The Mystery of Edwin Drood or Drood — Page 2

I've long wanted to see a revival of Drood. Alice Ripley was always my choice for the title role, but I doubt she could handle the demands of the score these days. Unfortunately, there aren't many singing actresses these days who can sing the score to perfection and also be genuinely funny. I'm not even sure who could do it justice right now. Katie Finneran, perhaps? Or maybe Martha Plimpton?

Laura Benanti was born to play Rosa Bud.

I've long thought of Elaine Paige as an ideal Puffer, although Patti is also a great choice. I'd love to see either Emily Skinner or Jan Maxwell try their hand at Helena.

Jim Dale is a great choice for the Chairman. I think Steven Pasquale would be a wonderful choice for John Jasper.

---

Eh. I've never been on the Sutton Foster train, personally.

---

I saw the London production with Ernie Wise and Lulu. It was fun but flimsy.

I have the OCR and also the full version with all the alternate endings. I never realized it was so rare!

devonian.t,

I'd love to hear your first hand report of the London production of DROOD - and certainly anyone else who might have caught it.

The London transfer at the Savoy didn't last long at all. Most critics blamed the paint-by-numbers recreation of the Broadway staging and their lack of adapting it for the truly English sensibility. Given how talented Wilford Leach was, it was disappointing that he, Rupert and Graciela didn't rethink the show a bit more for London audiences who were VERY well versed in the music hall/panto traditions. Holmes did make a variety of changes to the libretto and score - some improvements (such as swapping Off to the Races with The Name of Love/Moonfall Reprise to make it the Act One finale) but other numbers like A Private Investigation and A British Subject (a previously cut song that replaced Ceylon) didn't add much.

I personally wonder how different the show's fate might have been had they imported George Rose as the Chairman. Barring the staging issues, casting Ernie Wise was probably the biggest misstep. His delivery was too low key and timid for The Chairman. For anyone familiar with George Rose's brilliant, larger than life turn, there was just no comparison. Truly unfortunate as I think it's a terrific, often brilliant (if not perfect) show.

There IS a recording of the OLC that was made by the production for the cast and creatives. It can be found fairly easily with the right Google search.

Below you can watch a rare performance by the London company featuring Ernie Wise, Lulu, David Burt as Jasper, Mark Ryan as Neville and Julia Hills as Drood. Worth checking out!

Rare Performance by London Cast of DROOD

Updated On: 5/1/11 at 08:11 PM

I hope to God that Dollypop is being sarcastic.

Thing is, it's an absolutely terrifically written show - wild, witty, anarchic fun, with a great score and expert orchestrations. You need to have a cast that's having the time of their lives, though, or it just doesn't fly - as stated above, that was the problem with the replacement casts.

This will forever taint any vision I have of Donna Murphy
I feel she is sooooooooooooo over-rated ..she may have 1 2 tonys but is she in the same league as Bernadette/Patti/Betty
not even close...

Sadly, I think what you wrote is very true, MB. I think it will always be a show far more revered by performers and people in the biz that those outside it. Although it's not nearly as innovative now as it was then, I actually do think the voting gimmick would still be very alluring to John and Jane Q tourist and a great selling point.

I recall there was a new workshop production of DROOD several seasons ago with Brian D'Arcy James here in New York. I know Rupert has done a lot of revisions and further cutting even with smaller regional productions of DROOD, so he clearly thinks there's still a better version of the show in there - which I think is pretty exciting. I personally still think there are major issues with Neville and Helena's number Ceylon/A British Subject and with some of the narrative shifts in Act One, where it completely derails (but not in the good way).

I'm sure you've all heard the now infamous tales of Loretta Swit as Puffer. According to everyone I've spoken to, she was pretty difficult. I believe she even refused to wear Laine's baglady/Puffer costume.

I know Howard McGillin recalled that after weeks of not being voted as murderer, Swit came to the conclusion that the audience 'wrote her off' because she wasn't in the dinner scene (No Good Can Come From Bad) before Edwin goes missing. Firmly believing this to be the real reason she wasn't getting votes, she went to Wilford Leach and asked if she could leer through the dining room window at the other characters. Leach ultimately agreed knowing full well though that that area on stage wouldn't be lit and no one would see her anyway. Cut to: the dinner scene...Howard McGillin is about to go on when he spies Swit waiting in the wings, holding a lantern in one hand and a flashlight in another. I think eventually Swit was fined by Equity for tampering...haha. Sorry Dollypop!

Though I must say, from the clips above, Lulu didn't seem like a half bad Puffer.

I'd like to see them do it as part of Shakespeare in the Park, to bring it back to its roots.

---

I'd love to see it return to the Delacorte as well. I also think Matthew Warchus could do some terrific things with it.

I'm not sure if this was the real reason but apparently the change to DROOD was to bump it up in the New York Times ABCs. DROOD: The Music Hall Musical says a LOT less than The Mystery of Edwin Drood: The Solve-It-Yourself Broadway Musical.