Directed by Daniel Pronley, Curtains Brookfield Central’s 2019 summer musical directed by Daniel Pronley and produced by Chelsea Russel. Curtains is where many students from both Brookfield Central and Brookfield East participated to make this wonderful production come to life. The overview of this musical, according to Theatrical Rights Worldwide, reads as such:

“It’s the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959. Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of a new musical. When the leading lady mysteriously dies on stage the entire cast & crew are suspects. Enter a local detective, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan! Packed with glorious tunes and a witty, charming script filled with delightful characters, Curtains is a hilarious journey for both performers and the audience. The Broadway production garnered 8 nominations at the 2007 Tony Awards® including Best Musical”.

Many people attended this event and, just as the overview says, it was a blast for both performers and the audience. The comedy, mystery, suspense, and sass of this performance was a memorable one. The actors and stage crew demonstrated talent, capability, and a unique savviness as they took over the stage, giving off a show that had everyone on the edges of their seats.

Each actor of Curtains displayed an enormous amount of expertise, even those who were new to the BC theatre department. Nishant Namboothiry, a sophomore who played Lieutenant Frank Chioffi, states, “the show was where I first experienced being a main role. I took that as a challenge and did the best I could to portray the character. It helped me realize that I could play such a big role and it was the confidence boost I needed”.

Neena Whitlow, a sophomore who played Oscar Shapiro, says, “it was my first time playing a bigger role in a musical, and it was fun! It also helped boost my confidence while before I was unsure if I could properly say the lines. Along with that, I made a lot of friends and had a good time.” Sneha Sil, the piano player in Curtains, commented, “It was different because I was dealing with more than one person but I usually accompany solos, and it was a little different since I had to deal with dialogue and know when to come in along with scene changes. It was a little strange and different from things such as the studio shows. I’m glad I was able to do it because I feel like it added a lit bit of heart to some of the scenes, such as Nishant’s solo and Briana and Braden’s duet.”

Overall, Curtains was a delightful musical full of whimsical and lighthearted jokes that blended well with the underlying suspense and mystery floating around the stage. The actors did a splendid job as did both the production crew and crew. For those looking to participate in more theatre productions, the summer plays/musicals are a great opportunity to become familiar with this type of activity. All are encouraged to go see all other theatre productions held by BC, like the next summer musical and the upcoming fall musical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.