Dickensblog

'Edwin Drood' gets around

Like Broadway, London's West End will soon be getting a revival of the Edwin Drood musical. However, this one is scheduled to run for only a month.

7 Quick Takes Friday

• Naxos is releasing all 16 of Dickens's major novels as audiobooks, in both abridged and unabridged versions, for the bicentennial. Visit their page for more information and to download their Dickens podcasts. And The Dabbler blog is exclusively serializing their abridged version of The Pickwick Papers.
• Actor Stephen Fry gave away free copies of A Tale of Two Cities on the set of his new film for World Book Night, earlier this week.
• Speaking of free books, the library system in Sheffield, England, is giving away 1500 free copies of Oliver Twist in honor of the bicentennial. Very nice, but since it's Sheffield, shouldn't it be David Copperfield instead? (You know, "Confusion to Brooks of Sheffield!")
• And speaking of Oliver Twist, Robin Stone of the Globe and Mail tells a terrific story about how she got both herself and her nine-year-old son hooked on the children's edition of that book. Kudos to both of them!
• Here's an interesting tale about why Dickens gave away his personal copy of David Copperfield.
• Rabbit Run Theater in Madison, Ohio, is going to be doing three different Dickens plays this summer and fall, and the nearby Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake is offering special packages that include overnight stays and tickets to see the performances. Read all about it here.
• Filming has started on The Invisible Woman. Can't say I'm too thrilled about seeing Dickens get the National Enquirer treatment, which is what I'm afraid this is going to be. In other movie news, the new independent film Nancy, Please tells the story of a graduate student who gets into a violent conflict with his old roommate over, of all things, a copy of Little Dorrit. Here's an interview with the director.

A few follow-up thoughts on 'Edwin Drood'

Again, spoilers ahead . . .

Yet another 'Tale of Two Cities' musical

There must be something about ATOTC that makes it ideal for musicalizing. A new version with music by David Pomeranz and lyrics by Steven David Horowich will run for six weeks in London this spring. According to BroadwayWorld, popular singer/actor Jonathan Ansell "will play the lead role of Charles Darnay" (excuse me??); the rest of the cast has yet to be announced.

More information and tickets are available here.

'Edwin Drood' coming back to Broadway

Great news from Roundabout Theater Company! They're staging a revival of Rupert Holmes's interactive musical version of The Mystery of Edwin Drood this fall. Broadway legend Chita Rivera will play Princess Puffer; the rest of the cast has yet to be announced.

This is the show's first Broadway revival (it originally ran from 1985 to 1987).

More information is here and here.

The best of times: Notes from my bicentenary trip

By David Perdue, Guest Blogger

Upon my return from London for events surrounding the Dickens Bicentenary. I received an email from a fellow Dickens Web site owner, Ritva Raesmaa, from Finland. She also attended the events, although sadly I did not meet her. She summed up the few days in London as a “once in a lifetime” trip . . . and I heartily agree!

Two queens, two Miss Havishams, Fagin, and Charles Dickens

. . . at yesterday's royal reception. Not even Dickens himself could have come up with such a scenario. (Though Jasper Fforde might.) 

All photos copyright the Mail Online.

A celebration fit for a queen

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip will attend a new play full of Dickens characters, starring Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Bond, and Matthew Kelly (who was in the Bleak House miniseries), and will hold a reception in Dickens's honor this evening, where the guests will include Rowan Atkinson (from Oliver! in the West End), Helena Bonham Carter, and Ralph Fiennes (both from Great Expectations).

In case of swooning, break glass

I got a kick out of this story: For Gerald Dickens's upcoming performance of "Sikes and Nancy," an herbal shop has re-invented smelling salts.

Celebration in Bath

Tickets are available for a Dickens birthday celebration at the Pump Room in Bath. Which, I imagine, would allow one to feel like a Dickensian and an Austenite at the same time.