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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>Rabbit Run Theater’s ‘Drood’ is no mystery<?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">News-Herald,
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Chagrin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Times, Solon Times,
Geauga Times Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald</I>
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">on
8/24/12<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>The real mystery surrounding the current staging of “The
Mystery of Edwin Drood” at Rabbit Run Theater has nothing to do with it being a
“whodunit” drama.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Yes, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">Charles Dickens’ final
novel—on which this play is based—is a murder mystery, but the author died in
1870 before unveiling the murder or the murderer.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each performance of “</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>The Mystery of Edwin Drood” </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">ends by consensus, with
the killer chosen by the majority vote of that evening’s audience.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is more math than mystery.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>There is certainly no mystery associated with </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">how playwright Rupert
Holmes was able to turn Dickens’ bleak, unfinished work into a critically
acclaimed, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>Tony
Award-winning production when it played on Broadway in 1985.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>For one
thing, Holmes cleverly </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">transformed the drab
drama about young Edwin Drood’s disappearance at the hands of someone associated
with his </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>fiancée, Rosa Bud, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">into a musical
comedy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The story is seasoned with
witty songs that help move along the plot, flesh out each key character, and add
much needed energy and effervescence to the proceedings.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some songs, such as “Moonfall,” are
delightful while the Act One ending “Off to the Races” is a two-fisted romp.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">Another contributing
factor is the play’s pretense of a Victorian-era music hall troupe staging this
Dickens drama.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This play-within-a
play fabrication provides us with an array of delightfully over-the-top
vaudevillian actors presenting a production filled with wonderful,
overly-dramatic characters. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It also
includes a significant amount of banter that did not originate with the novel,
making much of this play rather un-Dickensian in tone and
temperament.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">Nor is it a mystery as
to why this Rabbit Run production of “</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>The Mystery of Edwin Drood” soars, which it does from beginning to
end.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">That can be largely
attributed to actor George Roth.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">In “Drood,” this
professional performer has found the perfect vehicle to do what he does best,
which is to charm an audience into submission.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As the music hall troupe’s Chairman and
its production’s Master of Ceremonies, Roth interacts with the audience armed
with veteran showmanship, a quick wit, and an arsenal of deliciously
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>bad and bawdy one-liners specific to the period.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is then given the opportunity to
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">step into
the role of the Mayor in the play and demonstrate his unrivaled ability to
create an intriguing character out of relatively nothing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
unmitigated success of this production can also be attributed to the strength of
its featured cast.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In particular,
Rabbit Run regular Brian Altman </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">is
superb as the music hall’s leading man who plays the bad guy, John Jasper, as a
bi-polar Snidely Whiplash.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He
deliriously lusts after his nephew Edwin Drood's betrothed under the guise of
her music tutor.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Kelly
Smith as the actress playing Drood and Sandy Peck as the actress playing Cockney
opium seller Princess Puffer are terrific as troupe players and their on-stage
counterparts. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Although their
off-stage personas are not given as much exposure, Heather Arata as the actress
playing Rosa Budd, Carl Simoncic as the actor playing Rev. Chriparkle, and
Kelsey Bowens and Kyle Lorek as the actors playing Helena and Neville Landless,
two foreigners suspected of Drood’s murder, are also
terrific.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>Stand-outs
in supporting roles include David Malinowski and Tom Hill, who are
hilarious.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>Malinowski
plays the aspiring but ill-equipped actor Phillip Bax, who plays a minor
character named Bazzard.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He does so
with so much charm that he wins over the audience with each coy smile, owns them
when he breaks character with an inappropriate wave during the performance, and
nearly steals the show with his delivery of the self-deprecating song “Never The
Luck.” <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This from the fellow
who portrayed evil personified as Bill Sykes and Mr. Squeers in earlier Rabbit
Run productions of “Oliver” and “Nicholas Nickleby,” respectively. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>Hill, as
alcoholic actor Nick Cricker playing the drunkard Durdles, manages to get a
laugh on every line.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He does this
with spot-on comic timing and the endearing physicality he gives his
characters.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">Brint Learned’s
direction captures the music hall sprit, which quickly becomes contagious as
audience members encounter the play’s vaudevillian actors milling about the
stage and seating area upon their arrival.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>He and choreographer Jennifer Leinweber Ritz gainfully and creatively
employ the same set design—consisting </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">only of stairs and scaffolding<SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> —that Ray Beach created for use in all of this summer’s
all-Dickens-all-the-time productions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Their work is beautifully complemented by music director Roberta Whitely
and her orchestra. <SPAN style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>No, the
mystery of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is not the identity of the murderer, the
secret behind this play’s success, or the reasons why this Rabbit Run production
is so delightful. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>The real
mystery is why Rabbit Run saved this marvelous work for its final production of
the season.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“<SPAN
style="COLOR: black">The Mystery of Edwin Drood” </SPAN></SPAN></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">continues
through September 1</SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> at Rabbit Run
Theater, 5648 W. Chapel Rd., in Madison Township. For tickets, $<SPAN
style="COLOR: black">17 to $19, call </SPAN>440-428-7092 or visit <A href=""
target=_blank><SPAN style="COLOR: blue">www.rabbitrunonline.org</SPAN></A>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>