Theydunnit!

Whodunnit?

Depends what you mean by “it.”

If “it” is the offing of Jessica Cranshaw--followed summarily by the murders of Sidney Bernstein and Jenny Harmon--you’ll have to read the script or twist the arm of someone present to find out: someone on the boards or in the wings or orchestra pit, or sitting in the audience, laughing and toe-tapping.

The question of Who, though, is answered by about seventy names if the “it’ is “producing the winter musical.” This year’s show--the Tony-nominated Curtains--got done by the combining of talent, energy, and long-haul commitment of students from every class, faculty members devoted to the creative process, and staff in all kinds of supporting roles.

The play-within-a-play is sort of Agatha(Christie)-meets-Annie(Get Your Gun), except that Robbin’ Hood is our leading man, who pretends to act as if he’s in love with Georgia, who’s actually only testing the real feelings of her former husband, Aaron, who’s in the process of writing and rewriting the show that’s been booed out of Boston on opening night, in part, because of the uniquely talentless leading lady, the aforementioned first deceased whose death is under investigation by Lieutenant Frank Cioffe, a musical theatre nut who soon falls for the understudy to the understudy. And that’s just the first scene or so.

Bottom line, it was a romp, and in the hands of seasoned directorial team of Jensen, Haggard, Vickery, and Witmer, an evening no one in the know wanted to miss: both Friday and Saturday, the Milligan Center for the Performing Arts was packed nearly to the catwalks, with adoring fans applauding for genuine show people, dead (well, revivified for the curtain call) and alive.

From the cast:
Katherine Krey ‘12: Curtains was possibly the most exhausting, overwhelming, fulfilling theatre production I have been in at Thacher. Coming around the bend last Sunday, none of us thought that we would be able to pull off a full show, let alone get the response that we did. To have that audience enthusiasm on Saturday night made all of the work worthwhile.

Chris Yih ‘12: It was a lot of fun getting to know all of the freshmen involved--both in the cast and on tech--people I probably wouldn’t have gotten to know as well in any other way.

Jon Chang ‘14: This was the first year that I've [been] in a major role, and I've been able to experience what goes on at the heart of the show. With every little thing firing off around you, you can really see through what happens, not just in the big picture, but how it comes together. Special thanks to my co-stars, the extremely talented ensemble, those backstage who really made us and the set look [good]--and all all of whom worked incredibly hard to make this show work. I really think we made a great team.

Ben Connor ‘15: Of all the plays I have ever been in, Curtains was the most fulfilling, and overall, the most successful--a spectacle of talent and dedication. I had a great time getting to know the cast and crew, from all grade levels. I was very proud of the end result. [In] a short time, we got our acts together and worked [hard] to make this performance the best it could be. Was it all worth it? Heck, yes!

Ana Levy ‘14: So much work went into Curtains; we really came together as a cast. It was one of the most enjoyable shows I have ever been in.

Lieutenant Frank Cioffi--Derek Gulick-Stutz ’12

Niki Harris--Tabitha Sullivan-Wallace ’12

Georgia Hendricks: Eva Batalla-Mann ’12

Carmen Bernstein: Jacqueline King ’13

Aaron Fox: Chris Yih ’12

Sidney Bernstein: Ben Connor ’15

Christopher Belling: Will Kirkland ’12

Bambi Bernet:.Mackenzie Polley ’12

Daryl Grady: Wade Warren ’14

Jenny Harmon: Christina Eilar ’12

Oscar Shapiro: Jon Chang ’14

Bobby Pepper: Paul Cresanta ’13

Jessica Cranshaw: Katherine Krey ’12

Sasha Iljinki: Lili Boyle ’14

Randy Dexter: Shane Griffee ’12

Harv Fremont: Briggs Boss ’15

Kipper Berven ’15

Briggs Boss ’15

Teo Davis ’14

Kevin Griffee ’15

Apollo Kaneko ’15

Joe Walton ’13

Bailey Cypheridge ’15

Cassie Disner ’12

Ana Levy ’14

Jade Lopes ’12

Casey Mulchay ’13

Lachlan Nutting ’14

Alex Purcell ’14

Sarah Van Son ’15

Saxophone--Larissa Baram ’15, Clemencia Garcia-Kasimirowski ’14

Flute--Andrew Atwong ’12

Trumpet--Ben Yoon ’15

Bass--Melani Shahin ’14

Winds--Dan Willard

Keyboard--Raelynn Clare

Drums--Ken Delbo

Guitars, Banjo--Tom Connel

Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Baritone Sax--Richard Bunter

Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax--Ross Craton

French Horn--Lynn Doherty

Clarinet, Alto Sax--Joe Horswell

Trumpet--Scott Yawger

Trombone--Mike Pownall

Stage Manager--Alice Hyde ’12

Assistant Director--Viri Hernandez ’13

Assistant Stage Manager--Lane Sohn ’14

Set and Light Design--Cal Jensen CdeP 2006, Parker Dawson ’13,

Alice Hyde ’12

Light Board--Parker Dawson ’13 and Auden Ehringer ’14

Sound--Amar Patel ’13

Stage Crew--Julia Girardoni ’15, Erich Herzig ’14,

Willy Newirth ’14, Simon Novich ’14, Kami Sims-Traylor ’15,

Alex Zaldastani ’14

Fly Rail--Marissa Lopez’15 and Emma Rogowski ’15

Props--Julia Girardoni ’15, Kami Sims-Traylor ’15

Downstairs Manager--Amy Feldman ’13

Costumes--Sarah Cunningham ’15, Auden Ehringer ’14,

Anne Gregory ’15, Laura Kirkland ’15, Sydney Wilder ’15

Make-Up--Grace Bingham ’15, Amy Feldman ’13,

Susanna Renfrew ’14

Spot Op--Bradley Callander ’13, Willie Halstead ’13

Directed by Sanford Jensen

Technical Director: Liz Witmer

Music Director: Gregory Haggard

Choreography: Gallia Vickery

Book by Rupert Holmes, Music by John Kander,

Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Original Book and Concept by Peter Stone,

Additional Lyrics by John Kander and Rupert Holmes