I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere: Search results for play

Showing posts sorted by relevance for query play. Sort by date Show all posts

Episode 10: The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9wSrTIeoEIGuKzVAzDoD32fILvS516cTV8XPkHQyFUWBtIW083Q_tz3pyrlzWtPpf-iaBvb8MaQ31l3p1XffegTMmYovOsH9jX16xnpv9zHPhZUl0m7J20OqGG_LMGND1lDJrxbNTXUS/s1600-h/Secret_SherlockHolmes.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115487343490081346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9wSrTIeoEIGuKzVAzDoD32fILvS516cTV8XPkHQyFUWBtIW083Q_tz3pyrlzWtPpf-iaBvb8MaQ31l3p1XffegTMmYovOsH9jX16xnpv9zHPhZUl0m7J20OqGG_LMGND1lDJrxbNTXUS/s200/Secret_SherlockHolmes.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>In the late 1980s, Jeremy Brett commissioned Jeremy Paul to write a play for him. The collaboration yielded The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, which ran for a year in the West End and toured for three months around England. The shores of the United States have never seen the play - until now. In honor of the 120th anniversary of the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in print (1887-2007), Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts is producing the play.<br />
<br />
In this episode, we interview the actors Michael Hammond and David Demke and director Robert Walsh, in anticipation of the play's run from September 28 - October 28, 2007. In addition, there will be a Sherlockian weekend in Lenox from October 19-21, 2007. And at the end of the show, there's <span style="font-weight: bold;">a listener challenge</span>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: because of some technical difficulties, you may notice us "stepping on" each other's words. For some reason, the audio misaligned, and as we don't record separate tracks for each line, there was no way to edit it. We apologize, but hope the content makes it worthwhile.</span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Show notes:</span></h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1: 11</span> Audio clip from the production<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1:50</span> An introduction of the three interviewees, their qualifications, and the background of the play<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">8:16 </span>Michael Hammond discusses why Shakespeare & Company chose this play<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">11:38 </span>David Demke tells about his familiarity with the Canon and what he brings to the performance<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">13:40</span> Robert Walsh gives his perspective on directing such a play, after having directed <span style="font-style: italic;">Sherlock's Last Case</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">18:00</span> The two halves of the play - the known and well-recognized, and the <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">secret</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">21:21 </span>How to go about getting something new out of  time-tested characters<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">33:04</span> The challenge of presenting a Holmes play that is not a mystery, the evolution of the characters<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">35:15 </span>Staging a 2-man play - intimacy factor with the audience in the Founders' Theatre<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">36:50 </span>Walsh shares his feelings on directing a play for Shakespeare & Co. for the first time<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">45:01 </span>Burt & Scott discuss the evolution of the characters over time<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">47:42 </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Listener challenge</span> - let us know if you attend the show by <a href="mailto:comment@ihearofsherlock.com">emailing us</a> and we'll interview <span style="font-weight: bold;">you</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">49:02 </span>The eras of Sherlockians over the years<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">50:47 </span>Join <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ihearofsherlock">our Facebook page</a><br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Listen now:</b></h4>
<br />
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/1114922/height/90/width/600/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/no-cache/true/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe><br />
</center>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Links:</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.shakespeare.org/">Shakespeare & Company</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shakespeare.org/sandco.php?pg=performance&category=&subCat=&showID=summer07.sherlock">The Secret of Sherlock Holmes</a> on the Shakespeare & Co. site, including the Sherlockian weekend - which you should attend!</li>
<li>Two galleries of images: </li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.shakespeare.org/gallery/SHpre">Pre-production photos</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.shakespeare.org/gallery/TheSecretofSherlockHolmes">Production photos</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/403">Buy tickets</a> for the play online or call (413) 637-3353</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1553100352/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1553100352">Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1845765370/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1845765370">Starring Sherlock Holmes: A Century of Sherlock Holmes on the Screen</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock10.mp3" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TL5jgdrUh_nM_zlDgxql-jKOFGUVFqhoV6A2JtYklXOu4qmVDyRVbwGV6XrwXZgnG9awSwJ7td-txL1_4KGrpSf4igJLILOim4yJmX5pGTPIdMhCBYLyImSI5gs1MOMUZPAlpAgvtPdb/s200/podcastIcon.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 21px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 46px;" /></a>Download this episode by right-clicking the icon and selecting "Save As..." (File size: 48.87 MB, 53:20)<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
<br />
<center>
<script charset="utf-8" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/thebakerstree-20/8001/a63ea688-d250-445e-b54a-e0e9271c9ce8" type="text/javascript"> </script></center>

Episode 10: The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

In the late 1980s, Jeremy Brett commissioned Jeremy Paul to write a play for him. The collaboration yielded The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, w...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

"I Knew the Game Was in My Own Hands" [STUD]

