High school drama productions to focus on lions, witches and mystery

WARWICK - The Warwick Valley High School Drama Club will present "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in November, to be followed in March by its production of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." The 2005-2006 season selections are based on the tremendous response to last fall's production of "Charlotte's Web." In November, the drama club will perform a live, on-stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis's novel, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Four children enter a magical wardrobe and meet a series of wonderful characters the White Witch, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and Mr. Tumnus. The play will be presented Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, at 7 p.m. to accommodate younger audiences. Tickets will go on sale Nov. 1. In the spring, the drama club will present he 1986 Tony Award-winning musical, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." This wildly warmhearted theatrical experience kicks off when the Music Hall Royale puts on its flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery. The playfulness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of Drood's most talked-about features which allows the audience to vote on the solution. The uniqueness of this musical resides in the fact that each performance could potentially have a different ending. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" will be performed on Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18. Tickets will go on sale in mid-February. The productions will be directed by Nick DiLeo, who is celebrating his tenth anniversary as advisor/director of the W.V.H.S. Drama Club. Joining him once again are David Crone and Barbara Welch of Warwick as musical directors and Beth Maisonet as choreographer The shows will be produced by Medie Ann Close and Donna Nestor. As always, the casts and technical crews for the productions will be comprised completely of students from Warwick Valley High School.