Drood, the Rupert Holmes musical that dramatizes Charles Dickens’ final, and unfinished work, will run May 11-22 at Theatre Raleigh’s Kennedy Theatre in Raleigh, NC. The musical was last revived on Broadway in 2012.

The new production, which has been streamlined and re-imagined for smaller theatres, is sanctioned by Holmes, who penned the book, score and orchestrations for Drood.

Theatre Raleigh artistic director Lauren Kennedy, also seen on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard and Side Show, will star as Edwin Drood, in a cast that also features Broadway veteran Sally Mayes as Puffer, Alexandra May as Rosa Bud, Adam Poole as Jasper, Jacob Dickey as Neville, Marisa Roberge as Helena, John Paul Almon as The Chairman, Robert Kaufman as Durdles, David Bartlett as Crisparkle, Mike Raab as Bazzard and AC Donohue as Flo.

DJ Salisbury directs and choreographs the production that has musical direction by Jay Wright, scenic design by Chris Bernier, lighting design by Thomas Mauney, property design by Timothy Domack, costume design by Allison White and sound design by Eric Collins.

Here’s how it’s billed: “This wildly warm-hearted theatrical experience kicks off when the Music Hall Royale ‘puts on’ its flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The story itself deals with John Jasper (Adam Poole), a Jekyll-and-Hyde choirmaster who is quite madly in love with his music student, the fair Miss Rosa Bud (Alexandra May). Now, Miss Bud is, in turn, engaged to Jasper’s nephew, young Edwin Drood (Lauren Kennedy). Our title character disappears mysteriously one stormy Christmas Eve-but has Edwin Drood been murdered? And if so, then whodunnit? The giddy playfulness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of the play’s most talked-about features, which allows the audience to vote on the solution as prelude to the most unusual and hilarious finale!”

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