cuervo), makes a deal with Wheatley to rent him her costumes, Barras fades into the distance and Wheatley becomes the writer/director of a new show, set in Germany, called “The Black Crook.”
Directed by Kristin Hangii, all of that takes about one amusing hour while the actors and their personal stories are introduced. There’s the leading lady, Millicent (Rebecca Watson), a middle-aged couple (Kevin Carolan and Jennifer Smith), a handsome young man (Erik Altemus), an old stock company actor (Erick Devine) and the pianist for the ballet company (Brian Sutherland).
The music, by Joseph Thalken, is anything but traditional. It’s full of fabulous melodic surprises and harmonic challenges, all of which the talented cast handles easily. Mark Campbell’s lyrics surprise and delight throughout the show. Just when you think he’s sure to rhyme one word with another, he comes up with something totally other.
But there is a flaw in Michael Slade’s book. The entire second act, about an hour and 15 minutes, is devoted to creating a new show, a process that involves all the same actors in different, outrageous parts. The lithe ballerinas become fencing demons, then dancing fairies.
Thrilled with his new role as creator of something totally new, Wheatley gets goofier and goofier. The only ballast to hold down this huge balloon of ridiculousness is the love that develops between Wheatley and Millicent.
One of the most delightful elements of this show is its transformation of the stage. Beowulf Boritt’s set creates a false proscenium at the back of the stage. Raising a red curtain, he reveals a 14-piece orchestra. In the distance are the maroon seats of Niblo’s Garden Theatre where the show went on for 474 performances. And so the first American musical was born.
