Gerald McWilliams as Dr. John Watson (photo courtesy Glenn Farr)
This reviewer comes from a family of Sherlock-heads. My husband has an internal library of Arthur Conan Doyle-created facts, fictions, and solutions filed away somewhere in his soul and anytime the opportunity presents itself to him to visit that peculiar place, he is there. I knew he’d want to be part of the process of reviewing Chapin Theatre Company’s production of Jeffrey Hatcher’s Holmes and Watson on opening night.
His review? “I liked it!” He went on to say that it was a very nice night of community theatre, and this reviewer agrees.
It was nice to sit in Chapin Theatre Company’s cozy black-box theatre and enjoy the low-key production of a Sherlock Holmes spin-off tale set in 1894, three years after the infamous Reichenbach Falls incident recounted in Doyle’s The Final Solution. It was relaxed and casual and perfectly pleasant.
Directed by Glenn Farr, Holmes and Watson finds us at an asylum on an island off the coast of the UK where Holmes’ one-time consummate companion, Dr. John Watson, played exceptionally well by Gerald McWilliams, has been summoned. Watson is greeted by Dr. Evans, played by David Reed, and the multi-character player (Orderly/Moriarty/Inspector) which was performed last night by Nathan Dawson. Jami Steele Sprankle is there playing dual parts as the matron and the woman (big costume changes here – kudos – also, that was one excellent scream) and there are three potential and decidedly-undead Sherlocks played by Dennis Kacsure, Jeff Sigley, and Charles Zuber. Watson’s assignment is to discern who the real Sherlock is and take the audience along for the ride.
It was a fine ride and most people did not see the end coming!
While McWilliams demonstrates veteran-level chops on the stage, his fellow players are also quite good. As Dr. Evans, David Reed seems to have the lion’s share of lines—a daunting amount of memorization for several near-soliloquies delivered with very little flubs. Kacsur, Sigley, and Zuber, as the potential-Sherlocks, each hold their own well, with Zuber giving some of the best performances of the night without saying a word. There was very little movement on the stage—lots of standing in one place facing forward and saying lines in character. This reviewer would have enjoyed seeing a bit more action and interaction from the players. In such a dialogue-heavy play, interesting and engaging blocking can help draw the audience into the story. In its absence, one’s mind might wonder too much to things like the kind of shoes the characters are wearing. We quite liked those of Dr. Watson.
The set for the show was unusually minimalistic for a Victorian era staging, even for an off-shore asylum. The production relied primarily on back-wall projections of a train station, cell doors, etc. Having seen this type of projection employed at CTC before, they are a good choice for this cozy theatre space. The “live” depiction of Reichenbach Falls was very cool and seemed to please the audience a great deal.
A great mystery for this reviewer and guest was the horizontal black platform at the back of the stage which the actors had to step up to and down from repeatedly throughout the performance. We were not sure of its purpose and found the constant negotiation of the obstacle a bit distracting.
Costuming, by Sandy Steffen, was quite good, though the hair situation—both facial and other—was a little startling, particularly the wild wig worn by Dawson and the various degrees of muttonchops sported by several players. Steffen was not in charge of beard or hair effects.
All-in-all, Chapin Theatre Company’s Holmes and Watson accomplished what it set out to do—entertain and mystify. While not on the same excitement level as a Mary Poppins or a Godspell (and without a similar budget, I feel certain), it delivered a lovely little mystery via highly capable actors who seemed to love what they were doing. The energy from the joy and fun and commitment of these actors was palpable. Go see this show.
