History Theatre / Curtains

* SkewedPriorities: Downplayed in that Cioffi is actively working to solve the murder, but he frequently takes breaks to help the cast and crew improve the show.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Oscar Shapiro and Sid and Carmen Bernstein. The names give it away, and they possess some stereotypically Jewish traits as well, mainly a love of money.

* AscendedFanboy: Cioffi's a big one, seeing as he helps fix the show [[spoiler: and gets to play Rob Hood in the finale when Bobby is injured.]]

* DeathByWomanScorned: [[spoiler:Sid constantly cheated on Carmen, but she put up with it as her primary concern was giving Bambi the chance to be a Broadway star. However, once he told her he was going to shut down ''Robin' Hood'', which would've torpedoed Bambi's career, she snaps at the thought of having to put up with him for nothing and kills him.]]

* SpeakIllOfTheDead: No one is particularly sad about Jessica's death. Belling in particular uses it as an excuse to constantly snark about her lack of talent. [[spoiler: There are even fewer tears shed over Sidney, to the point where Carmen is more upset over Johnny not taking her breakfast order than she is about her husband's death.]]

* IWantSong: "Thinking of Him" is a ShowWithinTheShow example for Maid Marian.

* IWantSong: "Thinking of Him" is a ShowWithinTheShow example for Maid Marian.

The show is set in 1959 UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, where a troupe of actors is trying out a musical called ''Robbin' Hood''. During the opening night curtain call, the extremely untalented star, Jessica Cranshaw, drops dead. Lieutenant Frank Cioffi is sent to the theater to investigate what has been determined to be a murder, declaring no one is allowed to leave the building.

The list of suspects includes pretty much everybody, as no one much liked Jessica. First there is the [[{{Producers}} producer]], Carmen Bernstein, who is busy trying to get the cast to continue on with the show despite the loss of its lead. Composer Aaron Fox is preoccupied with rewriting a big production number, while his lyricist ex-wife Georgia Hendricks is convinced to take over the lead. Cioffi takes a liking to Jessica's understudy, [[TheIngenue Niki]], despite the fact that evidence starts pointing towards her. Other suspects include the flamboyant director, [[SmallNameBigEgo Christopher Belling]], [[CausticCritic theater critic Daryl Grady]], Carmen's shady husband, Sidney, who claims to have just arrived from New York, Bambi, their ambitious daughter, financial backer [[TheTeamBenefactor Oscar Shapiro]], leading man [[NiceGuy Bobby Pepper]], and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure stage manager Johnny Harmon]], who seems to know everybody's secrets.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Belling. Or at the very least CampStraight.

* AscendedFanboy: Cioffi's a big one, seeing as he helps fix the show [[spoiler:and gets to play Rob Hood in the musical at the end.]]

* HiddenDepths: While Bambi comes off as TheDitz for much of the show, especially in light of her mother's comments that she has no talent, she has a strong appreciation for theater as an artform, and her dance number in "Kansasland" shows that she's actually a great dancer. [[spoiler: This tips Cioffi off to the fact that Carmen's criticism is all an act.]]
* IAmSong: "It's a Business" for Carmen, "Coffee Shop Nights" for Cioffi

* TheIngenue: Niki, with a generous helping of TheDitz and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} on the side.

* MassiveMultiplayerEnsembleNumber: "In the Same Boat Completed," which incorporates the entire cast and weaves together all three versions of "In the Same Boat" that the audience had heard throughout the show.

-->'''Randy''': You came to us as a stranger, rid this place of crime, and gave us a new hope in ourselves. That's gonna be one tough act to follow!

** Whatever Harv did to Randy to make him feel "wounded deep down".

* RunningGag: Whenever Cioffi and Niki have a tender moment, Cioffi asks if he can walk her home. Niki then reminds him he sequestered her, much to Cioffi's frustration.
** Niki finding a piece of evidence, before realizing she has now covered it with her fingerprints.

* SensitiveArtist: Discussed near the end in regards to people involved in show business: "We're a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world full of dreams. Sometimes we're not too certain what's false and what's real. But we're seldom in doubt about what we feel."

* SherlockScan: {{Subverted}} and {{Lampshaded}} by Cioffi. Niki shows him some death threats she found in Jessica's dressing room and asks if they mean anything. Cioffi jokingly says that judging by the notes the sender is a 30 year old, 6'3", former Merchant Marine named Lefty before admitting the notes actually reveal very little about the murderer's identity.

* SpeakIllOfTheDead: No one is particularly sad about Jessica's death. Belling in particular uses it as an excuse to constantly snark about her lack of talent.