<div style="text-align: left;">I was recently notified of a new promotion for the upcoming film <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/search/label/movie"><i>Sherlock Holmes</i></a>, which integrates the social networking site Facebook as part of a game. Hey, while we're at it, please consider becoming <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baker-Street-Blog/19866177712"><b>a fan of the Baker Street Blog</b></a> on Facebook.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to <a href="http://www.adverblog.com/archives/004113.htm">Adverblog</a>, if you go to <b><a href="http://www.221b.sh/">the game website</a> </b>(the conveniently chosen URL is<a href="http://www.221b.sh/"> www.221b.sh</a>), you'll have an opportunity to sign up and "hire" a Facebook friend to help you out as Watson and start playing. The underlying text reads:</div><div><i><blockquote>"When the game begins, every Holmes needs his Watson - who will be yours? Sign up today to play 221B and unravel the mystery to play the most exciting game this year."</blockquote></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Presumably, it looks something like this:</div><div><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399894026731172482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSp_Nc1ZTAaA6k6Mlyr3BPAflvqnqc2D0ffvaOjN33Lsv4mPVXmbntY4ZZgnZzmZkI-WwJ7DaHRtw71efUMEcEx9aNbB9F8j716qXBV_OUR55lXaQ6KdPYF5O669yW5Lb1qnpvTmganEJ/s400/watsonmovie01.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" /></div><div><br /></div><div>However, I just visited the site and discovered that they must still be working out the final details, as I get the message: "We are readying ourselves. We suggest you follow a similar course of action and return here shortly."</div><div><br /></div><div>Should be pretty interesting. I'll try to keep up with the developments. In the meantime, you might consider becoming a fan of the movie on Facebook as well: <b><a href="http://facebook.com/SherlockHolmes">http://facebook.com/SherlockHolmes</a></b>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>UPDATE: </i></b></div><div>Since publishing the post this morning, the site has gone live. Here's a shot of what it looks like now:</div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399976315730329074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_81JdSUjxhDf0hFHYlpwZN3t0v1ZAK0qG3wFxB-xR8jakePvfn3WeHknDYVRVZO7Cn_wjw0pIiEe9bczLVPuxQnXm8xhIF12nXF_1Lhxm4yaQfhakDwu3y3jqpQJWTupQZy_VhPKuMqtk/s400/221b-1.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />You're then asked to choose which character you'd like to be:<br /></div><div><br /></div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399976919994940978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXucgJWHTRI-PJnpzKtOVBFQl47niOTZGhIW3AWRsnVs8VDJTVgihJOXVpTDaOqwRuxuZt6gau6yE4XZOAMek8eqa7vKtV778A2gBH3m-gKe3bJGPewjGkZmlbZmcQXDLl9g_-ZaVRdW1D/s400/221b-1.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 242px;" />In order to determine whether you're Holmes or Watson, you'll need to answer these qusetions:<div><div><b></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><b>1. When solving problems, I prefer to:</b></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Go with my instinct.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) Analyze the facts.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>2. In a fight, I am more likely to:</b></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Punch you. Hard.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) Punch you. Scientifically.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. I prefer to spend my time:</b></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Learning new things.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) Socializing with friends.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>4. If a lady burst into tears in my presence I would...</b></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Try to comfort her.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) Leave.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5. When something confuses me, I</b></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Seek further information.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) I am never confused.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's my result:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcganKUe5eeyKPDTnrjPWPnRuWzKw7kPcHqTUaW5OnW1yUOG-LqSef0eiPmDj-A7mgQAekSyl6XixR7X6b4ESgd6nKSx85af_4Vh3IydGFqXb-FP5_oFYGUfVjkbhbU_r5PKsLrTJL8UC/s1600-h/221b-1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399979236671808258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcganKUe5eeyKPDTnrjPWPnRuWzKw7kPcHqTUaW5OnW1yUOG-LqSef0eiPmDj-A7mgQAekSyl6XixR7X6b4ESgd6nKSx85af_4Vh3IydGFqXb-FP5_oFYGUfVjkbhbU_r5PKsLrTJL8UC/s400/221b-1.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 245px;" /></a><br /></div><div>Then you're given an opportunity to choose your partner - for Watson, the site suggestions "someone on whom you can thoroughly rely."</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZHVQy7fEcagtRnwhNAgrIe3YoSwjicNSpnjlzdqgOjYmjBaq0-0f7inzSMBGvEEc4VSrqLZXG7VhYot4YAUFUkqVAPe9mxq3J73L06CRHvrfqkeUKZYt5h8XS1JtFA8IerkMpimUlmYc/s1600-h/221b-1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399980235722287394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZHVQy7fEcagtRnwhNAgrIe3YoSwjicNSpnjlzdqgOjYmjBaq0-0f7inzSMBGvEEc4VSrqLZXG7VhYot4YAUFUkqVAPe9mxq3J73L06CRHvrfqkeUKZYt5h8XS1JtFA8IerkMpimUlmYc/s400/221b-1.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 246px;" /></a><br /></div><div>There is an FAQ about the game <a href="http://www.221b.sh/about">available here</a> and reprinted below for your convenience:</div><div><i></i></div><blockquote><div><i>What is 221b?<br /></i>221B is a two-player game immersing you into the world of Sherlock Holmes and Dr.John Watson. 221B takes you through the events leading up to the very first scene of the new Sherlock Holmes film.<br /><br /><i>How do I play?</i><br />You can play with a friend, one as Holmes, one as Watson, or you can even play alone if you like, taking on the role of both characters. Just as in the stories, you and your friend will investigate crimes, sift through evidence and solve mysteries. You'll also have to stake your reputation as detectives on your deductions. Get them right and you'll soon be the envy of Scotland Yard.<br /><br /><i>What does the game look like?</i><br />The game is played through an ordinary internet browser, which we recommend setting to full screen(F11 will toggle fullscreen on and off). It's no ordinary web game - as you'll discover when you sign up, it's a rich audiovisual experience. There are two main areas: an interactive window, and a casebook, which stores all the evidence that you discover as you progress.<br /><br /><i>How do I sign up?</i><br />You'll need a Facebook account to play the game. There is a registration process which uses the Facebook Connect system to link you with a friend, so that you can start playing.<br /><br /><i>What will I have to do?</i><br />The most important thing you have to do is work together. You can't solve the mysteries unless you and your partner share information and ideas. Practically speaking, you'll be...<br />- reading evidence - witness statements, newspaper reports, letters - that unfold the mystery<br />- observing key characters - Inspector Lestrade and others appear at the start and end of each chapter, to share important things with you<br />- investigating locations in the game and collecting evidence you find there<br />- interviewing characters who you meet in the game<br />- chasing suspects, breaking into secure locations, and following trails.<br /><br /></div><div><i>Will I have time to do all of this?</i><br />221B is designed for busy people so the game fits around your life, not the other way around. If you get stuck, or if you just want to hurry up and find out what happens next, then there is always a way to take a shortcut and move on. Much of the game is designed in bite-size chunks, so you'll always be able to play on a little, even if you only have a short break.<br /><br /><i>How long does the whole thing take?</i><br />The game is played out in a prologue and eight chapters, each with its own mystery to solve. You will be notified by email when each new chapter is available. Once a chapter has launched, you can complete it as fast or as slow as you like. How long it takes depends on how serious you are as detectives. If you read every piece of evidence carefully, sift through all the options, and talk a lot, it might take you a couple of hours to play through the most complex chapter. If you get the game to help you a lot, and bust through everything at high speed, then around half an hour.<br /><br /><i>Does it matter if I miss a week?</i><br />Not at all! The game remembers how far you've got so that if you take a break from the game you can just pick up where you left off. If you start later than other people or fall behind, you can play through all the chapters that have been released until you catch up with the group.<br /><br /><i>Should I play as Holmes or Watson?</i><br />In the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle - and in the movie - Watson is a man of action and intelligence. Holmes relies on him for many things. The game reflects Holmes and Watson's magnificent partnership; both players have a great deal to accomplish, and one cannot succeed without the other.<br /><br />There are different journeys for both detectives - when you sign up to the game, you'll be quizzed as to which one we think you should play. But don't take our word for it - read the stories, talk to your partner, and decide for yourself.<br /><br /><i>Who should I choose to play this game with?</i><br />Someone who you like talking to, preferably, as you're going to need to share a lot with your partner to solve the mysteries. As the game is played online, they can be from anywhere in world.<br /><br /><i>The friend I signed up to play is out of contact for a week or two. What can I do?</i><br />You can either:<br />- wait for them to come back and pick up where you left off,<br />- kick them out of the partnership and carry on alone or,<br />- sign up another friend to play on with. It's up to you.<br /><br /></div><div><i>What technology do I need to play this game?</i><br />To complete the 221B experience you'll need: Microsoft Silverlight, Facebook Connect and Flash. When you sign up to the game, we'll offer you a one-off download for everything you need.<br /><br /><i>Are you going to spam my Facebook status updates like certain other games I've played before?</i><br />No. You will be able to share your sleuthing exploits with your Facebook friends, but it's always your choice. We will never automatically update your newsfeed from the game.</div></blockquote><div>Personally, I think this is an extremely creative and engaging way to promote the movie - and more importantly - to welcome Mr. Sherlock Holmes to the 21st century. I hope those who are connected via the Web get a chance to see what we bibliophilic Sherlockians have been raving about for many years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and my Watson? <a href="http://www.cc-chapman.com/">Thoroughly reliable</a>. And he's got a mustache - even if it does make him look more like <a href="http://michaelmay.us/08blog/awesomelist/0724n_poirot.jpg">Poirot</a>. :-)</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmpwUqkfMU-IlTEtTQZ0DXtpuq_So_aCVR_-Ek3vxwl8yCYMSHDzsiokY2DiXouRnIdBMxOwATr85KPhy53JWPVq6uW5F-4LJ6o_HnrhmzDj5eTwnVjU_xhGEO8Zh_5-98b8qzrOndF60/s1600-h/221b-1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399982843280877506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmpwUqkfMU-IlTEtTQZ0DXtpuq_So_aCVR_-Ek3vxwl8yCYMSHDzsiokY2DiXouRnIdBMxOwATr85KPhy53JWPVq6uW5F-4LJ6o_HnrhmzDj5eTwnVjU_xhGEO8Zh_5-98b8qzrOndF60/s400/221b-1.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" /></a></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/Who_is_Sherlock/Christabbrev.html">What are those four-letter abbreviations in the headlines?</a></div></div>

"I Knew the Game Was in My Own Hands" [STUD]

I was recently notified of a new promotion for the upcoming film Sherlock Holmes , which integrates the social networking site Facebook as p...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Steven Dietz's Sherlock Play Is Quite Entertaining

