It's curtains: Curtain Call Killer spoofs Broadway

There’s a new Broadway musical about to open when a killer strikes. And it’s not the first time he’s murdered. He’s known as the Curtain Call Killer and he’s got to be stopped so the show can go on.

That’s the premise behind the Curtain Call Killer, the latest audience-participation, dinner-theater murder mystery play from Act Out Mystery Theatre, that Long Beach-based troupe specializing in spoofing pop culture. This time, they’re spoofing Broadway and having the time of their lives.

Broadway legends abound in this show – Rogers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris and even Ethel Merman are all on hand. The names have been changed slightly to avoid copyright infringements, but you can tell from the context who the characters really are.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Act Out treats audiences to a whimsical evening poking fun at Broadway clichés as well as Broadway divas. The troupe is clearly having fun as things progress from zany to outrageous, offering plenty of laughs for the audience.

Act Out regular Lara Starr Rigores almost steals the show with her dead-on impression of Snooki from MTV’s Jersey Shore (pictured right). Don’t ask what Snooki is doing here, just go with it and enjoy Rigores’ character, her best since she took on Paris Hilton a few shows ago. But it Snooki wasn’t enough, Rigores comes back to portray Ethel Merman, breaking out into song whenever she gets a chance.  

Giving Rigores a run for her money in best in show department is another Act Out regular, Carson Gilmore, who does triple duty as Oscar Hammerstein, Katherine Hepburn and choreographer Georgie Porgie. That Georgie Porgie character is the character Gilmore seems born to play. He’s done many excellent characters in his Act Out career, but this is the one where lets his loose the Gotta-Dance side of him that’s been waiting to be unleashed.

Writer/director Paul vander Roest shows off his acting chomps nicely as Richard Rogers and later John Wayne. Again, don’t ask what John Wayne’s doing here, just go with it – the more outrageous the scenario, the more these actors seem to shine. And vander Roest shines brightly.

The great thing about Act Out shows is the audience gets to be a part of the fun too as they recruit audience members to play small parts that help advance the plot. Great acting is not expected, merely a reading of the lines from your seat. However, often great acting occurs nonetheless. In fact, Act Out even lets the audience vote on who the best audience actor of the evening was and presents the winner with an award.

Yes, the show and the entire evening are fun – silly, campy fun that will leave a smile on your face. Even better, they serve a meal (a very good one at that) in between acts, thus making it worth the drive to Long Beach to see the show.

Curtain Call Killer plays through Sept. 4 at the Reef on the Water overlooking Long Beach Harbor. For tickets and more information, visit the Act Out Mystery Theatre website.