Will Chase and Stephanie J. Block in ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood.’
It was confirmed that the cast of The Mystery of Edwin Drood would not be reuniting in a performance at the Tony Awards despite being nominated for Best Revival and its key players, Stephanie J. Block and Will Chase, being nominated for their performances.
Here’s my Top 5 reasons why the Tonys should have “just Drood it” and brought back the magic of this musical which ran at Studio 54 from November 13, 2012 until March 10, 2013.
- The Cast. This all-star company of seasoned performers wowed critics and audiences alike during the musical’s unfairly short run. Stephanie J. Block and Will Chase led the parade with Chita Rivera, Betsy Wolfe, Jessie Mueller and Andy Karl marching alongside. The group dynamic was dazzling, and brought loads of repeat offenders and of course many new fans into those seats. With this collection of triple-threats, the Tonys would have been in for a marvelous treat!
- Audience participation is an essential part of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. At the Tony Awards, the crowd is always filled to the brim with A-list actors and highly respected theatre folk. It would have been hilarious to see the cast rubbing elbows with some of these people in the audience. Can you imagine what Princess Puffer (Rivera’s character) would have said to Tom Hanks?
- That timeless score would have made for a perfect medley, or perhaps even just one grand showstopper performed by the full cast! It would have been divine to hear Ms. Block belt out “The Writing on the Wall” once again. The rousing opening song “There You Are” would have been excellent too! Once the nominations were announced, many fans were expecting to hear “Two Kinsmen.”
- Speaking of Tony nods, this musical just so happened to receive five! This includes Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Chase), Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Block) and Best Revival of a Musical! Drood closed almost three months ago and was still recognized with these honors.
- Through a Tony performance, viewers who had been unfamiliar with the musical could have been able to discover it and hear just a bit of that astounding score. I would have loved to see the cast get back together for one last live performance.
What do you think about this decision? Should The Mystery of Edwin Drood’s cast reunite for a one-night only concert instead? Dish about it in the comments!