Mystery of Edwin Drood

by Rupert Holmes

directed by Drew Winser

at Agassiz Theatre

through November 20

The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a 1980s Broadway musical based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, is a departure for The Gilbert and Sullivan Society. It's the Soceity's first non-G&S show and it is the first time the group has attempted to stage two productions in one semester. Under the steady direction of Drew Winser, this production is an entertaining romp. Particularly after last spring's The Gondoliers, it is nice to see The Gilbert and Sullivan Society back on track.

Dickens died before finishing The Mystery of Edwin Drood and left no notes indicating the resolution. The Rupert Holmes musical is based on the premise that the "Music Hall Royale" is performing Dickens' novel with a view towards finishing it based on the whim of the audience. The result is not so much a "play within a play" as it as an attempt at recreating the experience of going to a Victorian era music hall. Ingenues are offered to lonely theatre-goers, scenes are introduced by the Chairman of the Music Hall, the action of the "play" is stopped as principal actors come out so they can be introduced and applauded.

Holding all this meta-action together is Skip Sneeringer as the imperious Chairman. On stage the entire performance, Sneeringer is hysterically funny as he tries to keep his cast on course. When a mention of "the ship H.M.S. Pinafore" leads to a chorus of sailors dancing on stage, he fumes at them forgetting their shows confused, shouting, "off, off" as he pushes them off stage. Even when he is merely sipping a glass of wine while watching a scene, his presence adds immeasurably to the show. With witty remarks and remarkable charm, Sneeringer turns an amusing show into a captivating one.

Lisa Houston is a disappointment as the title character. Although her voice is spectacular her acting is unfocused and poor. She is significantly better in parts of the second act (particularly her final song) but it is hard to reengage an audience that late in the show. Fortunately, the role of Drood is rather easy to ignore and she/he disappers by the end of the first act anyway.

Far more dynamic and appealing are Judi Mavon as Rosa Bud and Adam Feldman as John Jasper. Mavon has transformed Rosa Bud from a rather dumb ingenue part as the object of everyone's affections and turned her into an animated, intelligent woman. Mavon is so consistently funny and engaging that her occasional missed high note (her singing is otherwise quite good) is more than forgivable. By the beginning of the second act she has established her character so well that her line to Jasper, "you are a bad bad bad man," actually seems plausible.

John Jasper is a role that could have been made for Adam Feldman. In this classic villain role, Feldman gets to leer and lech to his heart's content. More seductive than slimy, Feldman's dapper Jasper seems a far better match for Rosa Bud than Drood. Jasper is also a role that shows off Feldman's magnificent voice.

Also good is Christine Kienzle in the showy but tangential role of Princess Puffer. Along with Sneeringer, she is the most convincing as an actual Music Hall performer. Her accent seems the most legitimate and she belts out her few numbers with enthusiasm.

The large cast is consistently good, at least in part a tribute to the firm direction of their director. Winser maneuvers the small confines of the Agassiz stage well, making particularly good use of the high street "set." A common threat to shows as intrinsically ridiculous as this one is that the show will get tiresomely hammy. But Winser manages to keep the show on an even keel, even resisting the temptation to rush through the rather long play.

Vocal Director Seth Weinstein and Choreographer Liat Kaplan also deserve acclaim. Vocal quality is consistently high, both the slow ballads and patter songs have clearly been worked on thoroughly. One of the most impressive attributes of this production is the cohesiveness of the company's singing. The group numbers are stunning in their musical quality.

One advantage the group numbers have, of course, is that you can actually hear them. Under the direction of Steve Huang, the orchestra drowns out many of the solo and duet numbers. In one particularly egregious example, the brilliant rendition of "Two Sides of the Coin" by Sneeringer and Feldman, the only way the audience knows the two are singing the rapid-fire chorus is by watching their lips move. This problem, a common one at the Agassiz, would at least be forgivable if the orchestra played well. Due probably to poor rehearsal rather than lack of talent, the orchestra stumbles through most of the numbers rather clumsily.

There is a great deal of dancing in Drood, all used to good effect (mostly to liven up some otherwise boring dramatic scenes). Under Kaplan's guidance, most of the cast performs energetically if not expertly. Particular note should be made of the four chorus members (Len Levin, Neil Sondheimer, Christine Driscoll and Ariella Migdal) who seem to spend half the play bouncing on stage in various costumes to perform different styles of dance.

In a reversal of normal college theatre procedure, the men in Drood are far better dressed than the women. Costume Designer Tinadetta Lee has outfitted the male characters in several splendid variations of Victorian dress--special note should be made of Jasper's splendid frock coat and purple waistcoat. Other than the gorgeous tatters of Princess Puffer, however, the women are mostly stuffed into badly tailored, frumpy dresses.

The sets by Hillary Hanson consist largely of a series of painted drops. These vary in quality from quite professional to one reminiscent of a fourth grade play. The set pieces used to enhance the drops are marvelous, however, and the cemetary scene is particularly well designed.

Audience participation in the voting process for resolving the play is smoothly carried out. And from all accounts, the cast has capably handled the demands of performing different endings each night. Drood is by far the most entertaining show going on this weekend, an attractive alternative to the Game.