** While he's investigating in the rafters of the theater, Cioffi says, "Isn't it amazing how you can be completely stumped by something, and then all of a sudden, it hits you?" Seconds later, he's struck by a giant sandbag, which knocks him off the rafters and nearly kills him.

* ThrowTheDogABone: Bobby at the end. [[spoiler:He loses Gerogia and gets injured to the point he can't perform in the show, but he's last seen walking off and chatting with Bambi, implying they will get together.]]

* TheLoinsSleepTonight: What actually happened [[NoodleIncident in the honeymoon suite at the Taft Hotel]].

* TriumphantReprise: "Thinking of Him / I Miss the Music," which shows Aaron and Georgia finally reconciling, and "In the Same Boat Completed."

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Aaron is cold and rude towards his ex-wife, Georgia, but reveals to Cioffi that he's still in love with her, [[spoiler: and confesses to the murders despite being innocent to prevent Georgia from taking the fall.]]

** A few moments later, Oscar rhetorically asks who'll be the next person to be killed, right before a sandbag falls to the stage, just a few feet from where he was standing.

* DoNotSpoilThisEnding: The closing number advises the audience not to give away the murderer, or it [[TitleDrop might be curtains for them next.]]

The list of suspects includes pretty much everybody, as no one much liked Jessica. First there is the [[{{Producers}} producer]], Carmen Bernstein, who is busy trying to get the cast to continue on with the show despite the loss of its lead. Composer Aaron Fox is preoccupied with rewriting a big production number, while his lyricist ex-wife Georgia Hendricks is convinced to take over the lead. Cioffi takes a liking to Jessica's understudy, [[TheIngenue Niki]], despite the fact that evidence starts pointing towards her. Other suspects include the flamboyant director, [[SmallNameBigEgo Christopher Belling]], [[CausticCritic theater critic Daryl Grady]], Carmen's shady husband, [[Jerkass Sidney]], who claims to have just arrived from New York, Bambi, their ambitious daughter, financial backer [[TheTeamBenefactor Oscar Shapiro]], leading man [[NiceGuy Bobby Pepper]], and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure stage manager Johnny Harmon]], who seems to know everybody's secrets.

** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] with a few of the numbers, as "Wide Open Spaces," "Thataway!", "Kansasland," and "In The Same Boat" are actually songs from [[ShowWithinAShow ''Robbin' Hood''.]]

-->'''Lt. Cioffi:''' (formally) Excuse me, I'm Lt. Frank Cioffi of the Greater Boston Police. I'm assigned to the homicide division and- ([[MoodWhiplash gushing]]) oh, it's an ''honor'' to be standing on the same stage with each and everyone of you!

* TheVillainSucksSong: "He Did It" [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out none of the people suspected are actually the murderer.]]

->''"There's a special kind of people known as: show people!"''

''Curtains'' is a 2007 Kander and Ebb [[TheMusical musical]] murder-mystery-comedy. It was nominated for eight Tony Awards, though it only won one (David Hyde Pierce - Best Actor in a Musical). The original cast included Creator/DavidHydePierce and Creator/DebraMonk.

The show is set in 1959 UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, where a troupe of actors is trying out a musical called ''Robbin' Hood of the Old West''. During the opening night curtain call, the extremely untalented star, Jessica Cranshaw, drops dead. Lt. Frank Cioffi is sent to the theater to investigate what has been determined to be a murder, declaring no one is allowed to leave the building.

The list of suspects includes pretty much everybody, as no one much liked Jessica. First there is the [[{{Producers}} producer]], Carmen Bernstein, who is busy trying to get the cast to continue on with the show despite the loss of its lead. Composer Aaron Fox is preoccupied with rewriting a big production number while his lyricist ex-wife Georgia Hendricks is convinced to take over the lead. Cioffi takes a liking to Jessica's understudy, [[TheIngenue Niki]], and hopes she's not the murderer. Other suspects include the flamboyant director, Christopher Belling, theater critic Daryl Grady, Carmen's shady husband, Sydney, who claims to have just arrived from New York, Bambi, their ambitious daughter, financial backer Oscar Shapiro, leading man Bobby Pepper, and stage manager Johnny Harmon.

