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Did you know, though, that one of the greatest novelists of the 19th century actually has something in common with a tiki staple, the piña colada?

I kid you not. Yacht rock god Rupert Holmes, forever known for his feel-good cheating song of the 1970s “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” saved Dickens’ unfinished novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” from the trash heap of history. Dickens died with only half the work complete and no detailed plans of how the story was to end.

Truth be told, a number of other writers took up the task of trying to complete the work, but to Holmes’ credit, he’s the only one who made a wildly successful Broadway musical out of it.

In the latest incarnation of the show, playing through Sunday at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Jerome Mirza Theatre, Director Michael Hance tells us in his director’s note that “Holmes not only wrote the book, music and lyrics for Drood, but also the full orchestrations.”

That’s one terrifically talented pop singer, and IWU’s production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood: The Musical” is one terrifically entertaining production. Hats off to whomever selected this show for the school’s fall musical. It’s not only a good show, rarely mounted anymore, but it also provides an abundance of plum roles for a theater program that is loaded with talent. Director Hance spreads the wealth around, too. While juniors and seniors have most of the principal roles, there are some first-rate sophomores, too, including Timothy Burkhouse as Your Chairman and Cannon Jewell as John Jasper.

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is a sort of play within a play. The story is set at the Music Hall Royale in London, 1895. The student actors play two roles: One is a member of the acting company at the music hall and the second is a character in the Drood story. Like many of Dickens’ stories, there are a litany of characters and moving parts to keep track of. Unlike any other Dickens tale, however, “Drood” is a kind of a pick-your-own-adventure affair in the second act, which is what makes the show extra fun. The audience is polled for the characters they want to see implicated in the shenanigans.

Edwin Drood (Delainey Guiney) is a prominent presence in Act 1, but then vanishes in Act 2. In addition to Drood’s uncle, John Jasper (Jewell), there are whole host of nefarious possibilities as to who’s responsible for young Edwin’s disappearance, including his love interest Rosa Bud (Lucy Harmon), Princess Puffer (Isabella Rodriguez), brother and sister Helena and Neville Landless (Olivia Daoud and Jack Berleman-Paul) and a handful of others. There is not a weak performance in the bunch.

Music director Charlie Berggren is to be commended for the marvelous ensemble that makes full company numbers soar. His pit orchestra sounds much more voluminous than just the nine names listed in the program.

The choreographing is by Anna Corvera, and she has fun with the Victorian-era conceit in numbers like “Off to the Races.”

Zandra Siple is the costume designer. What a job for a cast of 20. The women’s dresses for the leads are simply sumptuous.

Brian Redfern has done the scenic design and the projections. The set is done in rich jewel tones with vibrant purple walls and plush red velvet fabric everywhere. The walls appear to be wallpapered, but I believe this is a stenciling technique done by scenic artist Karla Bailey-Smith. Projections are where it’s happening today in scenic design. In this show, everything from a moving train to an opium den is achieved using projections.

If I had any quibbles, one would be enunciation on some of the songs involving English accents. I just could not understand the words. Theaters like The Station in Urbana are now projecting subtitles above the stage for all their shows. I think this is the direction where theater is headed, and I’m glad for it. There were also a number of unfortunate microphone issues the night I saw the show. Hopefully, that will have gotten ironed out for subsequent performances.

All in all, though, IWU’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is a slightly naughty and deliciously bawdy Victorian delight. Definitely go see it. Who knew the piña colada guy had this show in him? Mr. Dickens, I think you would be pleased. Buy that man a drink.

Rated PG for some mild language and suggestive situations.

What: “The Mystery of Edwin Drood: The Musical”

Where: Jerome Mirza Theatre at Illinois Wesleyan University

When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21-23; 2 p.m. Nov. 24

Cost: $10-$14 at iwu.edu or 309-556-3232

Running time: 3 hours, including a 10-minute intermission