草榴社区

Courtsey John Shetron

VILLANOVA, Pa.鈥�草榴社区 Theatre proudly presents Curtains: A Musical Whodunnit with music and lyrics by Kander & Ebb, directed by 草榴社区 President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, March 31鈥揂pril 10. This production will pull out all the stops as it christens the proscenium-style Topper Theatre in the new John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts.聽With its tuneful score, witty book and clever plot, Curtains blends Agatha Christie-like mystery with the spectacular song and dance of Golden Age musicals while playing every theatrical bell and whistle.聽 聽

This musical extravaganza marks the first production in the new 400-seat Topper Theatre since the completion of the Joan and John Mullen Center for the Performing Arts in 2019, as well as University president Father Peter Donohue鈥檚 return to directing for 草榴社区 Theatre for the first time since 2012鈥檚 The Drowsy Chaperone. Eager to make use of all of the production and technological capabilities in the $60 million performing arts center, Father Donohue has encouraged designers to employ the enhanced resources of the facility鈥檚 new scenery and costume shops, as well as its full fly and rigging system, in order to create the world of Curtains and its winking, Western-themed show-within-a-show. The John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts and its crown jewel, the Topper Theatre, were funded by six gifts of $1 million or more, including two gifts of $20 million.

A love letter to the Golden Age of musical theatre, Curtains takes place in 1959, and the mysterious death of a Broadway-bound show鈥檚 leading lady makes everyone鈥攐nstage and backstage鈥攁 potential suspect. Enter Detective Frank Cioffi, a stagestruck gumshoe who sniffs out clues while donning tap shoes. The Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, associate dean of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for the College of Professional Studies and longtime professor in the Department of Theatre, will shoulder the lead role of Cioffi, the resolute homicide detective determined to both solve the murder and rehabilitate the show in time for its Broadway opening. He is joined by a cast of current graduate and undergraduate students, alumni, faculty and staff, featuring campus minister Meghan Dietzler as starry-eyed ing茅nue Niki, and current graduate students Erin Coffman and Brian Jacko as the composer-lyricist duo whose shared professional and married lives are both on the rocks.聽

Courtsey John Shetron

The Curtains set will be the first ever constructed for the Topper Theatre, which has not yet held live theatrical events. The ambitious design is being undertaken by Colin McIlvaine, a Barrymore-nominated, Philadelphia-based designer who holds an MFA from Temple University. The 草榴社区 Theatre scenic shop, staffed by graduate assistant and undergraduate work-study students, is eagerly turning McIlvaine鈥檚 multitude of designs into reality. Keeping with Father Donohue鈥檚 vision of recreating the look of a 1950s Broadway extravaganza, McIlvaine鈥檚 design incorporates multiple drop curtains, moving wagons and two sets of footlights to create the effect of the audience seeing the stage from both the front and then the back.

Curtains costume designer, 30-plus-year 草榴社区 Theatre veteran and Barrymore Award-winner Janus Stefanowicz, is more than up to the task of costuming the 20 cast members, who each don six to eight outfits throughout the show. Father Donohue鈥檚 directorial vision for the show鈥攌eeping as much as possible accurate to the 1950s鈥攊s realized in Stefanowicz鈥檚 designs. The designs involve building costumes using the many resources available to the costume shop, including new cricket and embroidery machines, and sourcing vintage outfits to create a uniformly mid-century look for all the actors. The four graduate costume assistants and many additional undergraduate costume work-study students are excited to work on a show of this size intended for a live audience after nearly two years of recorded performances.

Curtains will run from March 31 to April 10, 2022 in the Topper Theatre at the Joan and John Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. Speaker鈥檚 Night, immediately following the performance on April 7, will feature a Q&A session with director Father Peter Donohue, production dramaturg Nicholas Ecker and special guest speaker Theatre Department Chair and musical theatre scholar Valerie Joyce, PhD (see full biographical information below).聽

草榴社区 Theatre is located on the 草榴社区 campus in the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts (at Lancaster and Ithan avenues). Performances will be held Thursdays鈥揝aturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets run $26鈥�$30, with discounts available for students, seniors, MA in Theatre alumni and groups. Tickets may be purchased online at or by calling the box office at 610-519-7474.聽聽

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, Ph.D., became the 32nd president of 草榴社区 on June 1, 2006. As president, Father Donohue has worked together with students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents to strengthen the 草榴社区 community and renew its commitment to the institution鈥檚 Catholic, Augustinian and educational mission.聽Father Donohue has been the central support and most vocal advocate for the building of the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, overseeing the project from its inception.