<div style="text-align: center;">
<h4>
<b>"He had got back from the theatre about midnight." [RETI]</b></h4>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatnw5nRaf1gPqa2ZstlSiJ2_3eIeh3S_M6UY59XtxeLdWc6l7EQw-BQCLRfykt477ouTr3_feqXuMHUn1BCSPY_Jo2-4dFDYHu8OC-0BmCBDN_ZkqZcMUmQ8Ix1D6gszRnWJCzWlEor72/s1600/221b_bakerst_sittingroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatnw5nRaf1gPqa2ZstlSiJ2_3eIeh3S_M6UY59XtxeLdWc6l7EQw-BQCLRfykt477ouTr3_feqXuMHUn1BCSPY_Jo2-4dFDYHu8OC-0BmCBDN_ZkqZcMUmQ8Ix1D6gszRnWJCzWlEor72/s1600/221b_bakerst_sittingroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Playwright Steven Dietz was commissioned by the Arizona Theatre Company in 2005 to write a Sherlockian play; the result was <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. </i>The world premier of <i>Sherlock Holmes </i>was produced in 2006 by the Arizona Theatre Company and the play was awarded an <a href="http://www.playbill.com/news/article/dietzs-sherlock-holmes-wins-2007-edgar-award-for-best-mystery-play" target="_blank">Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Play in 2007</a>. My wife and I were fortunate enough to attend the Ethington Theatre's recent production of the play. The Ethington Theatre is a small, intimate venue on the campus of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfomi3dpLXnJ4VmGN3y0EjSG61kM13HaXwBG9GBGNeO2Rd30yh9P_0n-QVcgkejbT7Z2Qfv0kVgYNaikghZCPkE2UjvRAysxlg4bsDVLHcsigS9tRWtPzcGfFuzEVb46yBvez1zrz6N7Dp/s1600/Steven+Dietz+7447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfomi3dpLXnJ4VmGN3y0EjSG61kM13HaXwBG9GBGNeO2Rd30yh9P_0n-QVcgkejbT7Z2Qfv0kVgYNaikghZCPkE2UjvRAysxlg4bsDVLHcsigS9tRWtPzcGfFuzEVb46yBvez1zrz6N7Dp/s1600/Steven+Dietz+7447.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playwright Steven Dietz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Adapted from the 1899 play by William Gillette and Conan Doyle, Dietz's <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure </i>retains some of the same plot points as the Gillette play while at the same time repackaging them with some new elements. Dietz's adaptation is a clever blending together of the major plots from <i>A Scandal in Bohemia</i> and <i>The Final Problem</i>, but unlike the Gillette script Dietz keeps the name of Irene Adler for the female lead character.<br />
<br />
<i>Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure </i>is at heart still a mystery/adventure story, but Dietz also incorporates elements of romance and humor involving the characters of Holmes and Watson, which are themes that are not typically as prominent in the Canon. Holmes is portrayed as somewhat of a smug, condescending character who enjoys a joke at Watson's expense. As for the Doctor, he comes across as a bit of a bumbling oaf. It doesn't ruin his character, but that aspect of the Watson persona is certainly played up more than is typical. One of the most notable departures from the Canon is Holmes' romantic involvement with Irene Adler.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBxhUPzMmQ7i8MonqSqZ6wESxnrD1gq6TBOD2fE2D8OastmvQ7lvmvBSZf2hgJUh_GmvlBdLJysY1FHrgL2i-bowOvzhmWdDOJdT_Tgra1i6lXXAhd5kpv1tY6FS85F5iN0QIrinPF4xE/s1600/Megan+Sprink-VanCamp+as+Irene+Adler+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+and+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBxhUPzMmQ7i8MonqSqZ6wESxnrD1gq6TBOD2fE2D8OastmvQ7lvmvBSZf2hgJUh_GmvlBdLJysY1FHrgL2i-bowOvzhmWdDOJdT_Tgra1i6lXXAhd5kpv1tY6FS85F5iN0QIrinPF4xE/s1600/Megan+Sprink-VanCamp+as+Irene+Adler+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+and+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan Sprink-VanCamp as Irene Adler / Photo courtesy of GCU and Tim Trumble of Tim Trumble Photography Inc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The story is narrated throughout by Doctor Watson, as one would expect, and chronicles the tale of the scandal involving the King of Bohemia and the desperately sought after photograph of the king and Miss Adler. The photograph and the character of Godfrey Norton play a much larger part in the grand scheme of this adaptation than in <i>A Scandal in Bohemia. </i>After several attempts at retrieval of the photograph and just as many run ins with Professor Moriarty and his minions, the play culminates in that iconic struggle at Reichenbach Falls.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVhPpnjIleQmgYpaAbDx_dgyJbiek5DWU_sqj03tviD-X5klKicUJxqaiWx3khHR6cJi3vx22FEJ37cz14wW4zUV9aGNdIuwcmzaKZ5tzw36bx1hzZDL1YyBcghlPvTFHgwWFqDU4QXcl/s1600/Dylan+Kim+as+Dr.+Watson+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+&+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVhPpnjIleQmgYpaAbDx_dgyJbiek5DWU_sqj03tviD-X5klKicUJxqaiWx3khHR6cJi3vx22FEJ37cz14wW4zUV9aGNdIuwcmzaKZ5tzw36bx1hzZDL1YyBcghlPvTFHgwWFqDU4QXcl/s1600/Dylan+Kim+as+Dr.+Watson+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+&+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dylan Kim as Dr. Watson / Photo courtesy of GCU and Tim Trumble of Tim Trumble Photography Inc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i>Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure </i>is a masterful meshing of the plots from two of the most well known stories from the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short stories. The audience is also presented with an interesting perspective on Holmes' two rivals; the evil Moriarty and the beautiful Irene Adler. Each of them outwit Holmes in various ways, but yet the contrast between their characters is very striking.<br />
<br />
Steven Dietz does a fine job of marrying the quintessence of the Holmes and Watson characters with a few new characteristics resulting in a play which provides a couple of hours that are quite entertaining. And while Canonical purists may not appreciate <i>Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure </i>most folks will find it quite enjoyable; even those who are not hard-core Holmes fans.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSlwUCtQsgwsfPxkH2s9GQ92hPve2qKIjrFBUcAdyAprSixE7mwlrHa6k2e6x12YOBx6s1A3-r4-cIMtw8_BZ7czgp7QkRADBmaYDhauGQJIxBq3ENF5IGNCPoN41KVq96IUKnbo9BgoQ/s1600/Aaron+Potter+as+Sherlock+Holmes+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+&+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSlwUCtQsgwsfPxkH2s9GQ92hPve2qKIjrFBUcAdyAprSixE7mwlrHa6k2e6x12YOBx6s1A3-r4-cIMtw8_BZ7czgp7QkRADBmaYDhauGQJIxBq3ENF5IGNCPoN41KVq96IUKnbo9BgoQ/s1600/Aaron+Potter+as+Sherlock+Holmes+-+Photo+courtesy+of+GCU+&+Tim+Trumble+of+Tim+Trumble+Photography+Inc..JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaron Potter as Sherlock Holmes / Photo courtesy of GCU and Tim Trumble of Tim Trumble Photography Inc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i><b>Editor's note:</b> J.D. Sutter is a new media consultant and founder of Porchlight Family Media. He has been a Holmes enthusiast since reading The Speckled Band in grade school. This is his first contribution to IHOSE.</i><div>
<i>--</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>

Steven Dietz's Sherlock Play Is Quite Entertaining

"He had got back from the theatre about midnight." [RETI] Playwright Steven Dietz was commissioned by the Arizona Theatre...

+ Read more »

by J.D. Sutter

"From the Dummy's Chair" [MAZA]