* AbusiveParents: Double subverted: Carmen insults her daughter Bambi every chance she gets, but it was mainly to [[spoiler: give her a chance to shine without being accused of nepotism.]] Played straight with Sid, who doesn't even seem to know he has a stepdaughter.
* AloneAmongTheCouples: Cioffi admits to Niki that he doesn't have much of a social life because all of his friends are married and busy with their wives/families.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: Oscar Shapiro and Sid and Carmen Bernstein. The names give it away and they possess some stereotypically Jewish traits as well, mainly a love of money.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Belling. Or at the very least CampStraight.
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: No one is particularly upset by Jessica's death, personally or professionally.
--> '''Belling:''' And what are they going to do with her killer? I mean, does he get some sort of trophy, or a Pontiac convertible?
* AssholeVictim: Jessica. [[spoiler: And Sidney, even more so.]]

-->'''Belling:''' Shall we observe a moment of silence ({{Beat}}) to match the audience's response to Jessica's first number.
* {{Blackmail}}: Sid Bernstein is revealed to have done this to almost every member of the production to get them to work for scale (or in Oscar's case invest in the show). The only exceptions were Aaron and Georgia [[spoiler:who missed each other and wanted to work together again]], Bobby[[spoiler:who was helping Georgia win back Aaron]], and Niki and Bambi [[spoiler:both of whom saw the show as their chance to finally be on Broadway]].
* BigSecret: Niki has one, namely that [[spoiler: she's actually friends with Darryl Grady and he's been purposely praising her in his reviews to help further her career.]] {{Subverted}} since [[spoiler:knowing this would have helped Cioffi solve the case since Grady is actually in love with her and was committing the murders to keep her from leaving Boston for Broadway.]]
* Bookends: The show begins and ends with the finale of ''Robbin' Hood'', with a couple of casting differences: Georgia taking over for Jessica [[spoiler: and Cioffi taking over for Bobby]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: After, Cioffi compliments the art of theatrical criticism, he says, "You never know who's in your audience".
* BunnyEarsLawyer: While Cioffi is easily distracted by the glamour of being among professional performers, he is nonetheless a skilled detective who works out multiple conspiracies in the cast (and, as it turns out, is a rather brilliant script doctor as well).
* CastFullOfGay: Bobby is the only male cast member of Robbin' Hood that is straight.
* CatScare: [[spoiler: Johnny is alone on stage and hears creepy noises from offstage, but it turns out to be just Chris playing with a stray cat. Then he hears more creepy noises, but this time it turns out to be the murderer and Johnny gets shot.]]
* CausticCritic: Nearly every review Robbin' Hood gets at first seems to come from one of these, and the cast spends an entire song ("What Kind Of Man") calling out this type of critics.

* CrowdSong: "Wide Open Spaces", "Show People", "Thataway", "He Did It", "Kansasland" the last "In the Same Boat"
** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] with a few of the numbers, as "Wide Open Spaces", "Thataway", "Kansasland" and the final version of "In The Same Boat" were actually rehearsed for [[ShowWithinAShow Robbin' Hood.]]

* DeathByWomanScorned: [[spoiler:Sid continually cheated on Carmen, but she put up with it as her primary concern was giving Bambi the chance to be a Broadway star. However, once he told her he was going to shut down ''Robin' Hood'', which would've torpedoed Bambi's career, she snaps at the thought of having to put up with him for nothing and kills him.]]
* DivorceIsTemporary: Georgia and Aaron used to be married but then got divorced years ago. They get back together of course.
* DoNotCallMePaul: "Shut up, Elaine!" "The name is Bambi... Mother"
* DoNotSpoilThisEnding: The closing number advises the audience not to give away the murderer or it [[TitleDrop might be curtains for them next.]]
* DramaPreservingHandicap: After [[spoiler:Bobby]] gets injured and has trouble moving, Cioffi is sure he'll be fine for the show, convinced that he'll get an adrenaline rush once it's time to perform. In the end, [[spoiler:Cioffi is shown taking his place meaning that this did not happen and that Bobby's passion for performing cannot overcome a severe head injury.]]
* DyingClue: [[spoiler: Johnny]] rips out a page from his notebook with the stage direction "Drop in Planet Earth" as he is dying from a gunshot wound. [[spoiler: "Planet Earth" was supposed to represent The Boston Globe and critic Daryl Grady, the murderer.]]

* EurekaMoment: Subverted; Cioffi shouts "That's it! I've solved it!" But he turns out to mean that he's figured out how to improve one of the musical numbers in ''Robbin' Hood''; he still doesn't know who the murderer is.
* ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: The show takes place over a time period of less than 48 hours. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the script]], the first scene takes place at 10:45 p.m. Saturday with the finale at 10:20 p.m. Monday.

** [[spoiler: One of the very first songs, "What Kind of Man", is about how awful critics are. The critic turns out to be the murderer.]]
** Niki being able to recognize Darryl Grady despite the fact his image has never been shown to the general public.

