STAGE TUBE: Meet the Cast of Roundabout's THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD!

By: Oct. 19, 2012
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Roundabout Theatre Company's (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) Broadway production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood begins previews tonight, Friday, October 19th at 8:00PM. The Mystery of Edwin Drood stars Stephanie J. Block, Will Chase, Gregg Edelman, Jim Norton, and Chita Rivera with Andy Karl, Jessie Mueller, Betsy Wolfe, Nicholas Barasch, Peter Benson, and Robert Creighton.

Check out the just-released commercial for the show below and meet the cast with videos of them from past productions!

Additional cast members include Alison Cimmet, Kyle Coffman, Nick Corley, Janine DiVita, Jenifer Foote, Justin Greer, Shannon Lewis, Spencer Plachy, Kiira Schmidt, Eric Sciotto, Jim Walton.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood opens officially on Tuesday, November 13th, 2012 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th St.). This is a limited engagement through February 10th, 2013.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood will make its first-ever return to Broadway since winning the Tony "Triple Crown" (Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score)! Who killed Edwin Drood? It's a question that has stumped audiences for years-now it's your turn to answer one of Broadway's most baffling mysteries. Take a trip back in time to a Victorian music hall where a rowdy ensemble of actors mounts a staging of Charles Dickens's unfinished novel. Everyone on stage is a suspect in the murder of young Edwin Drood-and it's up to you to choose the killer! Is it John Jasper, Edwin's protective but slightly maniacal uncle? Rosa Bud, his reluctant betrothed? The debauched Princess Puffer? Each performance ends differently, depending on what the audience decides!

Tickets are available by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 box office (254 West 54th Street). Ticket prices range from $42.00-137.00.

Stephanie J. Block (Miss Alice Nutting / Edwin Drood) has established herself as one of the most relevant and versatile voices in contemporary musical theatre. She most recently starred as Reno Sweeney in Roundabout's Anything Goes. She starred in the premiere of Lynn Nottage's play By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Drama Desk nom) at Second Stage. She is best known for her portrayal as Elphaba in the Broadway company of Wicked and for creating the roles of Judy Bernly in 9 To 5: The Musical (Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress in a Musical), Grace O'Malley in The Pirate Queen and Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz (opposite Hugh Jackman). Stephanie also originated the starring role of Elphaba in the First National Touring Company of Wicked for which she won the prestigious Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Ms. Block has sung with numerous symphony orchestras including the Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra (under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch), Indianapolis Symphony, Utah Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Charlotte Symphony and the Cleveland Pops among many others. Her solo concert has been critically acclaimed and continues to sell out throughout the US and in London. 

Some of Block's off-Broadway and regional theatrical credits include They're Playing Our Song (starring opposite Jason Alexander), Funny Girl, Cats (St Louis's Kevin Kline Award Nominee-Best Actress), Crazy For You (L.A. Ovation Award Nominee), Oliver (Critics Award-Best Actress), James Joyce's The Dead, Triumph Of Love, The Grass Harp, South Pacific, Will Rogers Follies and the World Premiere of Wicked. Stephanie's solo album, This Place I Know has been received with great praise, lauded by critics as "One of the best debut recordings to come out of the Broadway community in quite some time... 6 out of 5 stars". An array of award-winning songwriters assembled to help interpret their music on Stephanie's album. Composers such as Stephen Schwartz, Marvin Hamlisch and the legendary Dolly Parton join forces with Ms. Block to create a thrilling musical experience. Stephanie's voice can be heard on multiple cast recordings, including The Boy From Oz, The Pirate Queen, Wicked's 5th Anniversary Album and 9 To 5: The Musical (Grammy Nomination). For more about Block, visit www.stephaniejblock.com.


Will Chase (Mr. Clive Paget / John Jasper).
Will was most recently seen as Michael Swift on the hit NBC show "Smash". Other television appearances include "Rescue Me", "Pan Am", "Unforgettable", "White Collar", "Royal Pains", "Blue Bloods", "Law and Order: Criminal Intent", "Cupid", "Conviction", "Third Watch", "One Life To Live", "Guiding Light", "All My Children" and "As The World Turns". Best known for his work on stage, he has appeared on Broadway in Rent, Miss Saigon, The Full Monty, Aida, Lennon, High Fidelity, The Story Of My Life, and Billy Elliot. He was also seen at New York City Center Encores! in Bells Are Ringing and most recently, Pipe Dream. Film credits include the upcoming Butterflies of Bill Baker, Four Single Fathers, Shaft, and Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway. Recordings include the original Broadway Cast recordings of High Fidelity and The Story Of My Life, A Little Princess: Studio Cast Recording, Love On A Summer Afternoon: Songs of Sam Davis, This Ordinary Thursday: The Songs of Georgia Stitt, and Thirteen Stories Down: Songs of Jonathan Reid Gealt. Mr. Chase trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied conducting with Atlanta Symphony's Robert Spano and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in percussion. Will has two daughters, Daisy and Gracie, and resides in New York City.


