YOU CAN GO HOLMES AGAIN
It turns out that you can teach an old dog new tricks, proven by The Old Globe’s contemporary stage-spoof treatment of the classic 1901 Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. Longtime fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literature need not be skeptical: While Ken Ludwig’s adaptation—in which three actors play a bevy of characters alongside Holmes and Watson—can occasionally be downright silly and anachronistic, director Josh Rhodes has put together a Story Theater-like theatrical delight that supplants any doubts about dramaturgy.
With popping props, quick-change highly inventive costumes, twinkling web-encrusted chandeliers, and miniature black row houses that circumvent the in-the-round stage, this is also one of the most creative design teams around (Wilson Chin, sets; Austin R. Smith, lights; Shirley Pierson, costumes; Bart Fasbender, sound). All of the theatrical devices used here may eventually trump storytelling and suspense, but the production turns out to be a respectful nod to the beloved Holmes story. It’s a very admirably done pleasant surprise and at times howlingly funny.
The crowd of dramatis personæ who pop in and out as cameos and supporting roles are played by Andrew Kober, Blake Segal, and Liz Wisan. These crafty thespians amaze in their many accents (David Huber, vocal coach), well-defined characters, and superb physical and comic timing. This trio delightfully juggles lines, inverted umbrellas, picture frames, prams, a tea set that appears when a roof in one of the tiny houses is inverted, and more. It is through them that we truly see Holmes’ Baker Street residence, a wild English moorland and a 19th-century country estate.
Since these actors are at any given moment a dour butler, overblown Texan (a Canadian in the original story), or a fetching girl tripping over the rocky moor landscape, it is fortuitous that both Euan Morton, who deftly offers the austerity of the master-reasoner Holmes, and Usman Ally, who brings a fit colonial India look to the normally corpulent Dr. Watson, basically keep their roles understated (they do interact with audience members, so fun and games are still part of their plan).
The strange death of Sir Charles Baskerville brings a country doctor to Holmes, asserting that the death is suspect—there were giant hound pawprints nearby and the dead Baskerville had a look of horror on his face. When Holmes learns of a family curse involving selling a soul to the devil and a ghostly hound, he finds the case irresistible. Ludwig has changed some of the story, but even in this parody, the dialogue, plot, and setting remain commendably true to Conan Doyle.
photos by Jim Cox
Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
The Old Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park
Tues and Wed at 7; Thurs and Fri at 8;
Sat at 2 & 8; Sun at 2 & 7
ends on August 30, 2015
EXTENDED to September 6, 2015
for tickets, call 619.437.6000 or visit www.TheOldGlobe.org