Word: drood
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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...
...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...
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...
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...
...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...