Based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel of the same name, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a hilarious musical comedy, staged as a show-within-a-show, as the Music Hall Royale - a delightfully loony Victorian theatre company - presents Dickens’ brooding mystery. Everyone therefore has two roles – their Music Hall persona and their character in the story of Drood.
And what is that story? In the small town of Cloisterham, England, the young and charming Edwin Drood has assumed murdered! But by whom? His leering romantic rival, John Jasper? The infamous purveyor of opium and vice, Princess Puffer? The mysterious Landless twins, newly arrived from Ceylon? Or someone else even more dastardly and villainous? Dickens passed away before he was able to reveal the culprit, but Rupert Holmes’ award-winning musical (winner of five 1986 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Book, and Score) solves this predicament by asking the audience to choose which character is the killer by putting it to a vote.
Director: BRIAN CLEMENTE
Music Director: ALEX WALLEY
Choreographer: CAROLYN FRANTZ
Producers: AMY CLARK & HALEY VAN ALSTYNE
Stage Manager: DIANA CHABAI-BOOKER
Audition Dates
✔ Thursday, October 16, 2025; sign in begins at 6:30 pm with auditions starting at 7 pm.
✔ Friday, October 17, 2025; sign in begins at 6:30 pm with auditions starting at 7 pm
✔ You only need to attend one of these sessions.
✔ Callbacks, by invitation only, will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 11:00 am
Audition Location
✔ SLOC Musical Theater, Education Building
✔ 418 Liberty St., Schenectady, NY 12305
✔ Auditions are NOT in the main theater building. If you're not familiar with our campus, be sure to use the address above in your GPS and don't just enter "SLOC"
✔ Free parking is available in the city-owned lot across the street.
What to Expect at Auditions
✔ Please prepare 16 to 32 bars of music from a Broadway show - ideally in a style similar to the show or from the show itself.
✔ Please bring your own sheet music; an accompanist will be provided.
✔ Readings from the script will be provided.
✔ Please bring a calendar with all your conflicts to the audition as well.
✔ There will be a dance audition, so please wear comfortable clothing and appropriate shoes.
Rehearsal Dates
✔ Rehearsals will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, and on Sunday afternoons. This is subject to change based on cast/crew availability.
✔ There will be a first meeting on Monday, October 20, 2025 to hand out scripts, however, formal rehearsals will not begin until Sunday, November 2, 2025
Rehearsal Attendance
✔ The following rehearsal dates are mandatory for all cast and crew:
✔ Photo Shoot Day (TBD)
✔ Theater Clean-Up Day (Friday, January 9, 2026)
✔ Tech Week (Sunday, January 11 – Thursday, January 15, 2026)
✔ All Performances
✔ Strike (Sunday, January 25, 2026, immediately following the final performance)
Roles
The Chairperson
William, or Wilhelmina, Cartwright serves as emcee and host of the Music Hall Royale. The Chairperson sets the scenes and keeps the pace of the show moving. They must be quick with a joke and able to improvise, as there are frequent interactions (and large chunks of dialogue) with the audience as they guide us through both the world of Drood, and the Music Hall Royale. A seasoned showman. Doubles as the role of Mayor Sapsea.
Any Gender, 30’s-50’s, Baritone or Mezzo
John Jasper
The opium addicted choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral. He is madly in love with his music student and his nephew’s fiancé, Rosa Bud. Madness lurks beneath his smooth exterior. Played by Clive Pagett, the charmingly egotistical leading man of the Music Hall Royale. Candidate for murderer and lover.
Male Presenting, 20’s-40’s, Tenor/Bari-tenor
Edwin Drood
John Jasper’s cocky nephew who goes missing on Christmas Eve. He has been engaged to Rosa Bud since they were very young. A man who has everything. Played by the quite temperamental Alice Nutting- London’s premier male impersonator. Must command the stage.