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8FbxoA-W95Wu_BYh5HV3LcvRjCb2afD23-G8fJBf-AsQb5P63hXREdB-ckT3cy2UINoVgv5OZel2h69943iylMu9fLH6Fgei2n4T_uDsh77AwQBAC1f-uoEYRx6WLMlHbHKLL5-7IZD_/s1600/maza-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8FbxoA-W95Wu_BYh5HV3LcvRjCb2afD23-G8fJBf-AsQb5P63hXREdB-ckT3cy2UINoVgv5OZel2h69943iylMu9fLH6Fgei2n4T_uDsh77AwQBAC1f-uoEYRx6WLMlHbHKLL5-7IZD_/s1600/maza-03.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b>Editor's note</b>: This is part of a new feature on the Baker Street Blog we're calling "From the Dummy's Chair." Joining us to guest post for this column is Steven Doyle, BSI ("The 'Western Morning News'") is the author of the Edgar-nominated <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Dummies-Steven-Doyle/dp/0470484446?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes for Dummies</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470484446" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i></b>. Because of the limitations in the print world, he wasn't able to completely fit everything he wanted into the book. This series will become a real-time continuation of that labor of love. Steve is also half the team behind the <a href="http://www.wessexpress.com/">Wessex Press</a>.</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">For a little background on the topic, the <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Reference-Library-Apocrypha/dp/0938501496?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0938501496" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></i>, please see the previous entry in this series that <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/2011/02/from-dummys-chair-maza.html"><b>appeared on February 3</b></a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: large;">The Apocryphal Candidates in Chronological Order</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><i><b>The Mystery of Sasassa Valley</b></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">(<i>Chambers’s Journal</i>, Sep 6, 1879)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This was Doyle’s first published story and it is a tale tinged with the supernatural. Peter Haining claims this tale has characters and situations which are archetypes of those in the Canon. Haining is the only person to propose this story for inclusion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b>The Mystery of Uncle Jeremy’s Household</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">(<i>Boy’s Own Paper</i>, 1887)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">“Uncle Jeremy’s Household” appeared in <i>Boy’s Own Journal</i> in early 1887, almost twelve months prior to <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>. There are a number of Holmesian overtones in the tale, and several Sherlockian commentators have asserted that this story contains prototypes of Holmes and Watson. As Peter Haining states, “Holmes and Watson did not spring fully finished into [Conan Doyle’s] mind, but rather developed from his musing on his university Professor, Dr. Joseph Bell, and the detective story genre as a whole.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">The concept is that “Uncle Jeremy’s Household” is an early trial-run of an intelligent detective with a partner solving a mystery, similar to the Holmes/Watson duo. They are not named Holmes and Watson, and they aren’t Holmes and Watson. But, there are undeniable elements in this tale that do turn up in the Sherlockian Canon. The well-known Sherlockian scholar James Holroyd points out, in the Spring, 1967 issue of <i><a href="http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/journal.php">The Sherlock Holmes Journal</a></i> the following points:</span></div><div><br /><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The narrator, named Hugh Lawrence, lives in Baker Street</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">His friend is named John H. Thurston</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Lawrence studied medicine, was devoted to medicine, and had an “acid-stained finger</span></li></ul></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">But the question remains (and it is a big question): even if “Uncle Jeremy’s Household” is a precursor to Sherlock Holmes, does this qualify it as not only legitimate apocrypha, but as part of the Canon?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>Angels of Darkness</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">(c. 1887)</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyib9wNbDdOwrnTvF6ibwufVW_cVtlH1gmDoQcjhUnC-SnCT7Jk8SAI_LJ24r3Sdvv2GpDgGFC7BfTk73bRaeKRSQ7y471IDJnQTINDRRge3G5IgknB63Bd8hlHy6PYGq1iZR3FRerVrY/s1600/164_angels-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyib9wNbDdOwrnTvF6ibwufVW_cVtlH1gmDoQcjhUnC-SnCT7Jk8SAI_LJ24r3Sdvv2GpDgGFC7BfTk73bRaeKRSQ7y471IDJnQTINDRRge3G5IgknB63Bd8hlHy6PYGq1iZR3FRerVrY/s1600/164_angels-sm.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Unpublished until 2000, when it was brought out in The Baker Street Irregulars’ <b><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/angelsdarkness.html">Manuscript Series</a></b>, this play was written while Conan Doyle was still a young man in his early twenties. It is believed that this play was probably the last piece of Holmes related-literature to be suppressed by Doyle’s estate. <i><b><a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.com/angelsdarkness.html">Angels of Darkness</a></b></i> was started, then abandoned, before <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Sherlock-Holmes-Mystery/dp/1450596185?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">A Study in Scarlet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1450596185" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></i> was published in 1887. It is essentially a rewrite of the American chapters of <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, with the London action moved to San Francisco. It definitely is not a Sherlock Holmes story. Sherlock Holmes is in <i>Angels of Darkness</i>. But, it is a John H. Watson story. Strangely, however, it is not quite the Watson that we know through Watson’s own first-person accounts. Here he acts disreputably, and even ends up marrying a woman other than Mary Morstan. It is of course “apocryphal,”…or is it… and it contradicts <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> in many other details. And yet, it is a different account of major events told in <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, with one of Study’s major characters involved.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Field Bazaar</i></b> (1896)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">“<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/FIELD-BAZAAR-SHERLOCK-HOLMES-PASTICHE/dp/2876540592?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Field Bazaar</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=2876540592" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b>” is a genuine Sherlock Holmes story. Commentators characterize it as a parody, perhaps even the first. Written as a fundraiser for Edinburgh University’s effort to enlarge the university Cricket grounds. “The Field Bazaar” was originally published in the November 20, 1896 issue of <i>The Student</i>, a university magazine. But does this motivation for it being written really a parody? In the story, Holmes and Watson are at breakfast, and as he does on several occasions in the Canon, Holmes correctly reads Watson’s thoughts. In addition, it is told from Watson’s first person perspective, as are most tales in the Canon. While it may be humorous, it is very much in the spirit of similar episodes found in the sixty tales, and is thus a legitimate Sherlock Holmes story, and the first of the four unanimously agreed-upon apocryphal tales.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Lost Special</i></b> (1898)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Man with the Watches</i></b> (1898)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">These two stories that were originally published in 1898, but not collected into a book —<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B004DNWHHY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Terror-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004DNWHHY?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Arthur Conan Doyle’s Tales of Terror and Mystery</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004DNWHHY" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></i> — until 1923. This undoubtedly accounts in part for their relative obscurity. Hopefully you have taken time to read them, as they are the second and third unanimously agreed-upon apocryphal tales. <i>The Lost Special</i> features the appearance of “an amateur reasoner of some celebrity” who suggests a solution to the case of a missing train. This “amateur reasoner” has written a letter to the London Times, and to read it is to know this is Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’s first law of logic “once one has eliminated the impossible, etc” is even here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">In <i>The Man with the Watches</i>, the “well-known criminal investigator” of the story is again clearly Sherlock Holmes. As Lord Donegall puts it, “the cold, systematic logif of the synthetic reasoning employed, and the condescending didacticism which marks the style and method of expression throughout, attest unerringly to the Master’s hand.” </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">What is interesting is that, in both tales, the detective fails to solve the mystery. Perhaps this is why Holmes’s name is not mentioned, perhaps Holmes’s vanity kept these failures from being associated with his name. It is important also to remember that both these tales fell into what is know as Holmes’s “hiatus,” the post-Reichenbach Falls/pre-Empty House period. In fact, these stories are much closer in time to the <i>Memoirs</i> than the <i>Return</i>, or even <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Baskervilles-Sherlock-Holmes-Mystery/dp/1936594382?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1936594382" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i></b>, for that matter, and is perhaps evidence that, shortly after tossing Holmes over the falls, Conan Doyle was already feeling the urge to bring him back.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">In 1936, just six years after Doyle’s death, Christopher Morley and Edgar Smith were advocating their inclusion into the Canon. As an aside, these two tales have been included</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">in all French editions of The Complete Sherlock Holmes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>Sherlock Holmes: A Drama in Four Acts</i></b> (a.k.a. <i><b>Sherlock Holmes</b></i>) (1899)</span><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Frohman-presents-Gillette-Sherlock/dp/B004JVVHN0?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Poster Charles Frohman presents William Gillette in his new four act drama, Sherlock Holmes 1900" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004JVVHN0&tag=thebakerstree-20" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004JVVHN0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Most Sherlockian scholars do not consider this legendary play to either part of the apocrypha or the Canon. A few do. This is the Gillette play, officially written by Arthur Conan Doyle and William Gillette, which had a successful run of over thirty years. The case for its inclusion is based primarily on this alleged co-authorship. In 1897, Conan Doyle wrote a five-act Sherlock Holmes play, which was sold to American theatrical agent Harold Frohman. One of Frohman’s clients was William Gillette. Frohman, who felt the play needed work, secured Doyle’s approval to have Gillette both rewrite and star in the play. Gillette dove in and made extensive changes. Then, in November of 1898, the manuscript was lost in a fire, but the industrious Gillette quickly rewrote the play from memory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Despite the play having elements from several Canonical tales, including “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Final Problem,” <i>A Study in Scarlet</i>, <i>The Sign of Four</i>, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” and “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter,” the play is almost certainly more Gillette than Doyle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Adventure of the Tall Man</i></b> (c. 1900)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">When searching through Conan Doyle’s papers, one a Doyle biographer name Hesketh Pearson discovered an astonishing find —the outline/summary of an unwritten Sherlock Holmes story. This treasure-trove even included some dialogue. As Pearson described it in the August, 1943 issue of <i>The Strand Magazine</i>:</span></div><div><blockquote>Among Doyle’s papers I discovered the scenario for an unwritten Sherlock Holmes story, in which the detective, baffled by the criminal’s cunning, is reduced to the stratagem of frightening the villain into a confession of guilt. This is done with the help of an actor, who makes himself up to resemble the murdered man, pokes his ghost-like head into the bedroom window of the murderer and cries out his name in “a ghastly sepulchral voice.” The criminal gibbers with fright and gives the game away.</blockquote></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Well, perhaps we can see why Doyle never finished the tale! Several Various authors have attempted to complete the story, the best known being by Robert A. Cutter, BSI in 1947.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Man who was Wanted</i></b> (c. 1900)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">And then there is this, yet another unpublished Sherlock Holmes story, (this one complete) and also found by biographer, Hesketh Pearson. The story of this tale is a saga in itself. When Pearson revealed that there was an unpublished tale in 1942, the Baker Street Irregulars began lobbying for its publication. The Doyle estate, then run by Doyle’s sons, stalled, dithered, and then ultimately negotiated for its publication in <i>Cosmopolitan</i> magazine in 1948. Then, to everyone’s embarrassment, it is revealed that <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Case-Man-Who-Was-Wanted/dp/B0016BXY1O?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Case of the Man Who Was Wanted</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0016BXY1O" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i></b> was actually authored by a man named Arthur Whitaker, who had written the story and sent it to Conan Doyle hoping for a collaboration. Doyle turned him down, purchased the story for £10, and never used it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">So, how can a story known to be written by someone else be considered Canonical, or at least apocryphal? While scholars Green and Tracy agree that Whitaker wrote the story, Peter Haining asserts that “The opening scene between Holmes and Watson betrays the hand of the master,” and that the story must be partly written by Conan Doyle. While his critique of the writing is correct, there is, however, zero evidence to support co-authorship.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>A Gaudy Death</i></b> (1901)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">With the subtitle “Conan Doyle Tells The True Story of Sherlock Holmes’s End’” this interview appeared in the December 15, 1900 issue of <i>Tit-bits</i>, a weekly magazine published by the same publishers who put out <i>The Strand Magazine</i>. Doyle gave this interview after Holmes had supposedly died at the Reichenbach falls. What is really interesting is he does mention that he has the occasional urges to write more Holmes adventures, further adding credence to <i>The Man with the Watches</i> and <i>The Lost Special</i>. He also discusses how he came up with the idea for Holmes, switching from novels to serial adventures, and how he had to kill Holmes because he was “lower work that was obscuring my higher.” </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Speckled Band (aka The Stonor Case)</i></b> (1902)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This classic story was adapted into a play by Conan Doyle himself out of dire financial necessity. When his play entitled <i>The House of Temperley</i> (based on his reworked his prizefighting novel, <i>Rodney Stone</i>) bombed, Doyle found himself holding a six-month lease on an empty theater. So, he turned to Sherlock Holmes to rescue him. He wrote <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Speckled-Cambridge-Scholars-Publishing-Classics/dp/1443806080?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Speckled Band</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1443806080" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i></b> in less than a week. It was a smash hit, and the day was saved.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Painful Predicament of Mr. Sherlock Holmes</i></b> (1905)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">When William Gillette decided he needed a curtain raiser for one of his non-Sherlockian plays, the came up with this short comedy sketch, The plot involves Sherlock Holmes, and a very talkative client who monopolizes the dialogue, not allowing Holmes to get a word in edgewise. There is speculation that this play was written by Arthur Conan Doyle, and Gillette would certainly have needed Doyle’s consent to write an original work involving Sherlock Holmes. But co-authorship is almost certainly not the case, and there is no evidence at all that Doyle had a hand in its writing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>Some Personalia about Sherlock Holmes</i></b> (1917)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This essay was featured in <i>The Strand Magazine</i> as a Christmas treat to its readers. It talks of the way Holmes had caught the public imagination, and Conan Doyle’s view on his character. <i>Some Personalia About Sherlock Holmes</i> was written by Doyle and appeared in a 1917 edition of <i>The Strand</i>. Doyle discusses receiving letters written to Holmes and ruminates on true life crimes that the author had some involvement in investigating.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Crown Diamond: An Evening With Mr Sherlock Holmes</i></b> (1921?)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This is yet another Sherlockian play by Arthur Conan Doyle. The general presumption of most scholars is that it was written sometime in either 1920 or 1921, shortly before it was mounted on the stage. However, his son Adrian Conan Doyle has stated that it was written in the early 1900’s, and this author believes he is correct. It is my contention that, following the collapse of <i>The House of Temperly</i>, Doyle’s first stab at drafting a life-saving Sherlock Holmes play wasn’t <i>The Speckled Band</i>, but rather <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/crown-diamond-evening-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/B0007HZNLM?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Crown Diamond</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0007HZNLM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b></i>. There is internal evidence within the play itself to support the claim, and if you want a full discussion of the argument, see the March 2005 issue of <i>The Illustrious Clients News</i>. Whenever it was written, it wasn’t produced until 1921.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>The Truth About Sherlock Holmes</i></b> (1923)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This was an essay published in <i>Collier’s</i> magazine, in which Doyle again explains where the idea for Sherlock Holmes came from.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>How Watson Learned the Trick</i></b> (1924)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Now we come to the fourth, and final item that is unanimously accepted into the apocrypha. This story, written specifically for publication as a miniature book in library of <i>The Queen’s Dolls Hous</i>e. It was later published in <i>The Book of the Queen’s Dolls’ House Library</i>. It is very similar to <i>The Field Bazaar</i> — the familiar breakfast scene, but instead we find Watson taking a shot at deducing Holmes’s thoughts. Of course, he fails miserably. It is short (503 words) and has a peculiar motivation for being authored, and yet, once again, it is an authentic episode in the life of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><b><i>My Favourite Sherlock Holmes Adventures</i></b> (1927)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">This is a short piece Doyle wrote for <i>The Strand</i> in 1927. It is a listing of Doyle’s own </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">dozen favorite Holmes tales. It is interesting to read the list, which was compiled before <i>Case-Book</i> was published.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">And that’s it…everything that has been proffered as possible candidates for being considered Sherlockian apocrypha and/or Canonicity.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">What do you think? What do you make of this large deposit of non-Canonical writing? Should the Canon be formally expanded? There is one thing Sherlockians agree on — The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes makes fascinating reading.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><br /><i>Please consider visiting our sponsors (in the right column and footer of the site) from time to time. It helps defray the costs associated with running this site.</i></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">--</span><br /><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=057361606X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0938501496&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>  <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B001VH6M4O&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thebakerstree-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B004DNWHHY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>  </div>

