Afterwards, Edwin and Rosa reveal that they both have strong misgivings about their upcoming nuptials ("Perfect Strangers"), and decide to break off their wedding plans, but not to tell anyone until after the Christmas holiday. Jasper sneaks around the cemetery, where he obtains a key to Mrs. When Jasper enters with Mayor Sapsea, he points out to the mayor that everything is not always what it seems, a statement the Chairman, confused by his dual roles, agrees with. When Drood shares his plan to pave a desert highway with stones from the Egyptian pyramids, he offends his new rival Neville and his sister: the three then proceed to argue ("Ceylon"). Crisparkle introduces Edwin and the Landless twins.
It is announced that the actor playing Sapsea is too drunk to perform, so the Chairman himself takes over the role. We see that respectable Jasper is himself a customer of the den, and, as he dreams of Drood and Rosa, Puffer reacts when she hears Rosa's name.īack in Cloisterham, the gravedigger Durdles and his Deputy enter to discuss a newly completed tomb for the wife of Mayor Thomas Sapsea. Next to introduce herself is the Princess Puffer, the madame of an opium den ("The Wages of Sin"). After Rosa faints from the lustful lyrics of Jasper's song, Helena comes to her aid ("Moonfall Quartet") while Neville displays an attraction to Rosa. During the encore, two orphans from Ceylon, Neville and Helena Landless, enter with the Reverend Mr.
It is her birthday, and Jasper, her music tutor, has composed a song for Rosa ("Moonfall") which he insists on hearing her sing. Next to be introduced is Jasper's nephew, Edwin Drood (whom the Chairman reveals is being played by the famous male impersonator, Miss Alice Nutting), who discusses his impending arranged marriage with Rosa Bud, as well as his plans to leave for Egypt after the wedding ("Two Kinsmen").ĭrood's fiancee, Rosa Budd, is then introduced at the "Nun's House" (a ladies' seminary). The first Dickens character introduced is the choirmaster John Jasper, a "respectable" member of society who shares with the audience the fact that he actually suffers from inner torment ("A Man Could Go Quite Mad"). From various locations in the theater, the cast members perform the opening number, "There You Are." The Chairman, a kind of Master of Ceremonies, informs attendees that this is going to be an unusual production, and invites all to be as "vulgar and uncivilized as legally possible." With this announcement, the play-within-the-play gets underway. At London's Music Hall Royale, preparations are underway for the premiere performance of the resident troupe's version of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Members of the troupe (who venture out into the seats) explain to audience members the historical details of Dickens' untimely demise, as well as the role the audience will play in determining the outcome of the mystery.
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