* HiddenDepths: While Bambi comes off as TheDitz for much of the show, especially in light of her mother's comments that she has no talent, her dance number in "Kansasland" shows that she's actually a great dancer. [[spoiler: This tips Cioffi off to the fact that Carmen's criticism is all an act.]]

* ImagineSpot: "Tough Act To Follow"

* LargeHam: Magnificently done with Mr. Belling. Sid Bernstein can also be a large ham if required.
* LockedInARoom: Cioffi forces everyone in the production to stay put in the theater until he solves the murder. Justified because, as he explains, Jessica was murdered on stage, meaning it had to be one of them and he doesn't have the resources to keep tabs on everybody around the clock. [[spoiler:Of course, it turns out he was wrong and the culprit left right after the bows.]]

* MeaningfulEcho: Parson Tuck's final speech of Robbin' Hood. First shown on opening night being delivered to Bobby, and at the end of the play it gains new meaning when [[spoiler: Cioffi steps into the role of Rob Hood.]]
-->"You came to us as a stranger, rid this place of crime, and gave us a new hope in ourselves."

* MoodWhiplash: Severe. The play usually alternates between complete seriousness and laugh-out-loud moments in the same scene (one after another, of course).
* MusicalWorldHypotheses: Most of the songs are diegetic as they're performed by the cast for ''Robbin' Hood''. Other songs have varying justifications from being {{Imagine Spot}}s ("Tough Act to Follow") to improvised on the spot ("The Woman's Dead").
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Johnny]] knows a secret about Niki that he refuses to tell Cioffi. The murderer shoots [[spoiler: Johnny]] because [[HeKnowsTooMuch the secret could help Cioffi solve the case]]. As he is dying [[spoiler: Johnny]] rips out a page from his notebook that gives Cioffi the final clue to the murderer's identity.

* RedHerring: PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler: Niki throughout the show is hinted to be the killer, since she had the most motive to kill Jessica [[BastardUnderstudy as her understudy]] and keeps conveniently finding evidence and leaving her fingerprints all over it. Cioffi willfully ignores because of his crush on her, making her look more suspicious to the audience. It turns out instead to be Niki's ex boyfriend trying to keep her from leaving him.]]
* NoReprisePlease: After Bobby gets shot, Niki appears onstage carrying the murderer's gun[[note]] She found it backstage [[/note]] and the Robbin Hood cast and production team immediately assume she's guilty. They all begin to sing "She Did It (Reprise)" before Cioffi tells them to stop it.
* PairTheSpares: Bobby and Bambi.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Even though he has a big ego, Belling is one of these as he treats his cast and crew well and is willing to listen to Cioffi's suggestions for improving the show.

** Niki finding a piece of Evidence, before realizing she has now covered them with her Finger Prints.

* ShapedLikeItself: "The song itself is kind of lackluster. It lacks... luster."

** To ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'', another Kander and Ebb musical. In "I Miss the Music", the very distinctive ''Cabaret''-esque vamp is played. Curtains was composed by the same team.
** Belling snarkily refers to Cioffi sequestering them as a "marathon production of ''Theatre/NoExit''".

* ShowWithinAShow: ''Robbin' Hood''
* SkewedPriorities: Downplayed in that Cioffi is actively working to solve the murder, but he frequently takes breaks to help the cast and crew improve the show.
* SourOutsideSadInside: Aaron has a very surly disposition, but because he's still in love with Georgia and can't bear seeing her with Bobby.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: No one is particularly sad about Jessica's death. Belling in particular uses it as an excuse to constantly snark about her (lack of) talent.

* StepfordSmiler: Cioffi is a bit of one. Namely that he's bored with the grind of his police work and his love of musicals is a temporary escape for him.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: "A Tough Act To Follow", the most "musical-ish" of the songs, is being imagined by both Niki and Cioffi at the same time.
* StylisticSuck: The first song, "Wide Open Spaces", is a cheesy parody of Western musicals hampered even further by Jessica's bad acting.
* SympatheticMurderer: [[spoiler: Well, one of them. And kind of in a weird way.]]

* TheLoinsSleepTonight: What actually happened at the NoodleIncident.
* TookALevelInIdealism: The cast and crew for ''Robbin' Hood'' are initially unenthusiastic and bitter about the show (which is understandable since most of them were blackmailed into doing it) and are ecstatic when it seems it may be closing. When Cioffi arrives, he helps them rekindle their passion for musical theatre and improve the show, making them much happier.

