The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens wrote an enormous amount in his lifetime (A Tale of Two Cities clocks in at a staggering 46 million words, if high school memory serves), but there are some stories he never finished. The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one such piece. This murder mystery features the typical Dickens cast of eccentrically named characters of Victorian morals, but the culprit is never identified. Rupert Holmes of "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" fame dusted off Drood and turned it into a musical, creating multiple endings so that every character can be the killer. It's up to the audience to decide who dunnit, and then the cast plays out that ending of the show. Stray Dog Theatre opens its production of the always different, always zany The Mystery of Edwin Drood this week.

8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. (Apr. 2-18), 8 p.m. Wed. (Apr. 8 & 15). Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; 314-865-1995 or www.straydogtheatre.org). $20 to $25.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Starts: April 2. Continues through April 15, 2015