Stage Review - Holmes and Watson (SecondStory Rep)

Stage Review - Holmes and Watson
Presented By: SecondStory Repertory - Redmond, WA
Show Run: November 01 - November 17, 2024
Date Reviewed: Thursday, November 07, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

When a playwright creates an adaptation using familiar characters, whether those being portrayed in the story are in the public domain or not, one of the principles that needs to be followed is that the author is required to stay true to the creator’s intent, to the heart of the character and to the story. For the record, Sherlock Holmes is now part of the public domain, as of 2023, but when Jeffrey Hatcher wrote Holmes and Watson, released in 2018, Holmes himself, nor ancillary characters like Dr. Watson or Professor Moriarty weren’t. And in this play, which is currently running on stage at SecondStory Rep (SSR) in Redmond through November 17, in a production directed by Chris Nardine, it’s as important as ever to make sure that this story stays true to the heart of Arthur Conan Doyle’s work because it’s a Sherlock Holmes story, without Sherlock Holmes. Or, more precisely, it’s a Watson story with three Sherlock Holmeses.

It’s been three years since the famous detective died in a tragic accident at Reichenbach Falls, at the hands of his nemesis Dr. Moriarty. Since that time, Holmes’ loyal partner, Dr. Watson, has been entertaining person after person claiming to be his late partner, ostensibly back from the dead, or more realistically not having died at all. When Watson receives a notice from a Doctor Evans that he has not one, but three inmates in his asylum claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, it’s an invitation that John Watson can’t turn down. Upon arriving at the facility, which used to be a fortress, and then a lighthouse, before becoming the hospital where these so-called Holmeses are being housed, it’s clear that there’s something afoot. Mounting evidence makes it apparent that Holmes is, in fact, not dead, and what transpires is not just a game of cat and mouse between Watson and Dr. Evans, but also something that feels like an episode of To Tell the Truth where each contestant is claiming to be Sherlock Holmes and in which Watson demands that the real detective “please stand up”. It’s a uniquely creative take on the Holmes genre that takes these familiar characters out of their London comfort zone and places them in the unfamiliar auspices of an asylum with nowhere to escape. Holmes and Watson has all of the humor in dialogue that you’d expect from one of Doyle’s tales, along with enough to twists and turns to make Agatha Christie’s head spin. The SSR production clocks in at 80 or so minutes, it’s well paced, performed delightfully, and designed exquisitely.

Any Sherlock Holmes fan will tell you how important Watson is to solving the crimes put to his partner. He’s more than just a supporting character in Holmes’ life, and even more so in Holmes and Watson, as it’s up to the good doctor not just to figure out whether his old boss is still alive, but whether one of the inmates standing in front of him is, in fact, the “real Sherlock Holmes”, as well as what increasingly seems like something else that is amiss at the asylum. In the SecondStory production, it’s up to Larry Albert to present Doctor Watson and his keen intellect to untie all of these knots. Larry is a fine Watson, his personality subdued, business like, but determined. The few times his character is called upon to turn up the emotional dial, Larry does so fluidly, and while Thursday’s performance was marked by a few missteps in his lines, and a few pauses to search for the next word, it was generally solid. The other doctor in the offing, Doctor Evans, played here by Jag, matches wits with Larry’s Watson for quite awhile, until the two decide that it’s better to work in a collaborative way, but there’s still something mysterious about his behavior. Jag portrays this layered character very well, it’s clear there’s always something below the surface, that Evans is like an onion, the more layers that get peeled off, the more there seem to be. Joining the doctors in the facility are the orderly, played by Lantz Wagner, and the matron, Brynne Garman. I like Lantz a lot as the orderly, but where he excels is in his agility between the other characters he plays, in the scenes where the prospective Sherlock Holmeses recount to Watson how each escaped from Reichenbach Falls. He’s both Moriarty, in what seems to be the last chapter in the continuous cat and mouse with Holmes, and the inspector who brings in a mysterious woman to the asylum, a woman who when the plot is boiled down has an important part in initiating some key elements, and a woman who is also portrayed in these flashback moments by Brynne. These scenes are also Brynne’s moments to shine, not that she isn’t good as the matron, but that character is relegated to largely secretarial-like duties, while her other characters are full of mystery and intrigue. Both Lantz and Brynne get to show off their ability with accents and their versatility with these performances.

However, at the end of the day, Holmes is at the top of the bill, so it’s important to talk about the plurality of Sherlock in this play. As it happens, three people claiming to be Sherlock Holmes arrive at the asylum at three different times in three different ways. They also exhibit three different personalities, all knowledgable in the ways of the detective and well versed in his stories, all able to recount details of his life that only he and Watson should know, but each with a different story to tell about his time at the falls and between that moment and the present. Watson’s interrogation of each really do bring back memories of watching To Tell the Truth, but enough about that. James Lyle is Holmes #1. This is the most stereotypical of the three. James’ Holmes carries himself with the posture and manner we’ve come to recognize, the diction and speech patters seem very familiar, and there is so much about him that seems like Holmes, though not quite everything. Then there is Holmes #2, Russell Matthews. Russell’s Holmes is a bit of a different egg, he’s more human, less heroic, the antithesis to version James portrays. Finally, there is Dane Vance Creek as Holmes #3, who comes into the asylum deaf, dumb, and blind, with a sign around his neck that simply says “I am Sherlock Holmes”, though under hypnosis those ailments go away and we see Dane’s version of Holmes, articulate, precise, and full of energy. Each Holmes is just enough Sherlock to make one think that he’s the real deal, and yet not enough to be fully convincing. That’s both the beauty of the construction of the characters as well as the skill of the performances.

On the production side, once again the lion’s share of the work here at SecondStory falls on the shoulders of Mark Chenovick, whose set, light, sound, and projection design are a confluence of pieces that come together and produce a stark and dim setting for this piece. His lighting does a nice job of providing a din of mystery, while his set is simply designed with everything on it purposeful to the storytelling and his use of projections accentuate the recounting of each of the Holmeses backstories, and is very well done. The highlight of Mark’s work here, though, is in his sound design. From the beginning voice track that serves as a narration until it’s picked up live by Larry’s Watson, to each underscore of music during the respondents’ replies to Watson’s interrogations, or the sound of the cells opening, or even the little things, it’s all done so expertly, with the right volume, and for the proper amount of time. It’s nothing that is necessarily too obvious, especially with the music, which is what makes it so good. The same can also be said for Rachel Brinn’s costuming, which is solid from top to bottom. Chris has done a good job here with his vision for this piece, and the way he has staged the production makes each scene create its own focal point, he draws the audience right where they need to be, grabs their attention, and doesn’t let it go until the very end.

Holmes and Watson might not be the most descriptive title for this play, but like the story itself, not everything you see is as it appears. This unique twist on the Sherlock Holmes genre takes the audience out of London and into the middle of the ocean after the tragic death of the famous detective, where Dr. Watson comes face to face with three unlikely men who claim to be his late partner. With enough twists and turns to make any Sherlock fan smile, this production under director Chris Nardine’s stewardship, will draw you in and keep you guessing until the very end.

Holmes and Watson runs on the SecondStory Rep stage in Redmond through November 17. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.secondstoryrep.org/. Note that the show runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermissions and contains simulated gunshots.

Photo credit: Michael Brunk (NWLens.com)