Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes, as you’ve never seen her before

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By John Lyle Belden

A different, yet familiar, game is afoot at Mud Creek Players with “Miss Holmes,” by Christopher M. Walsh, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, directed by Alaina Moore.

By changing the two lead characters to women – Sherlock Holmes (Kylie Adams) and Dr. Dorothy Watson (Kija Renuka) – other aspects of this Victorian-era story shift a bit as well. Holmes merely has to be her eccentric self to find herself in a mental ward, from which her brother, government agent Mycroft Holmes (Tanner Brunson) has to fetch her. Watson struggled to achieve her medical credentials and can only work at a charity hospital (it is her brother who served in Her Majesty’s Army). The hospital’s director, Dr. Anderson (Jennifer Kaufmann), brings the two together, leading to Holmes and Watson sharing the flat at 221-B Baker St., London.

Holmes’ deductive abilities have been mostly in the service of various women around the city, which brings Lizzie Chapman (Emma Fullen) to visit her about a threatening letter she received. Chapman’s husband Thomas (Brandon Wentz) is an Inspector with Scotland Yard, and known to be quite corrupt, though seemingly untouchable. The noble Inspector Geoffery Lestrade (Aaron Beal) has been keeping an eye on him, though.

Thomas Chapman had been married twice before, both dying under suspicious circumstances. Our detectives visit the mother of wife number two, Mrs. Eudora Featherstone (Jennifer Poynter), who has grown suspicious of everyone. Holmes also investigates the very shady Edwin Greener (Lark Green).

Oscar Otero plays Dr. Stamford, Watson’s suitor, as well as Mrs. Featherstone’s snooty nephew Reginald. Kaufmann also plays Holmes’ fussy housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson. Green appears as a doctor at Bedlam. Fullen also plays other roles.

With an excellent feel for the characters as we’ve come to know them in various media, a bit of sly social commentary, and appropriately cheeky humor, we get what Wendy and I think are one of the best performances of Holmes and Watson (of any gender) we’ve ever seen. Adams presents Sherlock’s quick genius and wit, at times impatient that us lesser brains aren’t keeping up, so well, it was as though Benedict Cumberbatch had coached her. Renuka has Watson prove to be his equal, in character if not in intellect, able to seize some moments herself. The unique bond of friendship they develop feels natural.

Brunson projects a confident air that makes it believable that he is both Sherlock’s brother and the keeper of Her Majesty’s secrets. Wentz is excellent as the villain, as Poynter is as a socialite. The others all acquit themselves admirably in their supporting roles – Green portraying likely the nicest thug you’ll ever meet, and Otero the most accommodating boyfriend.

Wendy adds that the mystery at the heart of the plot was also well presented.

This play felt like a well-made pilot to a series (and I’m happy to find that Walsh did write a sequel), a very entertaining and enjoyable take on the great detective. We highly recommend the services of “Miss Holmes,” performances Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, at the Mud Creek Players Barn, 9740 E. 82nd Street, Indianapolis. Get tickets at mudcreekplayers.org.

Ludwig ‘Holmes’ comedy a holiday treat at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

One of the interesting things about Ken Ludwig’s comedy mystery, “The Game’s Afoot, or, Holmes for the Holidays,” on stage at Buck Creek Players, is that the lead role is a fictionalized version of actual early-20th century actor William Gillette, who not only helped set the traditional look for Sherlock Holmes on stage and screen, but also starred in a Holmes play that he wrote with the blessing of Sherlock creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While, as portrayed here, Gillette did make fame and fortune as the legendary detective, tinkered with inventions to aid his stagecraft, and had a castle built for him on his Connecticut estate, Ludwig also plays up the man’s Holmes obsession to the point that he seeks to solve the mystery of an attempt on his life.

Hilarity, and apparently a murdered body or two, ensues.

Joshua C. Ramsey excels at rock-chinned steadfast leading man, even when played for laughs, and delivers Gillette’s stoic sense of purpose so well that flummoxed moments come off all the funnier. His family and friends (a/k/a, the suspects) are played by Cathie Morgan as Gillette’s mother, Martha; Tony Brazelton as Felix, his past best friend and present on-stage Moriarty; Tiffany Wilson as Marian, Felix’s wife; Hannah Partridge as recently widowed ingenue Aggie; and Josh Rooks as ambitious young actor Simon. They are joined at what they thought was an end-of-the run holiday party by ruthless newspaper columnist Daria Chase (Sarah Powell), and the evening’s activities will bring around an actual detective, Inspector Goring (Renee Lopez Whiten). In addition, Cyrena Knight, Breanna Helms, and Julie Gilpin play the house staff, and can step in as understudies.