"From the Dummy's Chair" [MAZA]

Editor's note : This is part of a new feature on the Baker Street Blog we're calling "From the Dummy's Chair." Joining...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Episode 265: Ken Ludwig's Moriarty

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“Look how close they play the game” [3GAB] </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJW3f6-XqtQNSz43vvJhnxbjtW8Zlb8eGlA9nuqMgiPeC6nQQna0GolfPrkyYG7oCu6QDv067lrhNSp4OIcFk4fzr6x0dMCDQtDBA9703Tmtc9z6C3sJunVpLA_vQ_-PHu73uOoE04uNt-faW2n-YjFjA2hCG5y-NkmaNGET9Ybe4kB1MOFNsPBTz5FQ/s1794/ihearofsherlock265%20header.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1794" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJW3f6-XqtQNSz43vvJhnxbjtW8Zlb8eGlA9nuqMgiPeC6nQQna0GolfPrkyYG7oCu6QDv067lrhNSp4OIcFk4fzr6x0dMCDQtDBA9703Tmtc9z6C3sJunVpLA_vQ_-PHu73uOoE04uNt-faW2n-YjFjA2hCG5y-NkmaNGET9Ybe4kB1MOFNsPBTz5FQ/w640-h426/ihearofsherlock265%20header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div><p>Ken Ludwig, BSI ("Jack Stapleton") has seen his plays, Sherlockian and otherwise, grace the stage and win awards since the 1980s. And Ashley Polasek, BSI ("Singlestick") took on the role of Executive Director of the Ken Ludwig Company in 2022.</p><p>Together, the two join us to talk about Ken's latest Sherlockian play, Moriarty, which premiered at the Cleveland Playhouse in April and May of 2023. But the discussion goes well beyond that to include Ken's other works, how Covid affected the play, how the creative process works, how Ashley's unique background and expertise are perfectly suited to her role, and more.</p><p>Learn how this dynamic duo play off of each other's strengths to help make everything Ken Ludwig does even more successful. Whether you're a fan of the theater, the creative process, just interested in how a Sherlock Holmes piece comes to life, this is a discussion you won't want to miss. And make sure you listen in for Ken's next Sherlock Holmes play, which he mentions here.</p><p>The <b>Canonical Couplet</b> is here for a chance to win! We can't offer tickets to Ken's play, but we can give you a piece of theatrical Sherlockiana from the IHOSE Vaults.</p><p>Send your answer to comment @ ihearofsherlock .com by June 14, 2023 at 11:59 a.m. EST. All listeners are eligible to play.</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div><div style="margin: 0px;">If you become a <a href="https://ihose.co/ihosepatron" target="_blank">Patron of the Arts</a>, not only will you help to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and transcription services, but we have thank-you gifts at certain tiers and ad-free versions of the episodes for all patrons.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/ihearofsherlock/ihearofsherlock265.mp3" target="_blank">Download</a> [Save As] | File size: 101 MB, 1:14:00</h3><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="87" data-dashlane-rid="78aa2f5f53abea22" data-form-type="other" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/26996373/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/3a65a9/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"></div><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><br /></div><h4 style="line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://pod.link/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Listen to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere anywhere</a></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://pod.link/ihearofsherlock" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="639" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyAfMy7WsxQV7D-7YxXoJ7uyOK4l3ZKzNMFZT0_e2g_3u8z2Gbtn4x3WQzTw0OqaSsP-k13-QHde9EnFgO3uzikjHmQ3rK2_0Xmvb_v6ggUV32CnZ2ZeqiSrAkGL0SUYMvr0JEiMJupjFvq8dQL8CuZqAWTTbMcYBZVV1NHgYP4X5XME7qekOhj2fZg/w400-h145/Pod%20Link.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="margin: 0px;">Sponsors</h2><div style="margin: 0px;"><ul><li><a href="https://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">Wessex Press</a><a href="https://www.wessexpress.com/" target="_blank">/Gasogene Books</a> is the premier publisher of books about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle.</li><li><a href="https://www.mxpublishing.com" target="_blank">MX Publishing</a> brings the best in new Sherlock Holmes novels, biographies, graphic novels and short story collections every month. With over 400 books it's the largest catalogue of new Sherlock Holmes books in the world.</li></ul></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Would you care to advertise with us? You can find <a href="https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/p/contact.html#.Vc1Qx7JViko" target="_blank">more information here</a>. Let's chat!<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><h2><b>Links</b></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul><li>This episode: <a href="https://ihose.co/ihose265" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ihose.co/ihose265</a></li><li><a href="https://www.kenludwig.com/" target="_blank">Ken Ludwig's site</a></li><li><i><a href="https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/shows/2022/ken-ludwigs-moriarty" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Moriarty</a></i> at the Cleveland Playhouse</li><li><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3WCUHbP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare</a></i> by Ken Ludwig</li><li><i><a href="https://amzn.to/3OHkde1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anatomy of Criticism</a></i> by Northrop Frye </li><li>Previous Episodes mentioned:</li><ul><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose73" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 73: A Conversation with Playwright Ken Ludwig</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose70" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 70: Sherlockian Jeopardy</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose109" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 109: Behind the Canonical Screen</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose143" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 143: P.G. Wodehouse and Sherlock Holmes</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose177" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 177: Being Sherlock</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose212" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 212: All Things ACD</a></li><li><a href="https://ihose.co/ihose255" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 255: Sherlock Holmes in the Public Domain</a></li><li><a href="https:/ihose.co/ihose237" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 237: A Celebration of Sherlock Holmes</a></li></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Many more links, articles, and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at <a href="https://ihose.co/flipsherlock" target="_blank">ihose.co/flipsherlock</a>  as well as through our accounts on <a href="https://facebook.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>And would you consider leaving us a rating and review? It would help other Sherlockians to find us.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;">Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at 5-1895-221B-5. That's (518) 952-2125.</div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><h3><br />Transcript</h3><div style="margin: 0px;">We are so grateful for your support <a href="http://patreon.com/ihearofsherlock" target="_blank">on Patreon</a>, which makes our transcripts possible. Every amount helps. A transcript will be here soon.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button" href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=2318606">Become a Patron!</a></div><script async="" src="https://c6.patreon.com/becomePatronButton.bundle.js"></script><p></p><div><div></div></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div><p style="-x-system-font: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><br /></p></div></div></div>

