A true fondness for the British music hall is probably a prerequisite to fully enjoy the charms of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Rupert Holmes’ 1985 musical based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens that is being given a beautifully staged revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company. But despite its many amusing moments, the proceedings tend to wear thin over the course of two-and-a-half hours, even with the much ballyhooed audience involvement in choosing the final plot twists.

That gimmicky aspect, in which we’re given the chance via raised hands and applause to determine such aspects of the story as the identity of the title character’s murder, the detective-in-disguise and the secret lovers, adds an undeniable element of fun to the experience, even if the process tends to drag on.

The evocative atmosphere is established immediately, with the ushers dressed in period costumes and the performers playfully interacting with the audience before the show. Eventually a master of ceremonies dubbed the Chairman (Jim Norton) introduces the actors who will be playing the characters in Dickens’ gothic mystery tale.

These characters include choirmaster and opium addict John Jasper (Will Chase, fresh from TV’s Smash), who is madly in love with his young pupil, Rosa Bud (Betsy Wolfe); his nephew and perceived romantic rival Edwin Drood (a cross-dressing Stephanie J. Block): the mysterious Ceylonese Neville and Helena Landress (Andy Karl, Jessie Mueller); the perpetually befuddled and marvelously named Reverend Septimus Crisparkle (a very funny Gregg Edelman); the gravedigger Durdles (Robert Creighton) and his buffoonish deputy (Nicholas Barasch): and Princess Puffer, the owner of an opium den (Broadway veteran Chita Rivera).

The convoluted plot, involving young Drood’s sudden and mysterious disappearance, is ultimately beside the point. It merely provides the springboard for a constant series of visual gags, cheap puns and bawdy humor that is well exploited in Scott Ellis’ breezy staging and the fine efforts of the hard-working cast playing both the Dickens characters and the low-rent entertainers impersonating them. Norton, inheriting the role played so magnificently in the original production by the late George Rose, is a consistent hoot as the jocular host; the ageless Rivera kicks up her heels in fine fashion as the wicked Puffer (and even scored a young lover at the performance attended, thanks to the voting audience); and the rest of the ensemble fully gets into the anarchically silly spirit.

Less felicitous is Holmes’ score which--although it impressive as it apes its music hall inspirations--fails to be memorable, save for the pretty ballad “Moonfall” and the rousing showstopper “”Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead.”

Adding greatly to the production’s effectiveness are the playful choreography by Warren Carlyle, the lavish, picture-book style set design by Anna Louizos, and the elaborate period costumes by William Ivey Long abetted by the fun wigs created by Paul Huntley.

Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St. 212-719-1300. www.roundabouttheatre.org. Through Feb. 10, 2013.