IU Theatre solves The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Last night, Indiana University's Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance began their  2014-2015 season with the opening night of their production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, currently running at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. Based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, the Rupert Holmes-penned metatheatrical tuner tells the tale of a small English town shaken up when the eponymous young Drood goes missing and is presumed dead. It is up to the remaining characters to find out who the guilty party is.

However, they are not alone in their quest; given that Mr. Dickens died before he could finish the novel, the audience is asked to vote on who they think the murderer is, in addition to who is disguising themselves as Dick Datchery during the second act and which two suspects will be paired together romantically. This opportunity leads to some very confusing, hilarious, and occasionally disturbing endings.

Another important aspect of the show involves a long-standing theatre tradition; Edwin Drood, a man, is portrayed by a woman (in the guise of a popular male impersonator; the plot of Drood actually being that it is a show-within-a-show). In IU's production he is portrayed by senior musical theatre student Maddie Shea Baldwin, and it is easy to see why; her voice glides gracefully over the mezzo-soprano notes one must sing to play Drood, and she manages the belting portions of her role with admirable gumption, not to mention her brief stint as Datchery prior to the voting and when she is in the character of Alice Nutting (the actor in the company of the Music Hall Royale who plays Drood). Truly a role well cast.

Speaking of well-cast roles, one of my personal favorites was junior musical theatre student Nathan Robbins as the Chairman William Cartwright and Mayor Thomas Sapsea. I was delighted the entire time by his showmanship and comedic timing. Well done, sir.

Other performers of note are Berklea Going as Rosa Bud, Drood's intended (with a lovely soprano that could easily land her in the roles of Cosette in Les Misérables or Christine in Phantom if she so wished). In all honesty, I wished it had been Rosa who was voted as the killer; that would have been a lovely twist. Markus McClain as Durdles could have been a class in slapstick, and Scott Van Wye as John Jasper was wonderful as well; the same for everyone involved in the cast and crew (though I must admit some bias to Emily Schultheis as Princess Puffer due to the fact that we're both native to the southwestern Indiana area and I rather liked her performance when I saw her as the Narrator in Joseph).

Drood was a wonderful experience, and I wish them all the best on their run.

...WHAT

Honestly, that's the only thing I can think right now having just watched the trailer for the fourth book (season for those not in the Avatar fandom) of Legend of Korra. Following the events of book three's finale (which was a giant bundle of WHAT ON EARTH?!), Korra has to deal with some tough changes and feeling helpless. Also, one of the best lady characters in all of animated history may or may not be making a return. I can't wait.

But enough about that.

Long-ish intro: Hey! I'm Kelseigh. I'm 20 and a sophomore journalism student here in Indiana, of which I'm an (occasionally) proud native (though I was born in Louisville, Kentucky for medical reasons). Ideally, I'd like to be an entertainment critic and live in New York City, but a bigger town here in the Midwest will do starting out. I've had plenty of people tell me I'm smart, which anymore basically means I can regurgitate information at the drop of a hat (most of it pointless and regarding my one true love, musical theatre). I would aspire to be an actor, but I'm not yet comfortable enough with my abilities as such to try making a living out of it. Hopefully, that will change.

Activism is something that has become important to me lately. My senior year I decided that I was a feminist of the third-wave variety (meaning I try and take racism, classism, heterosexism, cissexism, and ableism into account when looking at women's rights issues, among other things), and do what I can to alter the way people in my world view women's place in society-especially when it comes to religion.

I grew up in a nondenominational Christian household, and while I still believe God exists (though not in the form of an anthropomorphic male) and Jesus is a primary example of how I try and live my life, I believe that his message matters a lot more than the stories told about him. I also get really bothered by how a lot of more noted Christians portray God and Jesus and will more than likely use this blog to call them out. I've learned more about God from John Fugelsang and Mark Sandlin than I've ever learned from any sermon or blurb on KLOVE.

I also try and do a lot of work to raise awareness for Turner Syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that affects one in every 2,000 people who are assigned female at birth that is not generally inherited (for more information, please visit the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States' website). It results in short stature, heart and kidney issues, infertility, and many other health conditions, though like the name says, it's a syndrome-a grab bag of symptoms and not all of us have every trait and even then a lot of us are quite healthy-I haven't had any major concerns due to TS since I was 3, though I do have heart problems and have lost a kidney in the process. As far as I'm concerned, those are prices worth paying to be where I am right now.

That's all I can think of for now. I hope you enjoy whatever time you spend here! :)