Costume Design and Production for The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes

The purpose of this paper is to document the costume design and production process for Rupert Holmes’ musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, as produced by the Department of Theatre and the School of Music at The Ohio State University and directed by A. Scott Parry, the School of Music’s Director of Lyric Theatre. The musical was presented in the Thurber Theatre at Ohio State, November 7 through November 11, 2012.The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a musical in which a Victorian Music Hall troupe in 1892 England performs a dramatization of Charles Dickens’ final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Told in the vaudevillian manner of English Music Hall Theatre of the late nineteenth century, the piece utilizes song, dance, bawdy humor and audience participation to tell and ultimately discover an ending to Dickens’ story. Research and designs for the production were derived from photographs, historical research and artwork of Music Hall performers and everyday English citizens from the late nineteenth century. The scenic design transformed the Thurber Theatre into a nineteenth century Music Hall, necessitating that the costume design also transform the actors into Victorian performers to support the historical demands of the script and to create an authentic experience for the audience. The lighting design aided the melodramatic nature of the piece and the sound was all produced live, as it would have been in the 1890’s.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Kuhn, Samantha Anne

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kearney, Kristine

• Theater

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1365605493

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1365605493