'Curtains' Whodunit Draws Big Talent from the Township

It's 'Curtains' in the Hungarian American Club tonight. That is, it's the murder mystery musical whodunit that the Woodbridge Community Youth Players are putting on this summer in this, their fourth summer outing. 

The lead character, Lt. Frank Cioffi, is played by Alex Witkowski, a teacher at South Brunswick High School interviewed earlier this year during auditions for the play.  Witkowski's aspirations and dedication shone through in his performance, and he did much, in addition to the talented cast, to make the play what looks to be a hit. 

Not to be missed is the cameo of Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac. The mayor plays a small role at the beginning of the play as Police Commissioner McCormac. This is his fourth year of acting in the group's summer plays. Previous roles that McCormac played included the voice of God in the musical 'Grease.'

The witty and rather hilarious dialogue was a major factor keeping audience members entertained. While Lt. Frank Cioffi is trying to get to the bottom of who the murderer is, he tells three characters, "You three are my first murder suspects." To that, a cast member joyfully responds, "It's good to be nominated," to hearty laughter from the audience. 

It was dialogue like this that keeps the performance lively and engaging.

The musical numbers, such as the opening number "Wide Open Spaces," "He Did It," and "Kansasland", were well done and heartily applauded.

Mr. Morgan, father of lead Kiersten Morgan, who plays Georgia Hendricks in the play and will be a senior at Woodbridge High School in the fall, is unbelievably proud of all of the cast members whose sheer dedication and passion burst through their performances. 

"These kids put in hundreds of hours of practice," he said.

"Some of these kids took off their jobs for this. They're high school kids ,and they are here during their summer instead of working - I'm just so proud of every one of these kids," said Mr. Morgan.

Performances run through July 31st at the Hungarian American Center.  All performances are at 7:30 pm except for Sunday, which is at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at door.