Casting Announced for Florida Riverside Theatre's Immersive THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD

Florida's Riverside Theatre has announced casting for its upcoming production of the Tony Award-winning musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The newly announced cast will feature Wicked's Anne Brummel as Drood, Tony Award nominee Sally Mayes as Princess Puffer, Warren Kelley as The Chairman, Rachael Ferrera as Rosa Bud, Norman Large as Durdles, Peter Saide as John Jasper, Sarah Primmer as Flo, John Paul Almon as Reverend Crisparkle, Claire Neumann as Helena Landless, Wade McCollum as Neville Landless, Andrew Sellon as Bazzard.

Based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a musical comedy with book, music and lyrics written by Rupert Holmes. The story revolves around the murder of a young and charming man named Edwin Drood. The question is who killed him? Was it the leering romantic rival, the infamous purveyor of opium, the mysterious twins who just arrived from Ceylon, or another dastardly villain?

Dickens began publication of Drood in 1870 in episodic installments. However, with Dickens' sudden death that year, the novel was never finished and Dickens didn't leave any notes that would have solved the mystery.

Dickens' death and the publication of his final written episode, various authors attempted to solve the mystery, which allowed for many possible conclusions.

When Rupert Holmes was approached to write a musical by theater impresario Joseph Papp for the New York Shakespeare Festival, Holmes chose to tackle Drood. But, how do you adapt a story that has no ending?

Holmes solved the 'ending' dilemma by writing various endings to the show and allowing the audience to choose which ending they preferred. This allowed audience interaction and the opportunity to have different outcomes at subsequent performances. Drood was the first Broadway show to have multiple endings.

After a highly successful run at the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City in August 1985, The Mystery of Edwin Drood opened on Broadway in December 1985 and ran until May 1987.

The musical was nominated for nine Tony Awards® and won five including Best Musical. The opening night cast starred George Rose, Cleo Laine, Howard McGillin, Betty Buckley, Donna Murphy, Judy Kuhn, and Rob Marshall, among other notable performers.

Riverside's production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be directed and choreographed by DJ Salisbury and stars Warren Kelley (The Chairman), Anne Brummel(Edwin Drood), Rachael Ferrera (Rosa Bud), Peter Saide (John Jasper), Sally Mayes(Princess Puffer), John Paul Almon (Reverend Crisparkle), Wade McCollum (Neville Landless), Claire Neumann (Helena Landless), Andrew Sellon (Bazzard), Norman Large(Durdles), and Sarah Primmer (Flo)

The design and production crew includes: Anne Shuttlesworth (Music Director) Richard Crowell (Scenic Design), Michael Bottari and Ronald Case (Costume Design), Kurt Alger(Costume Coordinator), Sarah Elliott (Lighting Design), Trevor Peters (Sound Design), and Amy M. Bertacini (Production Stage Manager). Casting was done in New York City by Wojcik / Seay Casting.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood performs January 16 - February 4, 2018 on the Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets are $75. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com.

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Opening Night (the first Tuesday performance), Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm; with matinees on Wednesdays, select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.