Episode 265: Ken Ludwig's Moriarty

“Look how close they play the game” [3GAB] Ken Ludwig, BSI ("Jack Stapleton") has seen his plays, Sherlockian and otherwise, grac...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Remembering Playwright Charles Marowitz

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"something else of Charles" [MUSG]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXC2KGf-8Yz-6ZIr4FzADPhR2q1oz5yDxCiQ30iKMCP18DlJjWLedPOwvXReFDsDd4gyiC7LXHd7saXH9Jts4MfUzRIsYTj10_zNtoPwnVGZHMXCuaVRXgvDpmhbvjpoBiCN753QWjA1G5/s1600/charles_marowitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Playwright Charles Marowitz, who wrote Sherlock's Last Case" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXC2KGf-8Yz-6ZIr4FzADPhR2q1oz5yDxCiQ30iKMCP18DlJjWLedPOwvXReFDsDd4gyiC7LXHd7saXH9Jts4MfUzRIsYTj10_zNtoPwnVGZHMXCuaVRXgvDpmhbvjpoBiCN753QWjA1G5/s1600/charles_marowitz.jpg" title="Playwright Charles Marowitz" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Director, playwright and critic Charles Marowitz <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-charles-marowitz-20140506-story.html" target="_blank">died on May 2</a> in California at the age of 80.<br />
<br />
Born in New York in 1934, by the 1960s he was part of the London theater scene and eventually mounted plays around the world. One of his assignments was a co-director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Experimental Group, where he may have felt the influence of the RSC's 1974 production of William Gillette's play <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> starring John Wood.<br />
<br />
For in 1987, Marowitz wrote the spoof <i>Sherlock's Last Case</i> in just one week, and it played on Broadway from August through December of 1987, starring Frank Langella in the title role.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj389HP_Q8Wxg8Q6EyvFGp6wsWRcRLerndHgp8hjx8xFL4qUaljr_Njm7CHuEf_DRg0WY48gbMuan8uwsb67rbqL1yVDXZqLHSTQLLE6_OpMN28DcVnxMumKAskqBTkGNyrMwA0wRkYooSP/s1600/Sherlock's+Last+Case+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj389HP_Q8Wxg8Q6EyvFGp6wsWRcRLerndHgp8hjx8xFL4qUaljr_Njm7CHuEf_DRg0WY48gbMuan8uwsb67rbqL1yVDXZqLHSTQLLE6_OpMN28DcVnxMumKAskqBTkGNyrMwA0wRkYooSP/s1600/Sherlock's+Last+Case+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Of course, Langella was no stranger to Sherlock Holmes, as he played the part in the HBO production of William Gillette's play in 1981.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: Roger Johnson, BSI ("<i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>") has brought the following to our attention:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sherlock's Last Case</i>, directed by Charles Marowitz but attributed to "Matthew Lang", was first performed at the Open Space in London in March 1974, with Julian Glover, Peter Bayliss and Kate O'Mara in the leading roles - so it actually predated the RSC's production of Gillette's Sherlock Holmes. The version staged on Broadway in 1987 was revised and expanded from the original - and it was only then, 13 years after the play's first appearance, that Marowitz admitted that he was in fact the author.</blockquote>
<br />
Of the play itself, <a href="http://www.stageplays.com/products/sherlocks_last_case/Charles%20Marowitz" target="_blank">stageplays.com</a> has this to say:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Picking up where the famous stories ended, the play centers on a death threat against Sherlock Holmes by the supposed son of his late nemesis, Professor Moriarty.<br />
<br />
Oddly enough, however, Holmes is warned of the plot by Moriarty's daughter, to whom Holmes (who turns out to be quite a ladies man) is strongly attracted. The plot then twists and turns until Holmes finds himself imprisoned in a dank cellar, trapped not by young Moriarty but, to his shocked surprise, by the good Dr. Watson--who, it turns out, has long been bitterly resentful of his second class status as Holmes' lackey.<br />
<br />
After Holmes' demise Watson comes into his own, or seems to, until a number of imposters turn up claiming to be the real Sherlock Holmes.<br />
<br />
In sorting all this out the play mixes humor and suspense in equal amounts, leading to a stunning final twist which will surely catch audiences by complete and breath-stopping surprise.</blockquote>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUZDAX9zhxet9o8y87JQqNnGi_opDXiRzTDr4wvA190TfT2gTWyHD_SAm6TbFpHTwmfMvznm7aK2v7ubRZq4IIqat2dq7cLep0pz11QpVhE0loN3uEL_RjFydFINGVliGMMjY5yRGFt8A/s1600/Sherlock's+Last+Case.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUZDAX9zhxet9o8y87JQqNnGi_opDXiRzTDr4wvA190TfT2gTWyHD_SAm6TbFpHTwmfMvznm7aK2v7ubRZq4IIqat2dq7cLep0pz11QpVhE0loN3uEL_RjFydFINGVliGMMjY5yRGFt8A/s1600/Sherlock's+Last+Case.jpg" width="438" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>Image courtesy of Jane Windsor-Marowitz, via <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/playwright-charles-marowitz-dies-at-702036" target="_blank">THR</a></i><br />
--<br />
<br /></div>

Remembering Playwright Charles Marowitz

"something else of Charles" [MUSG] Director, playwright and critic Charles Marowitz died on May 2 in California at the age o...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

A Requiem for Sherlock Holmes

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"Very interesting reading it might be" [STUD]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJj2giat8hk0GeFFdSf-NzrPVnnzcK1tWnOFibgxEE9PFTNPrSGgNwnCTwCxVeTE7MDGpUaTlVYGxCD_dZqT8V3PTCzwClfVOrOOAQf5BogHhw93kER9F4an6ZDZmqPrU2aODwlHhYZy1/s1600/The+Players+theatre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJj2giat8hk0GeFFdSf-NzrPVnnzcK1tWnOFibgxEE9PFTNPrSGgNwnCTwCxVeTE7MDGpUaTlVYGxCD_dZqT8V3PTCzwClfVOrOOAQf5BogHhw93kER9F4an6ZDZmqPrU2aODwlHhYZy1/s640/The+Players+theatre.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
If you happen to be in New York City on the evening of January 6, 2016, there's a unique opportunity attend a reading of a Sherlock Holmes play.<br />
<br />
"A Requiem for Sherlock Holmes" is a new play by Greg Oliver Bodine that will be read at The Players on Sherlock Holmes's birthday. If The Players sounds familiar, that's because it is one of New York's oldest and most unique clubs — one that has been the setting for BSI dinners and the Baker Street Babes' charity balls during the <a href="http://bsiweekend.com/" target="_blank">BSI Weekend</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://theplayersnyc.org/" target="_blank">The Players</a> is a private social club founded in 1888 when Edwin Booth, the greatest American actor of his time, purchased a Gothic Revival-style mansion facing Gramercy Park and commissioned architect Stanford White to transform it into a certain club  "for the promotion of social intercourse between the representative members of the dramatic profession and the kindred professions of literature, painting, sculpture and music, and the patrons of the arts." Members have included <a href="http://ihose.co/ihose26" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fritz Weaver</a> (Sherlock Holmes in the musical <i>Baker Street</i>) as well as Frederic Dorr Steele.<br />
This makes it the perfect place for a reading of a play about Sherlock Holmes, set in the very era in which the club was founded. We hope you'll be able to attend this special performance.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">THE PLAYERS PRESENTS</span></h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A special ensemble reading of</span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A REQUIEM FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES</b></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A new play by Greg Oliver Bodine</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Directed by Leslie Kincaid Burby †</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Stage Directions read by Alyssa Van Gorder</span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Introductory Remarks by Burt Wolder, BSI ("The Third Pillar from the Left")</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Talkback moderated by James Lawson</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Sherlock Holmes meets his match -- the criminal mastermind, Prof. Moriarty -- in a deadly struggle above the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, leaving a grief-stricken Dr. Watson to pick up the pieces and help solve a brutal murder nearly three years later in this new play based on "The Final Problem" and "The Adventure of the Empty House," by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>Cast:</b></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Andrew Sellon*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Michael Selkirk*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Annalisa Loeffler*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Joseph Thompson^</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Jeffrey Hardy</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Robert Blumenfeld*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Laura Darrell*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Robert Meksin*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Jonathan Hicks*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Michael Frederic*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Joseph McGranaghan*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Greg Oliver Bodine*</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">(* member AEA / ^ member UK Equity / † member SDC)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Please join us in The Dining Room for a special reading of this new play, marking the 161st birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most enduring fictional character </span>— Sherlock Holmes. With introductory remarks about the club's storied connection to the canon, and followed by a short talk-back and festive, post-reading reception downstairs in the Grill! <br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dress: Business casual</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This event is FREE to all Players, BSI, ASH members and their guests.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">PLEASE NOTE:</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> All non-members of the club MUST sign in at the front desk. Food, beer, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase by CREDIT CARD ONLY. That said, please also bring CASH and TIP your servers and bartender generously!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uHYfZKmgjE0?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />

