Teresa Montanari
Reporter
There is no greater mystery than that of which lies in the thoughts of a dead man. Charles Dickens, renowned English novelist, holds such answers to the ending of his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Ironically enough, it was never completed due to the sudden death of Dickens leaving the ending of the novel, and essentially the answer to the mystery, a mystery in itself. Until now, that is.
Coming March, the high school’s hallways will be busy with the burning question, “who done it?”, as the drama department produces Rupert Holmes’s, Tony award-winning theatrical adaptation of the murder-mystery. Holmes has adapted the unique play’s fate to mirror that of Dickens’ book: unfinished and pliable to a countless number of possibilities.
The plot revolves around young and innocent Edwin Drood, who disappears in Act I for unknown reasons, suspiciously leaving behind his life and soon-to-be wife, Rosa Bud. His disappearance sparks the audience to wonder: was Edwin murdered? If so, by who?
Dickens brought the possibility of answering that question along with him to the grave. Because of this, Holmes devised the idea of giving each performances’ audience the chance to vote on what they think is a valid solution. Audience members use what they have seen from the show and then decide for themselves who they believe to be responsible for the disappearance of Edwin Drood. By the end of the performance, with participation from the audience, a cast of votes determines who is the most likely culprit to have committed the murder.
Brooke Singman, a senior who is to play Rosa Bud, finds it important for the audience to be playing their part as detectives. “I would tell a potential audience member to pay attention to every detail and ‘clue’ presented so that they can vote properly at the end of the show,” she said. Brooke will be playing the beautiful fiancée of Edwin Drood, who unknowingly becomes the obsession of her music teacher and object of another character’s eyes; whether this supplies a motive for the characters against Drood, is your job to determine as an audience member.
On top of the nerves that can come with a lead role, Brooke is having to fight nerves coming from a new source. Her and a few other cast members will be hoisted above stage in a harness to capture the appearance of flying. Brooke recalls a winter musical two years ago, where a student had to ‘fly’ as part of her character, “As she was over my head, all I could think was, ‘Wow, I’m so glad that’s not me!'”
Despite the years that have passed, Brooke’s fear of heights has not. However, she made clear her fears will not stopping her when she said, “I’m actually kind of excited to see what this is going to be like. I’ll probably be shaking as I rise up in the air, but it will definitely be a great, and very memorable experience!”
Brooke’s type of determination and dedication is present in all cast members. As a part of the students’ roles, they must interact with the audience at an intense level. Amy Morrison, a student who is planning to attend, said, “It’s going to be entertaining to see if my friend can stay in character and not start cracking up when we see each other.” Morrison said, “I’m going to try not to laugh though because it’s probably hard enough performing onstage, let alone having to constantly be engaging with the audience.”
Students like Amy, have nothing to worry about though, for laughter will be abundant throughout the span of the play. Holmes decided to take a comical route as opposed to the dark, humorless tone established by Dickens’ original.
Brooke Turpin, a junior who will be singing and dancing as a chorus member was surprised at the amount of humor Holmes incorporated. “After the read-through, I learned that it’s a very entertaining comedy,” she said.
Brooke also commented on the potential she can already see in the Drood cast after only a handful of rehearsals so far. The cast contains performers from all grades of the high school. For some, it may be their first production as a high school student and for others it could sadly be their last. She said, “With the coming months working together, we’ll all be very close in no time.”
