By ALANA MITCHELSON
PAKENHAM actor Brett Fisher and his fellow cast members have found it difficult to hold back laughter during rehearsals for the upcoming musical comedy Curtains.
Based on a book by Peter Stone, the murder-mystery production is a parody of ‘whodunnit’ plots.
Mr Fisher performed in musicals throughout his adolescence at Berwick Secondary College, where he discovered his passion for acting and dancing.
He made his professional musical theatre debut on the big stage earlier this year when he appeared in Fiddler on the Roof.
Mr Fisher said audiences could expect to laugh as Curtains came to Australian stages.
“Expect a lot of death but with a melodramatic flavour. There are quite a few musical numbers and the lyrics are quite funny,“ the 24-year-old said.
“There have been a lot of times where we’re holding back laughter on the stage. We’re having a lot of fun at rehearsals.
“It’s a very high-energy performance and filled with classic Broadway-style show tunes.“
Mr Fisher said he was enjoying working with some new faces in the cast of 24. While a smaller production compared to Fiddler on the Roof, he said that Curtains had presented him with the opportunity to be on stage for longer periods of time.
“This show is more modern and there’s more room for interpretation,“ he said.
“I’m part of the ensemble and we play characters in the actual play as well as actors in the play within a play.”
Curtains is set in 1959 America at the opening night of a cowboy musical. The “talentless” leading lady is murdered onstage during the curtain call and the entire cast become suspects.
It is up to Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, a police detective who moonlights as a musical theatre fan, to save the show, solve the case and maybe even find love along the way.
Curtains will be performed from 20 to 28 August at the Melbourne Arts Centre.
