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Mystery of Edwin Drood, The (Broadway Revival Version)

A hilarious musical whodunit! The audience chooses the murderer in this rollicking adaptation of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel.

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Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Comedy
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: Victorian (British and American), 19th Century
  • Target Audience: Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Drugs, Alcohol
  • Orchestra Size: Large

  • Performance Group:
  • Dinner Theatre, Elementary School / Primary, Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, College Theatre / Student
Based on Charles Dickens’ final unfinished novel, this hilarious whodunit invites the audience to solve its mystery by choosing the identity of the murderer. The tale is presented as a show-within-a-show, as the Music Hall Royale - a delightfully loony Victorian theatre company - presents Dickens’ brooding mystery. Musical numbers include “Perfect Strangers,” “Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead,” "Off To The Races" and “Moonfall.”

The Mystery of Edwin Drood made its debut in 1985 at the New York Shakespeare Festival, headed by Joseph Papp of the Public Theatre. On December 2, 1985, the show opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre, starring Betty Buckley, Cleo Laine and George Rose. The production won five Tony Awards and ran for 608 performances. In 1987, Drood premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End. On November 13, 2012, a revised version of the show returned to Broadway at Studio 54. Under the direction of Scott Ellis, the revival starred Stephanie J. Block in the title role and featured Chita Rivera, Will Chase, Gregg Edelman, Jim Norton and Betsy Wolfe.
REVIEWS:

"Drood is jolly good fun!"

 The New York Post

"Spontaneous fun...the company and audience become united, as intended, in the joy of theatrical invention."

 The New York Times

"For sheer fun, this show is hard to top."

 The Wall Street Journal

"Boisterous...delectable...exuberant...a generous feast for the eyes, trimmed in holiday cheer for an added spritz of currency."

 The New York Times

"One of the most inventive, inspired and rousing musicals ever devised."

 am New York

"Mr. Holmes’s rich pudding of a score contains plenty of nuggets redolent with period charm...It’s skillful pastiche perfumed with real affection, and sounds pleasurably timeless."

 The New York Times

Characters

  • Casting: 7M, 4F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Ensemble cast, Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Expandable casting
  • Casting Notes: The original Broadway production had a cast of 23 performers, including chorus. Doubling was employed.
  • Chorus Size: Large

Available Material

Name Price
Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

25 Libretto-Vocal Books
1 Piano/Conductor Score

 $450.00 +$135.00/pm

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