John Dewar (Sergei Schmearnov), Matt Wolfe (Howard Katz), Murray Finkel (Jared Michael Brown) and Nick DeSantis (Yengenyi Onanov) in the Village Theatre’s production of “Iron Curtain.” Photo by Jay Koh. Courtesy of Village Theatre.

 

Village Theatre's creative team has spent years helping craft the musical "Iron Curtain," which runs through May 22 at the Everett Performing Arts Center. An original show, the "commie comedy" received a staged reading at the Village Theatre's Festival of New Musicals in 2007, and was refined as a workshop presentation in 2008. A true international collaboration, the musical has also been showcased at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and several west coast regional theatre stages.

After its initial run at Village's home theatre in Issaquah, the professional company brings the zany musical to Everett for four weekends.

Full of flashy costumes, show-stopping production numbers, zingy one-liners and a healthy helping of Cold War nostalgia (is that the right word?), "Iron Curtain" never skips a beat. Even though the show runs two and a half hours, there's never a dull moment onstage.

The audience members have to pay attention to the dialogue, because some of it is just plain hard to understand. Most of the actors deliver their lines with convincing-but sometimes difficult-Russian or German accents. While the effect is amusing, it's also an effort to wrap your ears around at times.

Not that you really have to catch every word. The intention is clear, whether the lines are delivered by the East German dominatrix Hildret Heinz, embodied playfully by Bobbi Kotula, or Yengenyi Onanov, the Russian Minister of Musical Persuasion, delightfully portrayed by Nick DeSantis.

The plot has the Soviets trying to create a Broadway-style musical as a propaganda piece, under orders from Khrushchev himself. They "convince" two hapless New York writers to take on the job, transporting them to Moscow and the Lapov Luxury Hotel, where mattresses are optional. Romance, intrigue and musical numbers follow, and, like most musical comedies, all is resolved by the final curtain.

The sets and costumes are stunning, the vocal performances top-notch, and the musical score is executed flawlessly by the live orchestra. "Iron Curtain" is a rollicking, fun-loving production with the Village's trademark quality.

For tickets, visit www.villagetheatre.org or call (425) 257-8600.

Just a couple of blocks away at the Historic Everett Theatre, Red Curtain Productions presents "Moonlight and Valentino," a dramedy by Ellen Simon. The community theatre production runs weekends through May 15.

The cast of four women and one strong, silent man do a good job of bringing the characters to life onstage. But the offstage death of the lead character's young husband shrouds the story in layers of pain.

The new widow, expertly portrayed by Jennifer Michael, tries to sidestep the grief by playing incessant games with her friend, her sister and stepmother, all of whom are trying in their own ways to comfort and heal her. As life would have it, the other women have healing of their own to do, and the cloying closeness of the small bungalow soon draws out old wounds, new scars and surprising revelations.

The two-story set provides a believable background, and the show is enhanced by a well-executed lighting design and authentic 1980s costumes.

"Moonlight and Valentino" was made into a movie with a young Jon Bon Jovi in the role of the handsome painter who never speaks a word. When Steven Michael appears as Valentino in the Red Curtain production, his Bon Jovi T-shirt is an ironic reference to that movie that also fits perfectly with the time period.

Director Kimberly Riley has fashioned a production that explores the depths of emotion and shows us the strength of the human spirit. You won't be whistling a happy tune as you exit the theatre, but the show is somehow therapeutic and even hopeful.

For tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com or phone the Everett Theatre box office at (425) 258-6766.