CURTAINS, from The Creators of Cabaret & Chicago, Set for European Professional Premiere Tonight, July 25

Curtains, the backstage musical comedy whodunit from the creators of Cabaret and Chicago, will get its European professional premiere production in a strictly limited 6-week season at the Landor Theatre from tonight, 25 July - 1 September.

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, Robbin' Hood of the Old West. When the leading lady, faded film star diva Jessica Cranshaw, mysteriously dies on stage the cast and crew all become suspects; enter Lieutenant Frank Cioffi of the Boston Police Department stage left, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan!

Curtains, with a book by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes, based on the original book and concept by Peter Stone, opened on Broadway in 2006 and was nominated for 8 Tony Awards and 9 Drama?Desk Awards - winning Oustanding Book of a Musical.

The production will be directed by Landor Theatre Artistic Director Robert McWhir (Ragtime, Follies, Closer Than Ever). Musical Supervisor is Iain Vince Gatt. Choreographer Robbie O’Reilly. Curtains reunites the creative team from I Love You Because at the Landor, which won the Whatsonstage Best Off West End Production Award.

John Kander and Fred Ebb were one of musical theatre’s greatest and most successful songwriting teams. Their greatest acclaim came from Cabaret (1966) and the 1972 film version. The musical, directed by frequent collaborator Harold Prince, was a major success, with a Broadway run of over 1,100 performances. It won a Tony Award as the season's best musical, and its original cast recording won a Grammy Award. The film, directed by Bob Fosse, won eight Academy Awards. Chicago (1975) after an excellent initial run of 936 performances was revived on Broadway in 1996 to become an even greater hit there and in the West End. It has become the longest-running revival in Broadway history, and the 2002 film version was also a great success, including an Oscar nomination for the collaboration. Other Broadway successes included Woman Of The Year (1981), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992), and, posthumously for Ebb, Curtains (2006).

British-born Rupert Holmes joined the creative team of Curtains following the deaths of both Peter Stone (the original book writer) and Fred Ebb (the lyricist). Holmes rewrote Stone's original book and contributed additional lyrics to the Kander and Ebb songs. He had made his professional stage debut as a writer with the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, based on Charles Dickens final unfinished novel. A recent acclaimed revival at the Landor Theatre has just transferred very successfully to the West End to the Arts Theatre. He also wrote the Tony Award-nominated (Best Play 2003) Say Goodnight, Gracie, based on the relationship between George Burns and Gracie Allen. The play is the third longest-running solo-performance show in Broadway history. More recently he wrote the book of The First Wives' Club – The Musical, a musical theatre version of the film The First Wives Club.

Curtains is produced by Theatrica Ltd. for the Landor Theatre.

Shows are Tuesday – Thursday & Saturday at 7.30pm, All Friday shows at 7.00pm, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3.00pm with no performance on Friday 27th July.

Tickets are £20.00 (£18.00 concessions) from 020 7737 7276 or www.LandorTheatre.com

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