A Requiem for Sherlock Holmes

"Very interesting reading it might be" [STUD] If you happen to be in New York City on the evening of January 6, 2016, there...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

Remembering Paxton Whitehead

<h4 style="text-align: center;">“a well-staged performance” [VALL]</h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFNlH1hd0tFWIHS5gdAk17JxxOCFO9y6FI31erdEOO1pCVCChAK78mgTM7pw2-mIC6_dHbFO-eclhVSpPZnuihlNfr5Sg1mPM2uApr8fm2XUxJz8M4cw2rI7TEKsOQN6zJ86XtMDYVVCiJnSKyit_HmM6jXTpAXOm1tswFGAc7MOB1H25dA8SvO6ElKtg/s1767/Paxton%20Whitehead.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="1767" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFNlH1hd0tFWIHS5gdAk17JxxOCFO9y6FI31erdEOO1pCVCChAK78mgTM7pw2-mIC6_dHbFO-eclhVSpPZnuihlNfr5Sg1mPM2uApr8fm2XUxJz8M4cw2rI7TEKsOQN6zJ86XtMDYVVCiJnSKyit_HmM6jXTpAXOm1tswFGAc7MOB1H25dA8SvO6ElKtg/w640-h482/Paxton%20Whitehead.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Actor and director <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925717/" target="_blank">Paxton Whitehead</a> has died at the age of 85. </p><p>Born in Kent, England in October 1937, he began training at London's Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of 17. He spent two years there then went to work in stock companies starting with the “weekly rep” — small touring companies that rehearsed and performed a new play each week. </p><p>Whitehead made his professional debut in 1956, and within two years was signed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. From there, he expanded into production and direction.</p><p>In 1961 With Doric Wilson, he produced <i>And He Made A Her</i>, Wilson's first play to be brought to the stage. Whitehead also directed and starred in this production at the off-off-Broadway venue Caffe Cino. </p><p>He made his Broadway debut in <i>The Affair</i> in 1962, after appearing on stage in Canada and TV productions. His Broadway work would not go unnoticed, as he would eventually be nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Pellinore in the 1980 revival of <i>Camelot</i>.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">“the ‘Ragged Shaw’” [PRIO]</h3><p>Beyond his work on the main stage, Whitehead threw himself into repertory work. From 1966 – 1977 he was the Artistic Director of the <a href="https://www.shawfest.com/" target="_blank">Shaw Festival</a>, the second-largest repertory theatre in North America. The Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake began as an amateur summer happening in 1962 to celebrate the life and spirit of George Bernard Shaw by creating theatre that is as entertaining and provocative as Shaw himself. </p><p>Under Paxton Whitehead's leadership, it developed into a professional international event.</p><p>Some of his notable appearances there included Magnus in <i>The Apple Cart</i>, Cusins in <i>Major Barbara</i>, Sergius in <i>Arms and the Man</i>, Lord Summerhays in <i>Misalliance</i>, Fancourt Babberly in <i>Charley's Aunt</i>, Tempest in the North American premiere of Alan Bennett's <i>Forty Years On</i>, and Hector in <i>Heartbreak House</i> with Jessica Tandy and Tony Van Bridge, a role he repeated at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London with Rex Harrison and Diana Rigg. </p><p><br /></p><h3>“our small stage at Baker Street” [PRIO]</h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCi5trfY0BxSa2sYk6rqe4StwRRTRyuCh0zm_lA3OOt_oi4efpHDk2mys0aldZJMOY46c3Ldn2ixnzWfXjy2E9santMtYy8Xy-UazSAWDZdT8Ct7WlME_CJqmSvN6k6WG5_G2mLC_khD7W5OOq8JPxghvm3AsWiViilDF7n93Yf1jWIMfInxR8f009BZX/s504/Crucifer%20of%20Blood.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCi5trfY0BxSa2sYk6rqe4StwRRTRyuCh0zm_lA3OOt_oi4efpHDk2mys0aldZJMOY46c3Ldn2ixnzWfXjy2E9santMtYy8Xy-UazSAWDZdT8Ct7WlME_CJqmSvN6k6WG5_G2mLC_khD7W5OOq8JPxghvm3AsWiViilDF7n93Yf1jWIMfInxR8f009BZX/s320/Crucifer%20of%20Blood.jpeg" width="222" /></a></div>Whitehead entered the world of Sherlock Holmes by way of <i>The Crucifer of Blood</i>, a 1978 play by Paul Giovanni loosely based on <i>The Sign of Four</i>, with elements of other Sherlock Holmes stories interspersed. <p></p><p>The play ran at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway from September 28, 1978 April 22, 1979, with  Paxton Whitehead as Sherlock Holmes, Timothy Landfield as Dr. Watson, and Glenn Close as Irene St. Claire. It was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Giovanni for Best Direction of a Play, and won the award for Roger Morgan's lighting design. </p><p>Whitehead and Landfield previously starred in <i>The Crucifer of Blood</i> at the Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, NY) from January 6 to February 4, 1978.</p><p>As cited in <i>The Baker Street Journal</i> (Vol. 28, No. 4, 1978), it was “a delightful Victorian stew of conspiracy, sadism, racism, treachery, terror and murder for the whole family.”</p><p><br /></p><p>At the <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/2016/12/the-2007-bsi-dinner.html" target="_blank">2007 BSI Dinner</a>, Paxton Whitehead offered some reminiscences about the play.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2vAvXcrCfbNODoE2Vxi__lC6RfIKW0agTYGwzPdR2LtME2D4Uuu4GPE8TbOMwBK8ZRFTXnZHl2TVidZ_7PPOuKM8K9QpSgtotxPPNrYqw8OroTafbz01TQr-D6sYQ2LMfUAlgCNnUyumCQEcnX_3Vy0gXrK1DPecECTc1zfzrqouzkxSS9vOrZCKt8cG/s604/Paxton%20Whitehead%20-%20BSI%20Dinner%202007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="586" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2vAvXcrCfbNODoE2Vxi__lC6RfIKW0agTYGwzPdR2LtME2D4Uuu4GPE8TbOMwBK8ZRFTXnZHl2TVidZ_7PPOuKM8K9QpSgtotxPPNrYqw8OroTafbz01TQr-D6sYQ2LMfUAlgCNnUyumCQEcnX_3Vy0gXrK1DPecECTc1zfzrqouzkxSS9vOrZCKt8cG/w620-h640/Paxton%20Whitehead%20-%20BSI%20Dinner%202007.jpg" width="620" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Paxton Whitehead (left) with Scott Monty, BSI ("Corporal Henry Wood") at the 2007 BSI Dinner</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>While Whitehead didn't make his film debut until 1986 in <i>Back to School</i>, starring Rodney Dangerfield, his screen career took off after that. He quickly became known to television audiences for his many guest appearances on several U.S. shows, especially on major sitcoms of the 1990s, such as <i>Frasier</i>, <i>Caroline in the City</i>, <i>Ellen</i>, <i>3rd Rock from the Sun</i>, <i>The Drew Carey Show</i>, <i>Mad About You</i>, and <i>Friends</i>.</p><p>Our own favorite nod to his previous work in <i>The Crucifer of Blood</i> came via an insult hurled by Rodney Dangerfield's Thornton Melon in <i>Back to School</i>. Whitehead's Dr. Philip Barbay was indignant that the <i>nouveau riche</i> Melon could buy his way into the university. But Melon wasn't having it:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="392" id="BLOGGER-video-51a6dd310089be63-16580" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxpBNC9iiVfzoC3CKpBG1bVpCg0QYR77Ck4Yqz_asepWGIHkcYsQ5nb-98g2FvYl7ttEJCCjgJKDINMD0Zak6bX9NVcIjXbdsa3pWWOjJk8_ffs1WGOnLX3-qE3KySdLWUpsnBK" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="472"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>Paxton Whitehead's long stage career continued, and it was impressive. For a full look at his credentials, see <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925717/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm" target="_blank">his biography in the Internet Movie Database</a>.</p><p>We'll miss this profoundly talented gentleman. As Dr. Watson observed of Sherlock Holmes in “A Scandal in Bohemia”:</p><blockquote><p>“The stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.” </p></blockquote>

Remembering Paxton Whitehead

“a well-staged performance” [VALL] Actor and director Paxton Whitehead has died at the age of 85. Born in Kent, England in October 1937, h...