Under the direction of Brian Noffke, no stranger to wild comedy, the cast all hit the farcical beats with professional precision. The exquisite stage set, designed by Ed Trout, includes an infamous rotating bookshelf used to full comic effect.

Even though I saw a production of this years back, I had forgotten “who done it” (yes, there is a mystery to solve amidst this madness) but even if you aren’t surprised at the end, you’ll assuredly be delighted by this unconventional “holiday” play.

“The Game’s Afoot” for two more weekends, through Dec. 18 at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

IRT mystery with murder, mayhem and Moriarty

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By John Lyle Belden

Would you recognize Sherlock Holmes if you saw him? That question is at the heart of “Holmes and Watson,” a mystery by Jeffrey Hatcher opening the 2018-19 season at Indiana Repertory Theatre.

The play is set on a remote Scottish island, several years after Holmes is believed to have died, gone over a Swiss mountain waterfall with his archrival Moriarty. (Tired of the character, author Arthur Conan Doyle offed the detective in “The Final Problem.” Bowing to public pressure, he brought Holmes back to life 10 years later.) Dr. Watson (played by Torrey Hanson) has been debunking the many impostors claiming to be the miraculously surviving Sherlock Holmes. Now, in an old fortress and lighthouse converted to an asylum, he is confronted with three.

The facility’s head, Dr. Evans (Henry Woronicz) presents a trio of distinctly different men (Michael Brusasco, Nathan Hosner and Rob Johansen), all claiming to be the detective. Having otherwise only seen an orderly (Ryan Artzberger) and the Matron (Jennifer Johansen) in the building, Watson surmises the three men are the only inmates. The mystery deepens as we discover that there has been a murder prior to Watson’s arrival, and a mysterious woman at large.

I dare not say more, so you can unravel this for yourself at the show. We tend to think of Sherlock Holmes as a singular character, but we are presented by three different but familiar archetypes: the classic Holmes of old films, the adventurous Sherlock of Benedict Cumberbatch, and the odd iconoclast reminiscent of Jonny Lee Miller in “Elementary.” We also noticed a clue – never noted by anyone on stage – that could be an insight into what’s really going on.

These amazing actors all put in excellent work. I don’t want to give individual praise for fear of giving away a secret, but suffice to say all are perfectly suited to characters where any of them may not be whom they seem.

The play is directed by former IRT artistic director Risa Brainin, who is familiar with Hatcher’s works, as well as the man himself. Robert Mark Morgan’s brilliant stage design contains sweeping layered curves, suggesting an aperture or the eye’s iris, opening and closing as the focus of the inquiry shifts.

Though not by Doyle, this drama fits right in the world he wrote for Holmes, with a tantalizing mystery worthy of the canon, complete with plot twists you’d see on an episode of “Masterpiece.”

“Holmes and Watson” runs through October 21 at the IRT, 140 W. Washington St., downtown Indianapolis. Call 317-635-5252 or visit http://www.irtlive.com.

Review: A farcical mystery, or mystery farce?

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By John Lyle Belden

Up at The Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre presents “The Game’s Afoot,” a Sherlock Holmes-inspired comedy by Ken Ludwig, through Nov. 7.

Actor William Gillette (Josh Ramsey) is so comfortable playing Holmes that when a hated theater critic (Christine Kruze) is stabbed in his home during a dinner party – an affair set up to find out who had shot and wounded him during his last performance – he puts on the deerstalker hat and seeks to unravel the mystery, much to the consternation of the police detective (Carrie Ann Schlatter). Theatre friends (and suspects) played by Bill Book, Jean Childers Arnold, Alex Ray and Emily Howell, with Wendy Brown as Gillette’s mother, all add to the chaos and physical comedy Ludwig farces are famous for.

The gorgeous set is complete with the necessary doors to slam, a stairwell for entrances and even a hidden room with its comical moments. And the manner(s) in which our victim is dispatched does point out the real-world fact that if you’re not practiced at it, killing someone can be a lot harder than you think.

The play’s run ends Saturday. Get info and tickets at 317-843-3800 or http://www.civictheatre.org.