There is a temptation to stay home on a winter's night, raid your bookshelf or fire up Netflix and curl up with a juicy British murder mystery. But why do that when you could get all the gothic drama plus a dose of literary trivia, laugh-out-loud comedy and excellent music — all while supporting community theater? Not to mention the chance to participate in the production yourself.

Regular readers will know that audience participation is something I normally eschew. This is still the case, but I make an exception for a musical that I enjoy very much — "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" — especially when it's an essential part of such a funny and lively version as is currently offered by Foothill Music Theatre (FMT).

Directed by Milissa Carey, "Drood," written by Rupert Holmes (yes, the "Pina Colada song" guy) is based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. The Lohman Theatre is transformed into a Victorian British music hall (set design by Carlos Aceves) with the cast portraying a ragtag team of players. These players, in turn, are also the cast of "Drood," creating a show-within-a-show format. And, because Dickens died before the story was complete, the musical's main gimmick is that the audience gets to vote on key plot elements, meaning numerous ending scenarios are possible, and the cast has to be ready to accommodate them all.

The plot of "Drood" (the show within the show) concerns plucky young Edwin (played by "male impersonator" Miss Alice Nutting, played by Chloe Angst), whose disappearance and likely murder sets off a cloud of suspicion in the quaint town of Cloisterham.

Whodunit? The most obvious candidate is angelic-voiced but bedeviled choirmaster and Drood's uncle John Jasper (Mr. Clive Paget, played by Benjamin Ball), whom audiences are instructed to boo at every opportunity. But what about the mysterious Landless siblings just in from Ceylon (Miss Janet Conover and Mr. Victor Grinstead, played by Rachelle Abbey and David Murphy, respectively)? Could it be the cockney opium-den madam Princess Puffer (Miss Angela Prysock, played by Heather Orth) or the alcoholic crypt-keeper and stone mason Durdles (Mrs. Nicky Cricker, played by Linda Piccone)?

"Drood" has probably the highest-caliber cast I've seen at FMT. Great performances abound, but the two finest come from Orth, doing her best Angela Lansbury as the music-hall grande dame belting out the show's standout number, "The Wages of Sin," and John Mannion as Mr. William Cartwright, the company's leader, narrator and fill-in actor.

The characters of Miss Janet Conover and Mr. Victor Grinstead as white English actors portraying "exotic" foreigners Helena and Neville Landless, with purposely ambiguous accents and stereotypical costumes, poke fun at outdated racist/colonial notions while still veering a bit too close to genuine brownface.

Because the ending can vary each performance, it'd be interesting to see more than one show, to explore how different audience votes can change things. After all, those Netflix or bookshelf murder mysteries will still be waiting for you at home later, but this charming "Drood" runs for a mere three weeks.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" runs through March 15 (Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m.) at the Lohman Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Tickets are $15-$36. Go to foothill.edu/theatre/productions/Drood.html.

—Karla Kane