Helena in The Mystery of Edwin Drood

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 4:47pm

I just got cast as that! I definitely didn't expect it because I think myself as an ingenue. What can you guys tell me about the part-size and all? I have the cast recording and she doesn't appear to sing all that much, and it also doesn't seem that way from my vocal book. Does she have a lot of lines?

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 9:43pm

*bump* Curious!

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 10:41pm

Helena Landless is the sister of Neville Landless. They are from Ceylon, an island by the Bengal Bay. The part size is what I would consider medium. You get a good quartet, a lot of solo lines in the ensemble numbers. You are also one of those who gets to be a suspect in the murder

You really look the part from your pictures!

Have fun

DON'T QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD is a great song.

Updated On: 6/28/06 at 10:41 PM

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 10:49pm

Thanks! Medium is good....supporting. Yay! That's better than I've gotten in a while....maybe ever (last 2 roles in musicals were Miss Jones in H2$ and Mrs. Harcourt in Anything Goes)

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 11:53pm

She is in the quintet (gorgeous), also has solo stuff in "No Good Can Come From Bad" and sings one of the leads on "Ceylon". Her scenes are all really fun, she's a spitfire, is a candidate for murderer, detective, and lover (so you have to learn your song/scene for each scenario, and each possible matchup of rlovers - fun times) aaaaand you can pretty mcuh guarantee you'll be voted as a lover every night if you're doing it right.

When I played the role, the only two nights I WASN'T voted as a lover was becuse one night I was voted the detective, and the other night another girls' family was in the audience, so we really played her up with the crowd to vote for her all night.

It's all listed in the notes as to why people vote for her, I can't remmeber why, but it says directly that for the girl the audience will alway svote for Helena, as evidenced by the fact that the audience voted for a detective (in our production) one nighit who had lost his voice during the show so he bowed out and they did a revote and I was chosen. Random. I think partially cause they think voting for the twins as lovers will be funny, but i never got voted with my twin.

Overall the role is LOADS of fun, especially cause you can get revenge for any crappy dialect roles you've had to do that have tortured you, as this one (dialect) is supposed to be bad and not geographically traceable or accurate, so you can just have the time of your life with it! It was also a great opportunity for me to learn more about improv and really playing it up with the audience, and to take different risks in the show and in audience interaction to try to sway them different ways each night (in terms of voting results).

Congratulations!! I had a blast and it's definitely on my list of roles I'd love to play again one day.

[jam_man]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 2:02am

What songs you are in really depends on the director - I have a theory that if you were to see 10 different productions of Drood, you would see 10 different versions of the script and configuration of the songs. Nevertheless, it's an extremely fun show to do - if you don't have fun doing Drood, I don't believe you belong in a theatre. That's just me though, but I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

[tophertilson]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 3:06am

The great Jana Schneider just about stole the show away from everyone the night I saw it on Broadway. The role of Helena is a license to indulge. You get a great costume and the opportunity to use a funny accent. What more could an actor want? :) Ham it up and have a great time.

TT

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 5:50pm

I read through the script and I'm really happy with my part. It's probably the biggest I've ever gotten, and it seems like a lot of fun, especially if Neville and I are voted lovers. But I want to be voted Datchery or the murderer, so I get to sing my own song!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/29/06 at 10:12pm

Just remember that on Broadway, the actress was really the Thief of Parts. It is a license to steal the show and do it with a wink and a nod so the audience loves their "little geographically indecipherable friend." Kind of a female version of Hadjii, from Jonny Quest.

If this were a Saturday Night Live sketch, the role would be played by Mya Rudolph or Molly Shannon and go from there....

Updated On: 6/29/06 at 10:12 PM