Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"..."Curtains" ain’t "Cabaret" or "Chicago," to reference two of Kander and Ebb’s masterpieces, but it is a lively and amusing entertainment, a tribute to the business and those who play their trade therein, and a repository for its creators’ trunk loads of war stories about going out of town with a show. Now that I’ve seen it twice, I’ve come to better appreciate the quality of the score."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Leading the zany cast of characters is that uniquely nutty Sean Fortunato as Frank Cioffi, the Boston police lieutenant assigned to investigate the initial murder. As it happens, Cioffi is truly, madly, deeply infatuated with show business, and far happier offering directorial suggestions than delving into a rapidly escalating crime spree."
Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...Besides its top-tier cast and premier music director (Doug Peck, leading a compact but mighty orchestra), this production marks the Drury Lane debut of director William Brown. "Curtains" also marks the accomplished director's first foray into musical theater. Hard to believe. From the looks of this seemingly effortless, unselfconscious affair, you'd have thought he'd been at it for years."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"... This is not to say Curtains isn't entertaining, especially in its Drury Lane incarnation, which sparkles with an A-list of Chicago's music theater scene. Jim Corti and Nancy Voigts are especially hilarious as a husband-and-wife Broadway producing team. The show is a lot of fun. It's just that when it's over, you find yourself hungry for something fresh."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Curtains is still a must-see for any musical theater fan. Now receiving its regional premiere via a smashing production by director William Brown at Drury Lane Oak Brook, Curtains is a celebratory love letter to classic musical comedy."
Chicago Free Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...A consummate actors’ director, William Brown assembles Chicago’s finest (like the great Paula Scrofano and Jim Corti, reduced to cameos that become corpses). Knock-out production numbers like “Show People” and the spoof “Kansasland” are why Sidetrack was created. Like a stagestruck Columbo, Sean Fortunato brings salt-of-the-earth grit and glory to Cioffi. Nancy Voights detonates every laugh as an unflappably venal Broadway producer. Never have so many showbiz cliches gotten a second chance to prove their truth."
EpochTimes
- Highly Recommended
"...This is a witty and funny evening of theater with rock solid performances by all concerned and with marvelous music both onstage and in the "pit" with Doug Peck. This is a rip-roaring full scale production that will astound you with a cast that makes you feel that the stage is constantly filled with people rushing here and there but not really going to were they were destine to be. The ensemble of this show truly makes this show worthwhile and one to see."
Copley News Service
- Recommended
"...The score is adequate, but only one number points to what the musical could have achieved, at least as satire. The number is called “It’s a Business,” in which Carmen Bernstein thumbs her nose at arty theater and opts for shows that bring in the money. It’s a witty, name-dropping song and we needed more like it. Rank sings the show’s best ballad, “I Miss the Music,” but the number impedes the show’s momentum as a comic suspense tale. That’s the fault of the book, not Rank’s lovely tenor voice."
Centerstage
- Recommended
"...This is quite simply an evening of pure fun at a time when we need it most. An excellent ensemble cast - from James Rank's pitch-perfect composer Aaron Fox, to Nancy Voigt's gutsy, take-no-prisoners theatrical producer Carmen Bernstein - terrific choreography, sets and costumes all add up to an enjoyable production. Once or twice the show's pacing falters, but all in all, this musical is a crowd-pleaser that will leave audiences laughing and humming the songs long afterwards."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Drury Lane’s production boasts thoroughly winning performances by Fortunato and Sherrill as lyricist Georgia Hendricks. Fortunato’s thick Boston accent sparkles as he suggests possible reblockings to the director; the fantasy pas de deux he performs with Mueller is the second act’s highlight. For her part, Sherrill is brazen and sultry performing in the play within the play, and achingly vulnerable as she moves to recapture her ex-husband. Director Brown delivers a consistently enjoyable rendition of this slight but ingenious confection."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...The outstanding cast each contributed effectively—from James Rank’s belting “I Miss the Music” to John Reeger’s acute comedic timing to Christine Sherril’s sensual leading lady work to Jessie Mueller’s fine acting to Nancy Voigts and Paula Scrofano’s comic turns, Curtains becomes one wildly entertaining show."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"... the production at Drury Lane Oakbrook is so outstanding it frequently makes you feel you are watching a better show than you are. This can be attributed once again to the highly industrious young Producer Kyle DeSantis, whose standard of quality has consistently taken the Oakbrook mainstay to new levels of excellence. And the cast!"
