By Nikki Rodriguez

Different melodies in various pitches resonate through the crowd of students dispersed across the STA auditorium. Students croon to themselves or sing with their friends, practicing for individual auditions. Seasoned thespians, actors, singers and those new to theater compete for the 13 lead roles in STA’s fall musical, “Curtains.”

The musical is about a group of actors who are putting on “Robbin’ Hood” when the lead actress is murdered on stage opening night. The entire cast becomes suspect as a detective investigates her murder and attempts to fix the play at the same time.

Why at STA?

“It has a large ensemble, which I always love,” director Shana Prentiss said. “It just fit the personality of the [theater] department.”

Sophomore Marina Vianello, who will play Bambi, agrees that “Curtains” is a good choice for STA.

“I think it’s good because it has a lot of female roles,” Vianello said. “It will also fit our stage, which can be difficult since it’s sort of small.”

Freshman Hillary Talkan, an ensemble member, agrees that “Curtains” will be a fun musical.

“I think there’s a lot of talented people here,” Talkan said. “Also, most current stuff is overdone.”

Lesser Known

Before she read the script this summer, Prentiss did not know the musical.

“I do a lot of reading over the summer,” Prentiss said. “And [“Curtains”] just made me laugh.”

Junior Page Kemna also did not know about the musical, but researched it before auditions.

“It’s a Broadway play, but no one hears about it,” Kemna, a member of the ensemble, said.

However, during it’s time on Broadway the show gained some fame.

“I was actually in [‘Curtains’] before,” Vianello said. “Three years ago with Music Theatre for Young People, I was in the chorus as a dancer.”

Balancing Act

Countering the lesser known “Curtains,” Prentiss chose “Dancing at Lughnasa” for the spring play. Prentiss hopes the small cast of “Dancing at Lughnasa” will balance the large cast of 38 for “Curtains.”

“Dancing at Lughnasa,” it’s a play that “every theater person knows,” according to Prentiss. However, several cast members only knew of it through Prentiss’s choice as the Spring play.

“Most people I talked to had never heard of it,” Vianello said. “But it’s fun to show the STA community something new.”