A summer of fun is coming to the stage as Kaleidoscope Theatre stages the musical murder mystery Curtains.
Kaleidoscope celebrated 40 years last season and for more than 20 it has produced a summer musical. While often these productions are familiar to the audience and crew, the production of Curtains is something new.
Director Becky Neuman admits she loved how the sound of murder musical mystery rolls off the tongue.
“It sounded fun,” she said, adding it is also a challenge.
Curtains takes the audience to Boston in the late 1950s where a detective tries to crack the case of the murder of the leading lady. She was murdered during her opening night curtain call at the Colonial Theatre. It turns out that the ol’ gumshoe is also a big theatre fan.
“They are doing the production and someone is murdered. The detective comes in to solve the mystery,” explains Neuman. “The detective loves theatre and has been in amateur theatre, and he starts to bring his own ideas.”
Along the way, there is intrigue, romance, mystery and music.
Like many musicals that Kaleidoscope has staged, it has a great cast, with many familiar faces, as well as some new ones. This year a number of younger actors are signed up and learning their parts.
“We have people from their early 60s, and the youngest is in Grade 9,” said Neuman.
Already they have put in over 100 hours of rehearsal, and she says they are doing great.
And they will keep working hard until the curtain call.
Curtains runs June 21, 22, 24 and 26 to 29 at 7:30 p.m., with a special matinee on June 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available by going to www.drumhellertheatre.org
