- By Savoyards Ithaca
- Entertainment
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Savoyards Ithaca will perform Rupert Holmes' The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Hangar Theatre: 8:00 PM Friday, September 15; 8:00 PM Saturday, September 16; and 2:00 PM Sunday, September 17.
Based on Charles Dickens' final novel, left unfinished at his death in 1870, The Mystery of Edwin Drood follows members of the Theatre Royale Music Company as they bring to life and attempt to complete Dickens' clever whodunit. Audiences participate along the way and vote to determine the ending of the show.
"One of the most inventive, inspired, and rousing musicals ever devised," according to theater critic Matt Windman, Drood won five 1986 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score. This production, directed by Gabriella Carr, borrows stage elements from Victorian melodrama, Gilbert and Sullivan, and English music hall and features a strong ensemble.
The cast includes Annalise Smith as Edwin Drood, Benjamin Bartell as John Jasper, Karen Wonder Dumont as Rosa Budd, Ariel Arbisser and Jeremy Pletter as Helena and Neville Landless, Doug Mathews as Reverend Crispsparkle, Marina Garcia White Gelpe as Princess Puffer, Peter Magnus as Durdles, Francesca Decker as Deputy, and Jeff Dunlap as Bazzard. Glen Palmer as William Cartwright, the exuberant Chair of the Theater Royale Music Hall Company, emcees. Carin Estley assists in directing. Nicole Cronin leads the singers. Keehun Nam conducts a full orchestra. Trenton Loughlin-Wedemann choreographed the dances. Daniel Allen and Evan Hawkins respectively designed the set and lighting. Liz Kitney created the costumes.
Savoyards Ithaca, formerly the Cornell Savoyards, has performed Gilbert and Sullivan, European light opera, and classic American musicals since 1953.
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