By Khalida Sarwari
For its next major production musical, the Saratoga High School drama department will be enlisting the help of the audience in solving a nearly 150-year-old mystery: the disappearance of Edwin Drood, the main character in Charles Dickens’ final, unfinished novel.
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” will be presented for the first time at Saratoga High under the direction of drama teacher and artistic director Sarah Thermond.
“I wanted to pick a show that had a cool gimmick to it,” said Thermond. “The composer of the musical has created some serious possibilities, some silly possibilities, and the audience gets to choose which way the story gets to go.”
The show is a play within a play, explained Thermond, involving Drood, a wealthy young orphan who mysteriously disappears on Christmas Day after breaking up with his fiance, getting into a fight with a new person in town and being around his suspicious uncle.
“There are tons of candidates for who might have been the last person who saw him and who might have harmed him,” Thermond said.
Because the story was left unresolved, the fate of the characters is ultimately left up to the audience. In the second act of the play, the audience decides the identities of the detective, the lovers and the murderer. Cast members will step down from the stage to collect audience votes and then report back to the stage manager, who will then relay the information to the rest of the cast and orchestra.
“The fun thing about that is whoever gets to be the murderer is never told,” said Thermond.
This poses an interesting challenge for the cast, because they essentially will have to memorize and prepare for any one of nine outcomes.
Danny Kawadri, a senior who plays Uncle Jasper, said it was “by far the heaviest and largest role” he’s ever had.
“This part itself is very vocally demanding; it’s a lot of lines. The heaviness and the complexity only adds to the adrenaline and intrigue,” he said.
Drood is played by junior Nina Nelson, who said she was compelled to try out for the show because it allows her to explore the idea of portraying different characters and she was drawn to the show’s unpredictability factor.
“This one, it keeps you on your toes every single show,” said Nina. “There are 600 different possibilities as to how the show could end. It’s so interactive and different. I think the audience feels more involved in the show than just watching and keeping quiet the whole time. They are impactful on how the show ends, and that’s what makes the show different.”
Danny and Nina are part of a 42-member cast that’s bringing the musical to the stage at the McAfee Center. They’ve been rehearsing since late January.
Tickets for the production are $10 for students and seniors and $15 for adults. They can be purchased online at saratogahigh.org, at the school office, or at the door. Performances are April 24-26 and May 1-2 at 20300 Herriman Ave. All shows are at 7:30 p.m., except a 2 p.m. matinee on April 26.
