Karen Ziemba as composer-turned-new leading lady Georgia Hendricks proved to be a far superior actress and singer than her unfortunate predecessor.

After eleven TV seasons of hearing Pierce talking in Niles's clipped, refined tones, initially it came as something of a shock to hear him adopt a Bostonian drawl (think Matt Damon in The Departed).  However I quickly became accustomed to the change.

As for his singing voice, it was not the typical, carbon-copy Broadway leading man intonation. It had a 1950s twang, and could be rich, light, deep, high, and occasionally raw, just the way I like it.

He also had the most diverse, natural facial expressions I’ve seen on stage, although that could have been because I watched him through the binoculars more than I have other stage actors. He was also capable of conveying much emotion through his beautiful eyes, and I didn’t need the binoculars to appreciate that.

As with Chicago, there was as much dancing as singing, only better. The tunes and lyrics were more memorable, most notably "Thataway", "Show People", and "In The Same Boat". The irony of "What Kind Of Man?", in which the producers of “Robbin’ Hood!” slated the negative critics, was not lost on me.

Despite the BBC having destroyed what little interest I had in any sort of dancing, I was able to admire and enjoy the choreography, both perfectly synchronised and perfectly un-synchronised.

In the dance scenes Cioffi’s character had a hint of Niles. Pierce sometimes seemed to be complementing the physical awkwardness of his most famous character. At other times he obliterated it completely, especially in a Fred and Ginger inspired dance with Niki.

Despite the permanently cold theatre and the inedible $3 American chocolate, given the wealth of acting talent, likeable characters, memorable songs, and mesmerising dance routines, it will certainly not be curtains for this musical.

Curtains is at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on West 45th Street, New York, until Sunday 29th June 2008.