The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Note: I did see it last year, so maybe like Joyce G. has mentioned. It did improve.
Honestly, I do not think it was that bad as some of the people here have described it. I’m just rather brutal when it comes to these things.
When I went, there were a couple of fundamental problems with the show:
1. There are many company pieces were the singers are singing over each other. I don’t know if it’s the theater or the quality of the singer-​actors, but you could barely make out what they were trying to say.
2. The females were a little more soprano-​operatic which made it even harder to understand the plot and storyline, as compared to a standard Broadway show.
3. So many songs can be cut out! A lot of the songs only add confusion and headache without adding much value. They were completely unnecessary and caused me to fall asleep in the middle. (Though, when I awoke after my very brief nap, my friend told me I missed nothing.)
Overall, it was still a good show. The costumes were great. The second half was significantly better than the first half. It’s also just a very interesting book in that we don’t know the ending and it is so interactive!

Such an incredible show! Very funny and engaging. We were very surprised by the decisions that the majority of the audience were making, but we still had so much fun. Great decorations and costumes,

I cannot believe people didn’t love this show. I thought it was incredible and one of the best shows I’ve seen (Book of Mormon is my favorite show that I’ve seen so far over the last 20 years).
I’ll admit if you’re not paying attention and if you show up late and you don’t get the prepping by the ‘cast’ who are in the audience before the show starts, maybe you’d be lost. But it’s a show within and show and at the end the audience gets to choose the ending.
I was laughing so hard during so many parts. I thought it was a great show. I saw it last Friday and some of the poor reviews were from earlier when the show had just opened so maybe they hadn’t hit their stride yet but I thought it was a very enjoyable show.
I will admit though that the microphones/​acoustics in the Roundabout Theater aren’t great and even though volume-​wise you can tell the singers are singing loudly but sometimes you couldn’t make out what they were singing. I’m not sure what the audio problems were but I overhead other people complaining about not being to hear what was going on. But other than that, I have no complaints. I loved the show and if it was going to stick around for a few more months I would have wanted to go again and take some of my other friends to see it. But it’s closing in two weeks unfortunately.
If you have an opportunity to see it before it closes, I highly recommend it. I bought discounted tickets through TravelZoo.

I go to a LOT of Broadway shows… this show is excellent. (And I expected to hate it). Hell it won the Tony for bet musical in 1986 can’t be as bad as some of these reviews. Read up about it before hand will help you follow the whole storyline better although it’s not difficult. The cast is so good-​looking and talented you’ll be thoroughly entertained. Will Chase is outstanding, even Chita Rivera at 80 does a great job. The show is fun, clever, a little sexy, even a little interactive. The music is good, not great but fits the mood of the show. A fun night, see it but I think it’s on a limited run.

A fun broadway play that seems to be lower on the scale of notoriety, which is great if you’re looking for last minute discounted tickets. A friend and I decided to give it a try based on a recommendation from someone at the TKTS line, and the fact that Sarah Jessica Parker was sitting just 5 rows in front of us sealed the deal as we waited for the play to start.
The background — The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a novel written by Charles Dickens. What makes it interesting is the fact that Mr. Dickens passed away before the novel was finished. The actors enact the story as it was written in the novel, and then pause to let the audience vote on how it should end. It really is a lot of fun!
The only negative was the fact that at our showing, the main character of Edwin Drood was played by a woman. She was great, but it was hard for me to get over the fact that the main male character had a higher, sing songy, voice.

I will admit, my eyes fluttered closed a few times in the first half of the show. It was difficult to understand what was going on once the actors sang their lines. When the narrator spoke, I could catch on to plot again. The second half was more engaging with the voting of the ending which I found unique. Overall, the show was okay. but I would only recommend it a select group of friends. I loved the costumes and set design.

Wow, that first review was harsh. The only thing I agree with is in the first act the performers were singing over each other which made it difficult to understand the lyrics. The first act is too long and some songs could be cut. The second act is hilarious and lots of fun with the audience participation. All the performers were excellent, some beautiful voices and Chita Rivera is a treasure. At 79 she was singing and dancing and very energetic. The sets and costumes are gorgeous. This is not a must see but it is enjoyable and fun. The audience loved it. You could tell the actors were having fun also.

I’m so sorry to give any musical just 1 star but this show was Terrible. My friend and I left during intermission.
I haven’t seen too many bad reviews of it online but I disliked it so much, I sat wondering how it even made it to Broadway and thinking the actors were making a mockery of their careers.
The whole first half involved the cast singing, not in unison, but one over the other with different lyrics making it impossible to decipher what anyone was saying or what was going on. At the end of the first act, they do a quick 2 minute recap of what happened… I could have seen just that and then watched the second half.
Such a shame bc the idea of seeing a play about Charles Dicken’s last novel, which was unfinished at the time of his death was very appealing to me.
Where’s the great theater nowadays?