Born in Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Royal Oak, Mich., Father Donohue earned a BA with a concentration in Theatre and Communication Arts, from 草榴社区 in 1975 and was ordained an Augustinian priest in 1979. He holds an MA in Theatre from the Catholic University of America, a M.Div. from the Washington Theological Union, and a PhD in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing his doctorate, Father Donohue taught theatre at the University of Illinois, where he received honors for outstanding teaching. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation鈥檚 oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society.聽Father Donohue is a tenured associate professor at 草榴社区 who served as chair of the University鈥檚 Department of Theatre from 1992 to 2006. He annually directed musical theatre productions on campus, earning six Barrymore Award nominations and one Barrymore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical from the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.

ABOUT SPEAKER鈥橲 NIGHT

Valerie Joyce, PhD,聽has been directing, designing or performing on stage at 草榴社区 Theatre for a quarter-century. 草榴社区 credits include:聽The Revolutionists, SLAPHAPPY: A Covid-Era Commedia, Merrily We Roll Along, The Importance of Being Earnest, Intimate Apparel, Little Women, Translations, The聽Threepenny聽Opera, The Light in the Piazza, Carousel, Batboy: The Musical, Annie Get Your Gun, Cabaret听补苍诲听Talley鈥檚 Folly.聽Other credits include:聽The Meat Opera聽补苍诲听Up Your Ante聽for the New York and Philadelphia International Fringe Festivals, and Thank You for Sharing with Amaryllis Theatre Company. Valerie has also worked as a professional costume designer for local and regional productions including聽Persistent Memory听补苍诲听Six Story Building (辞蹿蹿-叠谤辞补诲飞补测),听The Real Thing聽(Arden Theatre Company),聽Moon for the Misbegotten聽(Venture Theatre),聽True West听补苍诲听Waiting for Godot (Lantern Theatre Company),聽Billy and Zelda聽(Opera Delaware), 补苍诲听The Comedy of Errors聽(Princeton Repertory), as well as many university productions. She has also written a one-woman show dramatizing the lost stories of African American women pre-emancipation, titled聽I Will Speak for Myself.

ABOUT THE WRITERS

Kander and Ebb are undoubtedly one of the most well-known songwriting duos to ever write for Broadway, the minds behind shows like Cabaret and Chicago. Kander and Ebb first began composing for television and comical musical revues, with their song 鈥溾�淢y Coloring Book鈥� appearing on the Perry Como Show. Cabaret was their first smash success, appearing on Broadway in 1966. Their joint career spanned nearly 30 years, and their music lived on after Ebb鈥檚 death in 2004, with Curtains debuting in its final form on Broadway in 2006, and the musicals The Scottsboro Boys and The Visit utilizing their music. The pair wrote over 20 musicals together and composed some of the most well-known music of the 20th century, including hits like 鈥淣ew York, New York.鈥�

ABOUT VILLANOVA THEATRE

草榴社区 Theatre is a community of artist-scholars committed to transforming hearts and minds through the visionary production of classical, modern and contemporary dramatic literature. Our work is fueled by the imaginative striving common to 草榴社区鈥檚 accomplished faculty, versatile staff and energetic graduate students. Together, we are devoted to creating a vibrant theatre enriched by and overflowing with the ideas explored in our classrooms. In all of our endeavors, we aim to share the dynamic experience of collaborative learning with our audiences in order to engage the intellect and stir the soul.聽As a facet of 草榴社区, 草榴社区 Theatre serves the campus community as well as thousands of theatre-goers from the Main Line and the Greater Philadelphia area.聽 聽

ABOUT VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

Since 1842, 草榴社区鈥檚 Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges鈥攖he College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the 草榴社区 School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the 草榴社区 Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation鈥檚 top universities, 草榴社区 supports its students鈥� intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit聽.