Rupert Holmes Hosts Talkback After Performance Of Blue Hill Troupe's MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD

The Blue Hill Troupe, New York City's only philanthropic musical theater group, will kick off its 96th season with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a crowd-pleasing interactive whodunit-based on Charles Dickens's final, unfinished novel-that invites the audience to help solve a hilariously madcap murder mystery. One audience member in particular may have a distinct advantage: the show's composer, lyricist, and book writer, Rupert Holmes (honored with Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score of a Musical when the show premiered on Broadway in 1985), who will attend the show at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, and give a talk-back following the performance.

In addition to the multiple Tony-winning Mystery of Edwin Drood, British-American 'Renaissance man' Rupert Holmes has authored numerous award-winning mystery novels and short stories, as well as the plays Say Goodnight, Gracie, Accomplice, and Solitary Confinement. He won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical for Curtains, written with the legendary songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. He also collaborated with Marvin Hamlisch on The Nutty Professor and with Steven Soderberg on the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. Perhaps best known to the public as the singer-songwriter of the multi-platinum smash "Escape" (aka "The Pina Colada Song"), Mr. Holmes has produced a vast body of work as a composer/conductor/arranger, performed and recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Renée Fleming, Barry Manilow, Britney Spears, Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick, and many others. He is a recipient of ASCAP's prestigious George M. Cohan Award, in recognition of the diversity and depth of his career as a composer, lyricist, playwright, and novelist.

Every year, the Blue Hill Troupe donates its net proceeds-from two fully staged productions, one Gilbert & Sullivan operetta and one musical theater piece, plus a concert series-to a New York City-based charity. Since its inception in 1924, the troupe has donated over $9 million (adjusted for inflation) to its charity partners. Proceeds from the 2019-20 season will benefit Rocking the Boat <https://rockingtheboat.org/>, a nonprofit organization based in the South Bronx, where students work together to build wooden boats, learn to row and sail, and restore local urban waterways, revitalizing their community while creating better lives for themselves.

The Blue Hill Troupe's production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood is directed and choreographed by Gary Slavin with music direction by Matthew Stephens. The cast, playing the dual roles of a zany Victorian theater company and the Dickens characters they embody in the show-within-a-show, features: Kevin Murray, Paul Mitchell Wilder, Suzanne R. Taylor, Brady Lynch, Lauren Cupples*, Capron Levine, David Pasteelnick, Neal Young*, Chazmond Peacock, Tom Staggs*, Harry Bickford, Alison Plotkin, Sarah Glaser, Rebecca Rozzoni Amy Hughlett, Emily Ruderman, Geoff Gaebe, Michael Macaione*, John C. Taylor, Christian Smythe, Shannon Barr, and Scott Smith. (*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.)

Ticket prices range from $35 - $59 (payment in excess of $35 per ticket is tax deductible to the extent provided by law). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased at http://bht.org/events/the-mystery-of-edwin-drood/.

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