Search - Rupert Holmes :: The Mystery Of Edwin Drood: The Solve-It-Yourself Broadway Musical (1985 Original Broadway Cast)

Terrific Score from Rupert "Escape" Holmes

AJK | Chicago, IL | 06/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rupert Holmes (famous for his #1 hit "Escape") does an excellent job with his first theatrical score, the Tony-winner "Mystery Of Edwin Drood". The show, based on the unfinished book by Charles Dickens, is basically a whodunit, with multiple endings based on each audience's preferences. The cast, headed by Betty Buckley, George Rose, Cleo Laine and Howard McGillin, is terrific. The score is fast-moving & fun!



Best tracks include:



There You Are [the terrific opening number]

A Man Could Go Quite Mad

Two Kingsmen

Moonfall

The Wages Of Sin

Both Side Of A Coin

Don't Quit While You're Ahead

Finale: The Writing On The Wall



This score may not be filled with theatrical standards, but the songs are generally excellent & merit repeat listenings."

So much fun in 2-3 hours

LaGibson | Tallahassee, FL | 09/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had the priviledge of performing this musical my senior year of high school (I graduated May 2003) and I had the wonderful, yet exhausting and difficult, opportunity to play Edwin Drood. This musical is so much fun to perform and you can't keep the music out of your head- even if you wanted to. Betty Buckley is FABULOUS as is...everyone in this show. Seriously. And for girls needing an audition song, "Moonfall" is a gorgeous choice for a good soprano. Lovely lovely lovely. It's just a great show with a variety of songs that are all fun and wonderful. Love it! :o)"

A fun musical where the audience chooses the ending.

LaGibson | 05/19/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, the 1996 Tony Award winning Best Musical, is the fun and frolic murder mystery where the audience chooses what character they want to be the detective in disguise, who is the killer and who gets to have a love song with who at the end. This works mainly because the mystery, writen by Charles Dickens, actually is a mystery!!! Charles Dickens died before he wrote the end of the book! Ooops! Now nobody will ever really know who the killer was or who was the person sneaking around, gathering clues. Unfortunately on the tape, they only have the killer's & detective's confessions that were chosen on openning night of the Broadway production. BUT on the CD, they cut two songs (which kinda sucks), but you get all the confessions and you get to find out everyone's reasons for commiting the murder or becoming the detective.George Rose won the Tony for Best Supporting Actor as the Master of Ceremonies (also found on the PIRATES OF PENZANTS recording with Linda Rondstant & Kevin Kline). The cast also includes legends Cleo Lane as Princess Puffer the Opium Den Queen & Betty Buckley (known as the really nice mom in EIGHT IS ENOUGH and Grizabella in CATS) as Edwin Drood. It's a great cast of characters.There are some strong numbers like: the rapid tongue twister male duet "TWO SIDES OF THE COIN", the very popular female solo "MOONFALL" and the closing "THE WRITING ON THE WALL". A great duet "PERFECT STRANGERS" and group number "NO GOOD CAN COME FROM BAD" are also really fun to listen to. Granted, most of the Pricess Puffer songs bore me, but almost everything else is really jolly fun.My idea of great musical theater is LES MISERABLES and SWEENEY TODD, so maybe I'm not really an unlifting musical kinda of guy. I like the dark stuff. But if you like happy old musical style, I think you'll really enjoy THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD."