Multiple resolutions challenge cast and crew in 'Edwin Drood'

Theatergoing. It's generally what one would consider a fairly passive activity. You sit back in your chair or lean forward and watch the action unfold before you. And then, at the end, you applaud. The energy of an audience effects the energy of the actors, but the plot unfolds regardless.

Well, viewers of the Princeton University Players' latest production, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," should not anticipate such an inactive audience experience.

The musical, playing this weekend and next in Chancellor Green Cafe, depends on the spectators' votes to determine the performance's outcome — a kind of "choose your own adventure" style of theater.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood," which won five Tony awards when it premiered on Broadway in 1985, was written by Rupert Holmes and based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. Dickens died while writing it.

It tells the story of Edwin Drood, a young man who mysteriously disappears one stormy night.

The colorful characters include John Jasper, Drood's somewhat crazed uncle, Drood's demure fiancee, Rosa Bud, Helena and Neville Landless, twin orphans from Ceylon, and the Reverend Crisparkle.

In Holmes's musical, Dickens' unfinished novel becomes a play within a play. The audience is introduced to the actors of the Musical Hall Royale, a somewhat seedy 1890s London theater, who are putting on "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

The actors perform the show through the point at which Dickens laid down his pen, and then the spectators are asked to determine the ending.

Director Sujan Trivedi '03 said he was trying to "stay as true to the comedic style of the 19th century as possible" in his production.

To this end, the show has a bawdy and old-fashioned feeling. The cast members interact with the audience before each performance begins, and during intermission, they wander around juggling and performing magic tricks.

Chancellor Green also adds to the period atmosphere of the production. Trivedi said that he thought the space had a kind of "music hall feeling," and was thus "a lot more suited in style to 'Drood' than any other place on campus."

The cast is enthusiastic about working in the former student center. Chorus member Vanessa Rodriguez '03 said it is "intimate [and] allows a lot of audience interaction," but at the same time is big enough so that the large cast does not overcrowd the stage.

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In Holmes's script, the actors in the company of the Music Hall Royale are given specific names. In order to bring the action closer to campus audiences, however, Trivedi has opted instead to use the names of the student performers.

So while in another production, Victoria Paige '01 would be playing "Alice Nutting as Edwin Drood," here she is playing "Victoria Paige as Edwin Drood." These double identities, as Trivedi puts it, "help to confuse the time period" and blur the boundaries between 1890s London and 2001 Princeton.

The show's multiple endings have presented an additional challenge for the cast and crew. "There are literally hundreds of possible endings," Trivedi said.

The audience chooses from among seven different murder suspects, five possible secret detectives, and then from the characters that remain, a pair of lovers is chosen.

Of course, the more possible endings, the more possible scenes there are to rehearse. Despite this added difficulty, the cast is excited about the unusual ending, and hopes that the audience vote will be different each night.

"The more variety that we see, the more exciting it will be," Rodriguez said.

Trivedi said that "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" has "a real 'Guffman'-esque feeling to it," referring to the cult hit movie "Waiting for Guffman." Chorus member Aliza Kennerly '04 called it "a mixture between a mystery novel and a circus." But no matter the exact description, it seems clear that "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" has something for every taste. And besides, the audience controls what happens on stage.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" will be performed by Princeton University Players tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Chancellor Green Cafe. The show will continue next weekend at the same time and location with a matinee at 2 p.m. next Saturday.