The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Central’s Fall musical
- Katie Sefton
- Oct 11, 2015
- 2 min read
A mystery began but never ended, and the only person who could prove the ending is…dead.
The unsolved, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, written by Charles Dickens in 1870, is the inspiration behind Central York High School’s fall production. Dickens’ sudden stroke left his book hanging on the sixth installment, rendering it unfinished and, therefore, unsolved. Years later in 1985, Rupert Holmes, a British-born American songwriter and musician, decided to transform this unfinished novel into a musical.
In fact, The Mystery of Edwin Drood was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings. Unlike any play before, the audience gets to decide how the play ends. In the final act of the two-act play, the audience is asked to vote on which character they think murdered Edwin Drood. Depending on their answer, the cast will then perform an ending that tailors to whomever the audience picked. Holmes designed the play this way to involve the audience and ignite doubt into more than one character.
Anyone can experience this first hand when Central York High School performs this musical in their high school’s auditorium. A senior at Central, Dylan Warner, who was cast the role of the Deputy in the musical, said, “I’m excited to be doing a lot of thinking on my feet in this type of production, where the audience decides the direction in which the story will go.”
Students participating in the show say they are excited about this play and the opportunities it presents. A new feature in this production is the fact that it is a community show, meaning adults from the community also get to participate in the play. Katie Giambalvo, also a senior at Central, a member of the female ensemble, a select group of female singers, said, “I’m also excited to work with everyone in the show and since it’s a community show I’ll get to work with adults from the area as well which is a new and exciting adventure”.
Rehearsals began Tuesday, September 22 and will run until the show, which is looking to occur sometime in November. So, jump into the shoes of Dickens and finish what he could not. Play into the doubt that Holmes intended to ignite within you. Get swept up in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and pick an ending at this year’s Central York High School fall production.
