"Edwin Drood" ever again?

[henrybutler]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 10:47pm

Will we ever see "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" again?? in my opinion, it is one of the most underrated and under-remembered shows of all time! the music is incredible and the show itself is so exciting and innovative. (RUPERT HOLMES is a smart man)

a while back someone posted with the idea of an "edwin drood" summer encores series performance, and i TOTALLY AGREE. or one of the regular encore concert performances, but this show deserves a current production. does anyone know if there have ever been plans for a revival or a concert version?

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 11:03pm

I would love to see this again..one of my FAVORITE shows...would be great to have an ALL-Star cast for this one...would love it!

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 11:13pm

I wish there would be one! I saw a summerstock production of Drood last year and loved it (nevermind that two people I really like were in it) it was a blast in general... I agree, henry, this show is very underrated.

[tazber]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 12:06am

I'm sure we'll see it agian. It's actually a very well loved show and loads of fun.
It doesn't have anything that would really ever need to be updated like some other shows for a revival.

[Jon]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 2:13am

I'd love to see Jim Dale as the Chairman.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 2:54am

I'm all for a Broadway revival. Bring it on!

~Steven

[Stanley3]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 8:51am

Since there's no Broadway revival planned (yet) - come see it in Boston this fall at SpeakEasy Stage Company!

It's an 'All-Star' Boston cast.

November 16th - December 15th

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 9:11am

I saw it twice during its original run. Once in previews, and it was fantastic! Cleo Laine and George Rose were brilliant. Betty Buckley was a fabulous diva (her belt was electrifying on the end of "Writing on the Wall"), and I completely fell in love with Patti Cohenour and Howard McGillan (for different reasons!).

I had no idea people like Judy Kuhn, Donna Murphy and Rob Marshall were in the chorus!

I saw it once again, over a year into its run, with Donna Murphy as Drood this time, and many other cast replacements. It was pretty forgettable. I didn't like the fact that they had changed the show's name to simply "Drood" during its run. It felt like a bottled comodity... which is exactly how it came off on stage. Everything was paint-by-numbers.

This show requires a lot of energy and concentration, not to mention a "killer" cast to pull it off. The OBC was terrific, but I was surprised how different my impression was a year later.

Still... I see no reason why they shouldn't revive it. But casting, direction and ENERGY will be essential to make it work. But in this age of "interactive entertainment," I think it would do even better than it did the first time around.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 9:49am

Loretta Swit killed the original run. One of the worst perfs I've ever seen.

Love this show and would love a revival.

[D2]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 9:53am

B12B, it lost its energy pretty early - I saw it right after the Tony Awards, and pretty much everyone was walking through it except Cleo Laine - she was wonderful - and Howard McGillan. Everyone else looked bored to tears, and I was surprised because it had just won a slew of awards the week before. The show itself is a lot of fun, but you're right, it requires a top notch cast who are totally vested in the performance to work.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 9:58am

D2---There were a lot of unhappy actors in that original cast. And it all started when the Tony nominations came out. Too many egos... both bruised and inflated.

Fortunately, I saw it the first time before the "backstage drama."

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 10:00am

When I saw it w/ Swit, McGillan was still in it, and I agree, he was still giving it his all.

There was a second understudy (or perhaps it was a stagehand) playing Bazzard. He didnt know one word, so of course the audience voted him the inspector...it was a train wreck. That poor guy must've lost 20 lbs in sweat that night.

[Hiram]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 10:00am

A great show. One of my favorites. Howard McGillin was brilliant.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 10:10am

I never saw it with Swit, thankfully. Cleo's "Puffer" replacement was Karen Morrow (who was fine, but nowhere near the star wattage of Cleo Laine).

The only original cast members in it the second time were McGillan (who was okay), and George Rose, who was terrible. He walked through the whole thing with no energy at all... and he had been so good the first time around! He (deservedly) won the Tony for it... but I've never seen an actor lose interest in a part so obviously.

Donna Murphy was only "okay" as Drood. Vocally, she was imitating Buckley but didn't have the range to match. She was more "butch" than Betty (as the young Edwin Drood)... but again... didn't have the star power. It was early in her career though, so I'll cut her some slack. She wasn't a "star" back then, though.

The singing was so damn good the first time around! The end of Act I, with Cohenour and McGillin belting their operetta high notes to the rafters was jaw-dropping in the theatre. And Cleo Laine had the audience in the palm of her hand for the whole show. Magnificent stuff.

Updated On: 8/23/07 at 10:10 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 11:20am

I found Murphy's Edwin annoying as well, but disagree about McGillan. He was the only professional that night. I think Alison Fraser was the chick from Ceylon.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 11:27am

Oh, McGillin was fantastic the first time around! He was crazy-funny, over-the-top, looking like a gorgeous mad-scientist and sang like an angel.

The second time through (a year later), he was "okay."

You saw it somewhere in between, doodle.

...I think you're right about Alison Fraser, but I don't remember her in it the second time at all.

I loved Jana Schneider the first time though. Very exotic and beautiful.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 11:41am

This makes me wish that Rupert Holmes would write for the theater again...great score!

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 11:45am

Well, he did collaborate on Curtains... but I'd like to see him do another show himself.

It's been a LONG time since any one person has written book, music AND lyrics for a Broadway show! I was so impressed that he'd done all three on Drood.

Updated On: 8/23/07 at 11:45 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 11:49am

Kinda cheezy music video... but at least you can see the OBC in their prime.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2D2Bs_uIh3I

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 12:44pm

A fourth impressive task: Rupert Holmes also did most of the orchestrations for Edwin Drood.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 12:50pm

Dagnabbit...that clip wont load all the way for me.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 5:02pm

Rupert Holmes also did most of the orchestrations for Edwin Drood.

I played in the pit for this show once. There are a lot of odd keys and accidentals, and some strange chords. But cool once you get the hang of it. We wanted to play the "Pina Colada Song" (Holmes's claim to fame) for exit music, hehe, but they didn't go for that.

We were onstage and sort of part of the show. Every night the conductor held up flashcards indicating who got voted as the murderer, so we'd know which murderer-solo to play!

[tazber]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 6:36pm

That is so cool gymdude! I have always found the score to be unique in a lot of ways (not all good) but overall I enjoy it very much.
A Man Could Go Quite Mad is a fave.

[Jon]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 9:44pm

And sadly, "A Man Could Go Quite Mad" is cut from the tour version, which is the version licensed for productions now.

Apparantly, Holmes (and director Wolford leach, I assume)decided that it was wrong to reveal Jasper's dark side so early in the show.

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 8/23/07 at 10:09pm

I really adore this show and had the chance to play Durdles when I was a teenager. I loved doing it.

One night I was paired with Puffer as the lovers, it was tremendous! We brought down the house when she buried my face in her bosom.