The Mystery of Edwin Drood will make its first-ever return to Broadway since winning the Tony "Triple Crown" (Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score). Who killed Edwin Drood? It's a question that has stumped audiences for years-now it's your turn to answer one of Broadway's most baffling mysteries. Take a trip back in time to a Victorian music hall where a rowdy ensemble of actors mounts a staging of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel. Everyone on stage is a suspect in the murder of young Edwin Drood-and it's up to you to choose the killer! Is it John Jasper, Edwin's protective but slightly maniacal uncle? Rosa Bud, his reluctant betrothed? The debauched Princess Puffer? Each performance ends differently, depending on what the audience decides!
The original Drood was flawless, but this one--directed by Scott Ellis--does quite nicely, with splendid sets, good casting, and solid attention to the score, which is sophisticated and fun, only a couple of the songs making things temporarily turgid. In the cast, Gregg Edelman, Andy Karl, Jessie Mueller, Robert Creighton, and the gang are comically deft in their suspicous roles. Stephanie J. Block as Drood and Betsy Wolfe as his fiance Rosa Bud, handle the high-power singing. And as opium-wielding Princess Puffer, Chita Rivera lends her legendary presence and wit, making for a surprising Cockney matron and pulling it off with sass and class…It was magical. I vote yes.
The show does have some jaunty, quasi-operetta music with beautiful harmonic blends and a ravishing cast -- including Chita Rivera as Princess Puffer, madam of the opium den, and Jessie Mueller as the slinky-to-her-eyebrows Helena Landless, who, with her brother (Andy Karl) brings a bit of Colonial commentary as the exotics from Ceylon. Jim Norton maneuvers around the fast-patter songs with aplomb as the emcee; Stephanie J. Block is authoritative as Drood, the young gentleman who disappears. His beloved (Betsy Wolfe) is coveted by the opium fiend-music teacher (Will Chase)...Instead of trusting the characters and the mystery to build the suspense, however, Holmes aims for the campy, tiresome and childish. To vote, one presumably cares about who does what to whom. Considering Dickens' storytelling genius, the real mystery is why this isn't fun.
| 1985 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 1985 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
| 1987 | West End |
London Production West End |
| 2012 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Jim Norton |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Andy Karl |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Jessie Mueller |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical or Revue | 0 |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Anna Louizos |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Tony Meola |
| 2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jim Norton |
| 2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Chita Rivera |
| 2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | 0 |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | William Ivey Long |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Will Chase |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | 0 |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Scott Ellis |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Will Chase |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Mystery of Edwin Drood |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Roundabout Theatre Company |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Todd Haimes |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Harold Wolpert |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Julia C. Levy |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Anna Louizos |
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