A(nother) world premiere musical at Virginia's Signature Theatre

                So, even though I live in Raleigh and I love North Carolina to pieces, I am and will always be a Washingtonian.  I was born and raised in Arlington, VA – I love DC, and my parents still live there, so I make a habit of visiting as often as possible.  One of my main reasons for visiting is that DC’s theater scene is crazy awesome.  My personal favorite is the Signature Theatre in Arlington, which does plenty of Sondheim and even more original work.

It’s no secret that I see a lot of theater.  My “Broadway” playlist on my ipod is well over 1,200 songs and growing.  I love it all.  Yet, seeing new work is always a special thrill for me – I don’t already own the original cast recording, I don’t already know all the lyrics, I’m not already familiar with the plot, and I don’t know how it’s going to end.  It’s a different experience from a lot of the shows I see.

                Signature puts on a lot of new material, and I love it.  I saw Sycamore Trees there a while ago, which was the world premiere of a new Ricky Ian Gordon musical.  So, for my birthday, my parents took me to see the world premiere of the brand new musical And the Curtain Rises by Michael Slade, Joseph Thalken, and Mark Campbell.

                My past positive experience with new work was echoed at And the Curtain Rises.  I very much enjoyed the thrill of seeing a plot, entirely new to me, unfold musically.  I especially enjoyed the second act.  I felt it moved very smoothly – perhaps because I was more familiar with the context by then, or perhaps because it actually was more smooth, I really can’t tell.  I’m now enamored with the idea of a musical about the birth of the musical.  I must admit, a hot shirtless man every now and then really didn’t hurt their cause either.  I found the subject matter interesting and the story fitting.

                Ultimately, I find myself glad that it was the Signature at the helm of this premiere.  They know how to premiere works.  They know how to handle new material.  I fear that had I seen this production anywhere else, I may have been disappointed.  I’m not sure the show is quite Broadway-ready, but it was enjoyable and worthwhile, thanks to the capable (and Tony-winning ) Signature.