Austin Playhouse is excited to be producing the winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” (Best Musical, Best, Book, and Best Score), The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a hilarious, interactive whodunit mystery musical that takes you to the small town of Cloisterham, England.  Here we meet a rowdy Victorian theatre troupe mounting a production of Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel of the same name. But, during the production, the charming Edwin Drood is mysteriously murdered, but by whom? Without an ending written, it will be left to the audience to decide which character is the murderer in this play-within-a-play.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood was produced by Austin Playhouse in 2005 where it was nominated for six B. Iden Payne awards including the winner of Best Director for Musical Theatre (Don Toner). Thirteen years later Austin Playhouse is thrilled to have Jill Blackwood, Rick Roemer, and Jacqui Cross back on the stage reprising their roles. Also returning from the 2005 production are Huck Huckaby, Brian Coughlin, Ann Richards. Additional cast members include Nathan Daniel Ford, Ben Gibson, Claire Grasso, Samuel Knowlton, Maria Latiolais, Morris Jude Martinez, Scott Shipman, Sarah Fleming Walker, Sarah Zeringue, and Owen Ziegler. The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be directed by Don Toner with Lyn Koenning as musical director and choreographed by Meghan Bowman.

The production team includes Don Day (Lighting Designer), Diana Huckaby (Costume Designers), and Mike Toner (Set Designer)

Austin Playhouse

Austin Playhouse is a professional theatre in its 19th season. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Don Toner and Artistic Director Lara Toner Haddock, Austin Playhouse has grown from a three-play season on the campus of Concordia University, to a year-round operation producing an average of six mainstage plays a year along with two theatre for youth productions and a new play festival. Austin Playhouse is currently performing at the Austin Community College Highland campus.

Austin Playhouse’s 2018-2019 Season

Austin Playhouse’s 2019 – 2019 season opened with Austin playwright Lisa B. Thompson’s Monroe, September 7 – September 30, 2017, followed by Rupert Holmes’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a hilarious, interactive whodunit mystery musical, November 30 –  December 16, 2018. In the spring, Austin Playhouse will present Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen that discusses the intricacies of physics, and ponder the metaphysical— the very essence of human motivation, April 5th-May 5th, 2018. The season will conclude with The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, a new story about the community who saved Shakespeare’s work from the dustbin of history, May 31st-June 30th, 2018 In addition, Austin Playhouse will treat Austin families to a free Theatre for Youth production of local playwright Katherine Catmull’s adaptation of her own YA novel, Summer & Bird April 22nd-May 3rd.