The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Rupert Holmes musical (based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel), "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," is presented by the Commonweal Theatre Company, Lanesboro, Minnesota. Recorded in July 2022. Directed by Craig Johnson. Full credits are at the end of the video.

Archival, single shot iPhone video, for educational purposes. No ownership claimed.

Notes:
"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is an interactive musical. Famously, the audience votes on the ending during the second act, but the framing device is a Victorian musical hall troupe putting on their somewhat slap-dash presentation of the mystery, and they frequently talk directly to the audience. Since the whole piece is good-spirited but flimsy, we found it best to lean into the musical hall framework and not take the Who-Done-It mystery too seriously.

Commonweal Theatre is a lovely 180 seat theater with a three-quarter thrust stage with minimal backstage. The company normally produces non-musical plays. Recorded tracks were used for accompaniment, and the show was performed without microphones. It ran in rotating rep from July to October 2022, and was well-received by audiences.

If you enjoyed this, you'll really like visiting Lanesboro, Minnesota, and seeing a live show or two at Commonweal Theatre Company: https://commonwealtheatre.org