The Mystery of Edwin Drood

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – One local theater is presenting the final novel by the English Writer, Charles dickens.

The mystery of Edwin Drood premiered at the Renner Theater this weekend. Director Shelley Tolliver describes this play as a show within a show where the audience meets the actors and later meets their characters.

“Everybody in this production has two parts as the actor and the character. This show hops in and out of show mode. There’s moments where we’re absolutely in the plot to the story that dickens wrote, then there are the actors that say that was a great scene or it’s not a great scene and it bounces back and forward,” said Tolliver.

Half way through the show, the production comes to a complete stop because, that is when Charles Dickens died and that’s when the audience participation kicks in.

“The audience by around of applause, they will vote who is the detective, who is the murder and then in a really strange twisted fate any of the suspects could be voted the lovers. It could be the reverend, the madam, the drunken stone mason, the obvious villain or the exotic twins,” said Tolliver.

Our very own Phil Sakal acts as Mr. Christopher Lyon in this production.