Could Edwin Drood (foreground, Maddie Jo Landers) have been murdered by his
Uncle Jasper (Drew Bolander)? Photo by G. Allen Aycock
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Music, lyrics and book by Rupert Holmes
Based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens
Directed by John Langs
Featuring Members of Studio 4
This wildly theatrical musical kicks off when the Music Hall Royale (a loony Victorian troupe) "puts on" its flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery. The playfulness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of Drood's most talked-about features, which allows the audience to vote on the solution as prelude to its unusual and hilarious finale!
Feb. 16-18 (Thurs.-Sat.) and 22-25 (Wed.-Sat.) at 8 p.m.
Feb. 19 (Sun.) and 25 (Sat.) at 2 p.m.
Thrust Theatre, Performance Place
UNCSA campus, 1533 South Main St., Winston-Salem
SPECIAL PRICING (Fri. & Sat. Nights): $25 adults / $20 students and seniors
All other performances: $15 adults / $13 students and seniors
UNCSA Box Office: 336-721-1945
Click here to order tickets online, or click on
Box Office at left for more information.
UNCSA Student Designers
Bring Mystery to Life
By Diana Blanchard
Graduate student, Performing Arts Management Program
School of Design and Production
Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?
A mystery combined with extravagant scenery and elegant costumes promises an enjoyable theatre experience at The Mystery of Edwin Drood, performed by senior acting students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA).
Audiences will be transported into another world not only by the actors but also by John Bowhers’ scenic elements and Kendra Peine Weeks’ costumes.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a wildly theatrical musical that kicks off when the Music Hall Royale stages a flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery. Set in the late Victorian period, its plot holds many surprises, much like the scene design by senior John Bowhers of UNCSA’s School of Design and Production. Bowhers’ design supports the fast pace, unpredictable characters and plot twists of the play-within-a-play, with several surprise elements built into the set.
Another element of Bowhers’ scene design is the contrast in color between the front part of set, where the Music Hall Royale actors perform, and the back part, the “backstage area” where the characters relax between scenes. Bowers made the front part, where much of the action takes place, light, airy and eye-catching, drawing the audience in with its colors and elegance. Darker colors used in the backstage area draw attention away.
Bowhers worked closely with Director John Langs to transform the entire theatre, not just the stage, so that the minute the audience walks in the door, they are inside the world of the musical.
Bowhers also collaborated with costume designer Weeks, who was inspired by his monumental set design. “He made me realize it was time to go bold or go home,” said Weeks, a graduate student. “His inventive scenic changes and beautiful designs made me go further than I would have otherwise. And the director has pushed everyone to keep everything exciting and interesting.”
In designing her first full musical, Weeks approached the costumes from two different perspectives. The costumes must represent the characters themselves, she explained, but also the characters’ late Victorian portrayal of the Dickens novel. Weeks studied the characters and the story in-depth to create costumes as beautiful and elaborate as the set. For example, the character Rosa Bud wears an elaborate dress with a beautiful corset and an amazing bustled skirt in a stunning shade of green. The costume perfectly accentuates the character’s personality as the girl next door who easily steals everyone’s heart.
Both designers stress the collaborative nature of their work, and Weeks said the relationship between designers is symbiotic. “We make small changes in our own designs so that other’s work can shine as needed.”
Bowhers said, “We compliment each other’s work,” adding that the most important thing for designers is to tell the story and to stay true to the story. Weeks agreed. “It’s a long process of discovering who these characters are and trying to find ways to make the audience understand, within the two hours of the show, what you’ve discovered over a period of two or three months,” she said.
And while the process is long, it is one that both Bowhers and Weeks enjoy. “It has ultimately been a fantastic experience,” Weeks said, “pushing the limits and creating something that will hopefully be as exciting for the audience as it has been for me.”
Kendra Peine Weeks graduated with a B.A. in Theatrical Production Design from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is pursuing her M.F.A. in costume design at UNCSA. She has designed professionally for a number of theatres in Birmingham and for film. This is her first show at UNCSA and her first musical.
John Bowhers is a fourth-year undergraduate scenic designer whose production credits include Light Up the Sky at UNCSA, The Mystery of Irma Vep at Triad Stage in Greensboro, and the upcoming Much Ado About Nothing at UNCSA. Last summer, Bowhers co-founded and acted as artistic director of the Winston-Salem-based Peppercorn Children’s Theater and will spend this summer mounting three new productions. Recently, Bowhers won the W. Oren Parker Award from the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), sponsored by Stage Decoration & Supply Company. It is awarded annually to the top undergraduate scenic designer in the nation.
Media Coverage:
UNCSA presents The Mystery of Edwin Drood
88.5 WFDD: Triad Arts Up Close, Feb. 2, 2012
The Mystery of Edwin Drood was written and published by Charles Dickens (much like his other works) in episodic installments. The Drood mystery began publication in 1870, but the author did not live to complete his final installment. This month The Mystery of Edwin Drood (the interactive musical by Rupert Holmes) will finally be solved, with help from a talented cast of University of NC School of the Arts actors, and members of the audience at Performance Place, Thrust Theatre in Winston-Salem. ...
Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens!
He would have celebrated his 200th birthday on Feb. 7, 2012.
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