Review: "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" by Newtown High School Drama

NEWTOWN, CT - On Sunday, Newtown High School Drama presented a production of the musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” The junior and senior drama students worked together to bring this funny whodunit to their stage for a one night only live stream event.

The freshman and sophomore students presented their show, a joyful production of “Godspell,” on May 14 under the direction of Jane Matson.

Matson did not take the easy way out when choosing a show for the upperclassmen. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel of the same name, a play within a play in the style of British pantomime and music hall traditions. To further complicate the performance, there is audience participation in that they get to choose the ending of the show.

Rupert Holmes, of "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” fame, wrote the book, music, lyrics and full orchestrations for the show, the winner of five Tony Awards in 1985. The musical is staged in a metatheatrical manner by the Musical Hall Royale, a traveling Victorian theatre troupe full of colorful characters.

This inventive show contains enough intrigue that one must pay close attention and musical numbers that entertain. The in-school audience members came out to support the cast, musicians and crew and their presence added to the theatrical atmosphere. Some of the comedy is raucous and a bit risque, and most of it is very funny.

Musical director Anna De Masi helped the students to tackle the challenging score and led the pit orchestra made up of nine talented musicians. The members of the large show crew made it all look easy under the direction of technical director Brian Tenney. The costumes designed by Marie Armstrong were perfect for a Dickens’ setting and the students were lucky to have Alysia Caffrey, Tegan Famiglietti and Janice Gabriel as their producers.

Each of the well-rehearsed students played an actor of the Music Hall Royale, as well as their character in the Music Hall’s production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

Greg Andrew stood tall in the role of Nevile Landless, newly arrived from Ceylon Charlotte Cartelli took on the role of the title character, traditionally cast with a female actor. Joan Gogliettino almost stole the show in the role of Princess Puffer. Lizzy Gotschlich played the role of Horace and Nate Wheeler mastered both sides of the character of John Jasper.

The lilting soprano of Quin Kessler was the perfect choice for the character of Rosa Bud. Michael Spanedda (“Matilda” with NewArts) was impressive in the role of "The Chairman," a kind of Master of Ceremonies and instigator of the action on stage. Jonathan Crosby did well as Rev. Crisparkle, Zac Ziperstein was Durdles, and Colton Stergue played a deputy.

Maddie Hintze had a regal bearing in the role of Neville’s sister Helena. Sean Kenny played Bazzard, Madison Benson was Flo, Katie Bisset played Throttle. In the ensemble, dancing very well, were Bella Battaglia, Sarah Bertsche, Anne Marie Carlson, Liv Deschenes, and Liv Doscher.

The livestream had a few hiccups; I missed the end of the first act, as well as the invitation to vote online regarding the ending. Thankfully, the feed returned in time for me to place my vote successfully for who killed Drood (if he was killed at all), the identity of a mysterious character, and which two characters will become romantically involved in the end. This device required Holmes to write numerous short endings which covered every possible voting permutation. It also required Matson to film all of the possible voting outcomes and she shared all of them with viewers after the curtain call, helping me to learn a few of the musical numbers by the end.

Kudos to the Newtown students and production team on tackling this challenging project and allowing the seniors to be part of one final high school production. They made it work wonderfully, all for only one public performance.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.