Mystery of Edwin Drood Lovers Dialogue

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 2:43am

At the end of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the remaining cast members who werent chosen as the murderer are eligible to be picked as a pair of lover to sing a duet together. This often results in a hilarious moment which includes the two actors saying a bit of dialogue before singing. I can vaguely remember some of them (I recall John Jasper and Helena Landless interaction as being particularly hysterical), but I dont know them all by heart. Does anyone here know what they are? Or at least the main gist of the lover interactions?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 6:19am

I might still have a script kicking around in my office....I'll be able to look later today

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 6:21am

The original production had different dialogue for each possible combination of lovers, and all of those are in the published libretto (which, admittedly, can be hard to pin down these days). However, the current licensed version no longer includes all those variations, and instead says:

"SHE: My darling! Our attraction is unavoidable!

HE: MY dearest! At last we can admit our feeling for one another!

(ad lib suited to characters involved)"

Personally, comparing them, I find this standard, nondescript dialogue funnier as it gives the actors more to play against and makes the naughtier pairings (Helena/Neville, Puffer/Deputy, etc.) feel all the more subversive and like they weren't meant to happen.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 9:23am

A quick looksee revealed no script -- if I find it, I'll let you know.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 10:48am

I worked the run at the Roundabout. If there was any script, it wasn't closely adhered to. I never saw the same thing twice, even when it was the same pairing. It seemed to be entirely up to the actors.