Review: Play detective at The Mystery of Edwin Drood now playing at SCC

Photo courtesy SCC

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Rupert Holmes

Producer/Music Director Charles Enlow

Stage Director Teresa Thuman

Conductor Bruce Monroe

Choreography by Lee Ann Hittenberger

Costumes by Amanda Headley

Review by Doug Gochanour

Around 1869, Charles Dickens was writing a novel he called The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Dickens died before he could finish the book, but Rupert Holmes has turned the incomplete story into an interactive mystery musical.

The cast, crew, and 19-member orchestra provide an entertainment bonanza. This company creates a masterful performance, with wonderful costumes, singing, dancing and vaudevillian humor.

You’ll be glad you are there to enjoy this play within a play. Watch as each actor portrays at least two roles. First, they are members of the Music Hall Royale, as they commandeer an old abandoned theatre. Then, they assume the role of characters from Dickens’ novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Edwin Drood
Photo courtesy SCC

 

Tradition has it that Drood was a young man, being portrayed by a female actress. The Drood dude was a dudette, another of the mysterious ways of the music hall.

This whodunit mystery invites the audience to participate throughout. Cast members poll the audience by walking among the rows of seats. This is presumably done to select the preferred outcome of the play for the evening, as no one really knows how it would have ended.

The setting is in Chesterham, England, near the time of Dickens. The mystery concerns the murder, or more exactly the disappearance of Edwin Drood. The set and costumes are amazing. The cast is outstanding. The orchestra coordinates perfectly with performers.

Do attend this fun experience. Be ready to laugh. Ferret out the culprit. Play detective. Have fun!

Photo courtesy SCC

 

Remaining performances:

May 15, Sunday 3:00 p.m.

May 20, Friday 7:30 p.m.

May 21, Saturday 7:30 p.m.

May 22, Sunday 3:00 p.m.

FREE PARKING! Beer, wine and refreshments available for purchase.

SCC Campus Theatre, Bldg. 1600, 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline 98133. (campus maps)

Ticket Information:

• General Admission - $18
• Seniors, Non-SCC Students $12
• SCC Students and ages 15 and under - $10
• Tickets at the door and online