Female Presenting, 20’s -30’s, Mezzo-Belt
Rosa Bud
A sweet and innocent young lady who is uneasy about her music tutor’s (Jasper) passions towards her. Engaged to Edwin Drood, Rosa is unhappy with the arrangement as she sees him more like a brother. Has the ability for psychotic rage. Played by Miss Diedre Peregrine, the ingénue of the Music Hall Royale. Candidate for detective, murderer, and lover.
Female Presenting, 20’s-30’s, Soprano
Neville Landless
A young man who has just arrived with his twin sister, Helena, from Ceylon, a British colony. He, and his sister, are viewed as outsiders by the town. He has a very hot temper and immediately falls for Rosa Bud, leaving him a main suspect after Drood’s disappearance. Played by Victor Grinstead, the newest member of the Music Hall Royale. Candidate for detective, murderer, and lover.
Male Presenting, 20’s-30’s, Baritone – SEE NOTE BELOW
Helena Landless
Neville’s twin sister who has just arrived from Ceylon. She is viewed as an outsider, along with her brother, because they come from a British colony and not the mainland. She is fiery and temperamental, and fiercely devoted to her brother. Played by the lively Janet Connover. Candidate for detective, murderer, lover.
Female Presenting, 20s’-30’s, Mezzo Soprano – SEE NOTE BELOW
Princess Puffer
The down on her luck proprietress of the opium den that John Jasper frequents. Has a past with Rosa Bud and would K*ll to protect her. Played by the bawdy Grande Dame of the Music Hall Royale, Miss Angela Prysock. A strong comedienne. Candidate for murderer and lover.
Female Presenting, 40’s-60’s, Alto
Reverend Crisparkle
The sweet and kind minister at Cloisterham Cathedral who watches over the Landless twins. He once was in love with Rosa’s mother. Played by Cedric Montcrieffe- a character actor of the Music Hall Royale. Candidate for detective, murderer, and lover.
Male Presenting, 30’s-50’s, Baritone
Bazzard
Aspiring playwright and assistant to Reverend Crisparkle. Played by Phillip Bax, the understudy for John Jasper and bit player waiting for a big break. Candidate for detective, murderer, and lover.
Male presenting, 20’s-40’s, Baritone/Tenor
Durdles
The drunken stonemason who inscribes and oversees the crypts at Cloisterham Cathedral. Played by Nick Cricker, the clown prince of the Music Hall Royale. Candidate for murderer and lover.
Male Presenting, 40’s-60’s, Baritone
Deputy
A young street urchin and apprentice to Durdles. Played by the son of Nick Cricker who is just starting off in show business. The youngest member of the company. Candidate for lover.
Male Presenting, 16-20, Baritone/Tenor
Stage Manager
James, or Jane, Throttle. Tries desperately to keep the show, and all the actors, on task.
Any gender, 20’s-60’s
Ensemble
Citizens of Cloisterham. MANY featured parts. Wendy and Beatrice (friends of Rosa), Flo (enthusiastic company member who loves “Off to the Races”), Horace (a constable), Townspeople, opium den customers, dancers, servants, etc. All ensemble members will have to participate in a great deal of improvisation as they are responsible for joking with the crowd to warm them up and for tallying the hand votes for their designated section of the audience at the end.
All genders, any ages
A Note on the Landless Twins
Historically, these roles have been played as white “British” Music Hall actors who don a mishmash of Asian clothing and accents to appear ambiguously “foreign.” For this production, Neville and Helena will not be presented in this way, but rather their “otherness,” and therefore tension, with the characters of Cloisterham will derive not from the color of their skin, accents, clothing, etc., but rather from the fact that they come from a British colony (Ceylon – now Sri Lanka), and not from mainland England. They are a part of the British Empire, sure, but considered outsiders all the same. Therefore, their fashions, accents and mannerisms will be pushed in the direction of Colonials not in sync with their Victorian mainland counterparts.
Contact producer Amy Clark at
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