What was interesting for me, which I don't think I have ever experienced, is that the weakest point of the evening was the music. It was hard to hear, even though it was well sung by this all-star cast, and it wasn't as good or necessary as the book. The scenes were wonderfully acted and had stellar jokes and comedic moments.
The evening follows a performance at the Royal Music Hall of a performance of the Mystery of Edwin Drood, so every actor played a character and a character within the show within a show. In my performance, Rosa Bud (Betsy Wolfe) was voted as the murderer, Bazzard (Peter Benson) was voted as Dick Datchery, and Helena and Neville Landless (Jessie Mueller and Andy Karl) were voted as the lovers (which proved particularly comedic). I absolutely loved Rosa's confession, because Wolfe is such a phenomenal vocalist and actor, so am glad I saw her as the murderer.
Overall the actors were all spot on with their comedic timing and their performances in general. No single actor stood out as amazing or the opposite because everyone was so strong. Obviously Chita Rivera, Will Chase, and Stephanie J. Block were as strong as one would expect, but some of the younger and lesser known actors: Wolfe, Mueller, Karl, Robert Creighton (as Durdles) really shone.
I highly recommend this show and think people should see it before it closes on March 10th (assuming no further extension is announced). It was a great night out and such a fun night of theatre. I have a feeling this show will be well represented come Tony-time in June.