Gregg Edelman (Mr. Cedric Moncrieffe / Reverend Mr. Crisparkle)
. The Mystery of Edwin Drood marks the 15th Broadway production of Gregg Edelman's career. Since his first Broadway appearance in the original Broadway production of Harold Prince's Evita, Gregg has gone on to star in such productions as City of Angels, 1776, Into The Woods, Anything Goes, Falsettos, Wonderful Town, and Cabaret. He has earned four Tony Award nominations for his performances, as well as numerous other honors including the Drama Desk Award. Recent credits include the record breaking world premiere production of A.R. Gurney's Black Tie at Primary Stages, Sweeney in the critically acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd at the Drury Lane Theater in Chicago, and the award-winning George Street Theatre production of 12 Angry Men in which he portrayed Juror #8, a role made famous by Henry Fonda. Film credits include Little Children, Spiderman 2, Crimes and Misdemeanors, City by the Sea, Green Card, Hollywood Ending and the just-released Liberal Arts. He was a regular on the CBS series, "Hack"; has guest-starred on numerous television series such as "30 Rock," "The Good Wife," "Law and Order," "Law and Order SVU," and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent"; and no list of Gregg's television work would be complete without mentioning the time he spent as the voice of the peanut M&M. His concert and recording work have given him the opportunity to travel all over the world, appearing with such orchestras as the Boston Pops, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony, as well as the Philadelphia and Chicago Pops. His many appearances at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops have allowed him to help honor such friends as John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Charles Strouse. He has also grown to love performing solo concerts in such intimate rooms as Feinstein's. These smaller venues, a much different experience than performing in a Broadway theater, give him a chance to perform great music in a subtler and more personal way. His 17 recordings of Broadway shows include the cast albums of City of Angels, Wonderful Town, 1776, and Into the Woods and studio recordings of On the Town, Cabaret, Anything Goes and Sweet Charity.


Chita Rivera (Mrs. Angela Prysock / The Princess Puffer)
has won two Tony® Awards (Kiss of the Spider Woman; The Rink) and received seven additional Tony nominations including one for her performance as "Liliane La Fleur" in Roundabout's Tony Award–winning musical Nine. Chita created the role of "Velma Kelly" in the original Broadway production of Chicago opposite Gwen Verdon (1975) and appears in the film version. Career highlights on Broadway include starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven, Mr. Wonderful and the film version of Sweet Charity.Chita has recorded and released a new CD entitled And Now I Swing and is on a nationwide concert tour of Chita Rivera: My Broadway.


Andy Karl (Mr. Victor Grinstead / Neville Landless)
. Broadway: Jersey Boys, 9 to 5, Legally Blonde (ACCA Award), The Wedding Singer, Saturday Night Fever, On the 20th Century. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz (OCC Award), Slut, Saturday Night. Other credits: Romeo and Bernadette (Carbonell nom.), Cats, Disney's On the Record, Tommy. Film/TV: Joyful Noise; "Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods"; On the One; New York, I Love You. Advanced composer/lyricist, BMI Music Theatre Workshop.


Jessie Mueller (Miss Janet Conover / Helena Landless)
. Jessie recently appeared at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Sweet and Low Down, with Michael Feinstein. She made her Broadway debut in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever opposite Harry Connick, Jr. this past winter. Originally from Chicago, Jessie has appeared in productions at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Writers Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Court Theatre. She has appeared at the Long Wharf Theatre in Carousel, as well as at the RSC in Henry IV, Parts I & II. She can be seen this summer as Cinderella in the NYSF's production of Into the Woods at the Delacorte Theatre. Jessie is a recipient of the 2012 Theatre World Award, and has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and a Tony Award (Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical).



Betsy Wolfe (Miss Deirdre Peregrine / Rosa Bud)
recently played Beth in Merrily We Roll Along at Encores. This past season she created the role of Mary Ann Singleton in ACT's World Premiere of Tales of the City, a musical based on Armistead Maupin's novels, with music by the Scissor Sisters, originally workshopped at the O'Neill Theatre Conference. She was last seen on Broadway in Everyday Rapture with Sherie Rene Scott, a show she also performed off-Broadway in 2009. Other Broadway includes 110 in the Shade at Studio 54, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Wonderful Life. She can also be heard on the 110 in the Shade and Everyday Rapture recordings. Ms. Wolfe starred in the San Francisco and Boston companies of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Regional credits include Tommy (Mrs. Walker) at Dallas Theatre Center, Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbitt) at Paper Mill Playhouse. She has been a guest artist for over 25 Symphony, Pops, and Philharmonic Orchestras across the U.S. and internationally. At 23 she made her concert debut at Carnegie Hall as a headliner with the Cincinnati Pops under Maestro Erich Kunzel. Ms. Wolfe was a guest soloist for the New York City Ballet where she performed at Lincoln Center and at The Coliseum in London. Recent and upcoming releases include Stage Door Canteen, 35MM, and Merrily We Roll Along. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM). For more about Wolfe, visit www.betsywolfe.com.For more about The Mystery of Edwin Drood or Roundabout's other upcoming productions, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.



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