Are curtains becoming obsolete in theater?

[BwayLeadman]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:10pm

I've noticed that a lot of theaters don't have curtains.
They are now being replaced with scrims and projected images.
The last show I've seen that used a real curtain was
"42nd Street"
Do the theaters have curtains, but the director decides not to use them?
or are curtains just "old fashion" ?

(Edited for grammar) Updated On: 9/14/05 at 05:10 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:13pm

It's true, there are very few shows that are using real curtains. Currently, The Producers is the only one I can think of. Shows like DRS and Pillowman use scrims; Lennon and All Shook Up have projected images, and some, like Piazza and Fiddler, don't use anything at all.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:24pm

All the "older" theatres (those built before the 1960's)have a permanent heavy velvet Front Curtain. The set desgner for each show decides if they want to use it, or custom design a "show curtain", or use no curtain at all.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:32pm

this is true. most theatres have a house curtain, but most Broadway shows do not incorperate them in the design. I suppose they used to be droped to cover set changes, but now everything just glides magically so a curtain isn't really necessary...

the last show I was in the director opened and closed the curtain for almost all set changes and it annoyed the hell out of me. it's a very old practice that is rarely ever employed today in "modern theatre"...

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:38pm

All Shook Up has an actual curtain - it just has a design on it.

But if we are talking standard curtains, not many shows use them.

Pillowman
Sweet Charity
DRS
Hairspray
ASU
Wicked

(Three of those are Rockwell shows)

Those are the shows that, off the top of my head, have an actual designed curtain.

Aida had more of a curtain, with the Eye of the World on it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:40pm

doesn't wicked use the map show curtain? that's not the house curtain...

[RuprechtJr.]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:42pm

Don't forget The Phantom of the Opera has the huge Red tableu curtains.

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:43pm

La Cage HAD a curtain.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:46pm

Munk -

All the shows I listed (and some others I forgot) don't use the house curtain but DO have a curtain.

As opposed to shows that don't use a curtain at all, like Fiddler, Avenue Q, Streetcar, etc.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:46pm

see, but Phantom uses those to represent the opera house curtains, they're not there when you walk in or when you leave are they? do they count?

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 5:48pm

I think it depends on the show.

Most theatres have house curtains but the show may not need to use them.

For instance, CHICAGO didn't use the house curtain at the Shubert. GYPSY did use the Shubert curtain. SPAMALOT had their own curtain designed.

I'm pretty sure all Broadway houses have house curtains. But it depends on the show as to whether or not they're used.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 6:01pm

I think more and more ppl are going w/ the idea of a show curtain to make the theater feel more like it was built for that show. It gives you a feel of what the show is like and whats going to happen. Its like a "preshow." Also, i heard somewhere that the reason Piazza didnt use a curtain is because its a thrust stage or something like that and so therefore they couldnt use one.

[Blair]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 6:38pm

The Beaumont had a curtain when The Frogs was there, but I suppose Piazza can't use it because the set goes farther out on to the thrust than the curtain does. Plus, it just adds to the atmosphere of Florence 1953 to not have one and be able to immediately step into that time and place.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 6:42pm

If a show that dosen't have a curtain or atleast a scrim drop after Act 1, I will be PISSED. Because I think the curtain or scrim falling right after the Act 1 finale, is so powerful.

[BwayLeadman]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 7:38pm

The worst is when instead of using a curtain, they have a black-out and you have to scurry off stage. I've almost tripped or fallen most of the time.

[James2]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 7:46pm

During the intermission and after it ended, The Boy From Oz used the house curtain. But for the beginning, they just had a piano on stage with a spotlight on it (I loved that).

[JulianHookbucks]

Posted: 9/14/05 at 11:17pm

I personally love blood red, or scarlet velvet curtains... such a touch of class... but alas, they are obselete... my fav. curtains however are 42nd Street, A front curtain that is just canvas on a wooden frame that rises, but it looks like a velvet curtain, Aida. Wicked, the emerald one, and Millie. with the definition of Modern on it. However, I didn't really like the one with The two Chinese servants (Bun Foo, and the other one... ?) and their mother... it was a cute attempt, but it didn't really work... anyone know who the woman was who portraied their mother in the picture on the scrim? (It was the two of them, and their elderly Chinese Mother, with American flags outside the Statue of Liberty. But It'd be cool to know who the woman was.

[alterego]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:52am

I hope not. The curtain rising or lights bleeding thru a scrim at the end of a overture are part of the magic. I don't want the show to begin until the house lights dim, but of course there are occaisions...

[Kringas]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 1:47am

If a show that dosen't have a curtain or atleast a scrim drop after Act 1, I will be PISSED. Because I think the curtain or scrim falling right after the Act 1 finale, is so powerful.

I don't know if I'd say I get pissed, but I do feel a sense of disappointment in most shows where a curtain isn't employed. I've talked about this with my friends and they look at me like I'm crazy. I just love the feeling I get when, usually at the end of a first act, when the curtain starts coming down.

So, yeah, what ljay said.

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 2:31am

Ya, curtains are nice, but there are so many new ways of doing things these days.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 6:16am

Everything eventually becomes obsolete

When it was still standing, the Loew's State theater had a curtain to die for. As the overture to the film was playing & lights dimming, the curtain rose majestically & when it was done it had that rdraped effect. Then the inner curtain would open from side to side. You had to see it. A work of art in & of itself

[Sant]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 7:11am

"For instance, CHICAGO didn't use the house curtain at the Shubert"

Don't they use the red house curtain in the end of ACT I and ACT II? But when the audience walks in before the show starts there's this black scrim, not the house curtain.

"they're not there when you walk in or when you leave are they?"
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA does use the red 'prop' curtain in the end of ACT II when the show's over and the audience is leaving. They also use it in the end of ACT I.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/15/05 at 12:00pm

I saw Chicago maybe two weeks ago, and they didn't use a curtain at the top of the show, the stage was exposed. But the black curtain was used at the end of Act I. I really love the use of show curtains. House curtains can be a hit or miss, depending on the show.