* TheVillainSucksSong: "He Did It" [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out none of the people suspected are actually the murderer.]]

* ImagineSpot: "A Tough Act To Follow"

--> Belling: And what are they going to do with her killer? I mean, does he get some sort of trophy, or a Pontiac convertible?

The list of suspects includes pretty much everybody, as no one much liked Jessica. First there is the [[{{Producers}} producer]], Carmen Berstein, who is busy trying to get the cast to continue on with the show despite the loss of its lead. Composer Aaron Fox is preocuppied with rewriting a big production number while his lyricist ex-wife Georgia Hendricks is convinced to take over the lead. Cioffi takes a liking to Jessica's understudy, [[TheIngenue Nikki]], and hopes she's not the murderer. Other suspects include the flamboyant director, Christopher Belling, theater critic Daryl Grady, Carmen's shady husband, Sydney, who claims to have just arrived from New York, Bambi, their ambitious daughter, financial backer Oscar Shapiro, leading man Bobby Pepper, and stage manager Johnny Harmon.

* AloneAmongTheCouples: Cioffi admits to Nikki that he doesn't have much of a social life because all of his friends are married and busy with their wives/families.

--> '''Nikki:''' ''She sang each word\\

* {{Blackmail}}: Sid Bernstein is revealed to have done this to almost every member of the production to get them to work for scale (or in Oscar's case invest in the show). The only exceptions were Aaron and Georgia [[spoiler:who missed each other and wanted to work together again]], Bobby[[spoiler:who was helping Georgia win back Aaron]], and Nikki and Bambi [[spoiler:both of whom saw the show as their chance to finally be on Broadway]].
* BigSecret: Nikki has one, namely that [[spoiler: she's actually friends with Darryl Grady and he's been purposely praising her in his reviews to help further her career.]] {{Subverted}} since [[spoiler:knowing this would have helped Cioffi solve the case since Grady is actually in love with her and was committing the murders to keep her from leaving Boston for Broadway.]]

* ChickenAndEggParadox: Lt. Cioffe has this exchange with Aaron prior to "I Miss The Music":
--> '''Cioffe:''' Can I ask? Only because I've wondered this my entire life -- Which would normally come first? The music, or the lyric?

--> '''Cioffe:''' Ah. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint So it's the lyric]].

** Nikki being able to recognize Darryl Grady despite the fact his image has never been shown to the general public.

* TheIngenue: Nikki, with a generous helping of TheDitz and {{Cloudcuckoolander}} on the side.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Johnny]] knows a secret about Nikki that he refuses to tell Cioffi. The murderer shoots [[spoiler: Johnny]] because [[HeKnowsTooMuch the secret could help Cioffi solve the case]]. As he is dying [[spoiler: Johnny]] rips out a page from his notebook that gives Cioffi the final clue to the murderer's identity.

* RedHerring: PlayedForLaughs. [[spoiler: Nikki throughout the show is hinted to be the killer, since she had the most motive to kill Jessica [[BastardUnderstudy as her understudy]] and keeps conveniently finding evidence and leaving her fingerprints all over it. Cioffi willfully ignores because of his crush on her, making her look more suspicious to the audience. It turns out instead to be Nikki's ex boyfriend trying to keep her from leaving him.]]
* NoReprisePlease: After Bobby gets shot, Nikki appears onstage carrying the murderer's gun[[note]] She found it backstage [[/note]] and the Robbin Hood cast and production team immediately assume she's guilty. They all begin to sing "She Did It (Reprise)" before Cioffi tells them to stop it.

* RunningGag: Whenever Cioffi and Nikki have a tender moment, Cioffi asks if he can walk her home. Nikki then reminds him he sequestered her, much to Cioffi's frustration.
** Nikki finding a piece of Evidence, before realizing she has now covered them with her Finger Prints.

* SherlockScan: {{Subverted}} and {{Lampshaded}} by Cioffi. Nikki shows him some death threats she found in Jessica's dressing room and asks if they mean anything. Cioffi jokingly says that judging by the notes the sender is a 30 year old, 6'3", former Merchant Marine named Lefty before admitting the notes actually reveal very little about the murderer's identity.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: "A Tough Act To Follow", the most "musical-ish" of the songs, is being imagined by both Nikki and Cioffi at the same time.

''Curtains'' is a 2007 Kander and Ebb [[TheMusical musical]] murder-mystery-comedy. It was nominated for eight Tony Awards, though it only won one (David Hyde Pierce - Best Actor in a Musical). The original cast included Creator/DavidHydePierce and Debra Monk.