+ Read more »

by Scott Monty

“Elementary, my dear Watson” — The Birth of a Quotation

<h4 style="text-align: center;">
"placing it upon record." [BLAN]</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODRAworeHuP_K7blGv2SGT6NL9ycCmfcawoVmfpjkXXu7AzJ7fcXoN0nlhILuJl4M2fZiP-3Hnjn9mtrklcm68fOo9Z2B1GBVu5FVuCKMfWJq9wWh4zp40owim7IRG_2XCwaCfTCQ6JSS/s1600/Edward_Fielding-William_Gillette_in_Sherlock_Holmes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODRAworeHuP_K7blGv2SGT6NL9ycCmfcawoVmfpjkXXu7AzJ7fcXoN0nlhILuJl4M2fZiP-3Hnjn9mtrklcm68fOo9Z2B1GBVu5FVuCKMfWJq9wWh4zp40owim7IRG_2XCwaCfTCQ6JSS/s640/Edward_Fielding-William_Gillette_in_Sherlock_Holmes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
To anyone who has heard of Sherlock Holmes, “Elementary, my dear Watson” is always <i>the</i> quotation.<br />
<br />
Sherlockians know that the phrase is not a Doylean original, but still we have placed it together with the deerstalker and the curved pipe on our sacred canonical mantelpiece. We definitely do feel an emotion akin to love for it. Conan Doyle used “elementary” a few times in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and “my dear Watson” many times. In “The Crooked Man” (1893) both of these components are included. But there are 52 words between them.<br />
<br />
It is often stated that the line was first used in the American movie <i>The Return of Sherlock Holmes</i> from 1929. Sherlock Holmes was played by Clive Brook, and this was the first sound film about the detective. At the end of the movie Brook delivered the famous line.<br />
<br />
Other sources—e.g., Christopher Redmond’s <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Quotations-from-Baker-Street/dp/1896032168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471444433&sr=8-1&keywords=quotations+from+baker+street" target="_blank">Quotations from Baker Street</a></i> (2009)—point out a much earlier occurrence: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Psmith-Journalist-Collectors-Wodehouse-P/dp/1590201051/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471444454&sr=8-1&keywords=Psmith%2C+Journalist" target="_blank">Psmith, Journalist</a></i> by P. G. Wodehouse, published as a book in 1915. The story had run as a serial in <i>The Captain</i> from October 1909 to March 1910. And it was in the February issue that Psmith murmured, “Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary.” No earlier occurrences have until now been known. But they do exist.<br />
<br />
Half a year before the first installment of Wodehouse’s serial, the astronomer and Harvard professor Edward C. Pickering claimed that there was a way of signalling to the planet Mars. It all depended on correct positioning of mirrors that should reflect the sunlight. “Elementary mathematics,” as Pickering expressed it himself. Or as that statement was commented in an American news item: “‘Elementary, my dear Watson,’ as Sherlock Holmes was wont to say. ‘Elementary.’” (<i>The Times Dispatch</i>, 24 August 1909)<br />
<br />
Wodehouse did not coin the classic words. Nor did that Richmond, Virginia, newspaper. On the contrary the line seems to have been commonly known—the wording in the <i>Times Dispatch</i> indicates that—and during the following years it appeared in a number of magazines and newspapers:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The Washington Herald</i>, 10 August 1910, from an article about a real-life detective: “Mr. Holmes always insisted that his methods were simplicity run riot. His most famous deductions invariably were characterized by himself as ‘elementary my dear Watson; elementary.’”</li>
<li><i>The New York Times</i>, 30 April 1911, from an article about the detective William J. Burns: “‘Elementary, my dear Watson,’ says Sherlock Holmes. And since it’s not elementary, but rather occult and esoteric, the reader is apt to feel annoyed and to think the expression pure ostentation on Sherlock’s part. However it isn’t. Detectives all talk that way. Doyle is realistic, after all.”</li>
<li><i>Kansas City Star</i>, 2 December 1911, from another article about Burns: “As Sherlock Holmes himself might put it, ‘Quite elementary, my dear Watson.’”</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Always cited as a matter of course that this was Sherlock Holmes’s most famous line. And certainly with no knowledge that that was not so.<br />
<br />
During the following years the line appeared in widely differing contexts in magazines like the British<i> Sketch</i> (1912), the American <i>Everybody’s Magazine</i> (1913), the American <i>Western Electric News</i> (1913) and <i>The Journal of the American Medical Association</i> (1914). Sometimes the line was used with a reference to Sherlock Holmes, but more and more it stood by itself, with no reference to the source at all. “Elementary, my dear Watson” had become a common phrase. The line could be used in connection with anything; it didn’t need to be about detectives.<br />
<br />
In the <i>Louisville Courier-Journal</i> the following four-line funny story was published at the end of 1914:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Does Wombat own or rent his house?”<br />
“Rents it.”<br />
“How do you know?”<br />
“I know all right. He scratches matches on the paint.”</blockquote>
This had obviously nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes. But the headline for the four lines was nevertheless “Elementary, Watson”—since the story was about sharp wit, and such was best represented by Holmes’s most famous line. (In this case in a shorter version, since ”my dear” were cut.) And over the years also in travesty versions. The word ”elementary” was sometimes changed to other words that sounded similar to get a comical effect. And on 2 February 1920 <i>The New-York Tribune</i> wrote in a political commentary: “That is elementary, my dear Senator.” The origin in the Holmes quotation is evident, and the reader is expected to understand it.<br />
<br />
During the ’20s the use of the phrase widespread. Agatha Christie included it in the Tommy and Tuppence novel <i>The Secret Adversary</i>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Good morning,” said Tommy amicably. “You have not used Pear’s soap, I see.”<br />
Conrad growled threatingly.<br />
“No light repartee, have you, old bean? There, there, we can’t always have brains as well as beauty. What have we for lunch? Stew? How did I know? Elementary, my dear Watson—the smell of onions is unmistakable.”</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxxznqiuy4gg7MadPU7K9tfRwaYpTCJfzNU4ptk4nPukuSnkGgpyQiORe_50nKOs6FZx4AhP1q9PcAXFsoGAUuPfCytUP6kNbD2MxREcFbn1k7UvcUJ8v-wrpwFf_tJ7-i4kxDZ9q_5l2/s1600/advert_1921.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxxznqiuy4gg7MadPU7K9tfRwaYpTCJfzNU4ptk4nPukuSnkGgpyQiORe_50nKOs6FZx4AhP1q9PcAXFsoGAUuPfCytUP6kNbD2MxREcFbn1k7UvcUJ8v-wrpwFf_tJ7-i4kxDZ9q_5l2/s320/advert_1921.png" width="187" /></a></div>
The line also worked in advertising. The picture shows an advert for suits, from <i>The New-York Tribune</i> 14 May 1921.<br />
<br />
And it is in an ad that we can find the first published appearance of the line, even if it is in a slightly parodic form.<br />
<br />
In the late fall of 1901 an advertisement for Charles Ford’s Bile Beans for Biliousness was published in many British newspapers (e.g., <i>Northampton Mercury</i> 15 November 1901). This alleged cure-all had been popular for more than ten years, and many thought it really worked. (Adverts for the medicine were often designed to look like editorial text—the only thing that revealed that it was an advert was the letters ADVT at the end of the text.) The ad had the headline “Sherlock Holmes’s Latest” and was written as a Sherlock Holmes parody. Here follows the beginning of the text:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One winter’s morning, a few years after my marriage, I was lying by my hearth, smoking a red herring, and nodding over the Encyclopedia Britannica, for my day’s work had been a hard one. Since first meeting Shylock Combs my practice as a doctor had, as a matter of course, rapidly declined. My presentation clock had chimed 4.47 a.m., and I was in the act of blowing out the gas when I heard the clang of my front door speaking tube. Thinking it must be the milkman I went into the hall, opened the door, and, to my astonishment, Shylock Combs stood upon my step. “Ah, Potson,” he said; “I hoped I should not be too early to catch you. I perceive the wind has changed round to N.N.E. by S.W. again.” I was astounded, as he had not had time to observe the thermometer in my bedroom. He noticed my amazement and smiled that wonderful smile of his. “Elementary, my dear Potson,” he said; “I observed the left-hand side of your moustache inclined about 47 5/8 degrees towards the west, and coming as I did from Butcher-street I at once deduced from which quarter the wind was blowing.”</blockquote>
Here we find, in 1901, the quotation “Elementary, my dear Potson,” an obvious parody on the classic line. But no smoke without fire, and no parody without something to parody. From where then did the quotation come? We can but speculate about this, since we don’t have any written evidence. I have neither any examples of appearances of the line between 1901 and 1909. It is however evident that the quotation spread in both Great Britain and the U.S., and on a wide front in widely differing contexts. <br />
<br />
The origin of the quotation must be something that united the U.S. and Great Britain. And there was only one Holmes-related success that ranged over both continents. It wasn’t a book; it was nothing that had been written in the newspapers. It was William Gillette’s 1899 play <i>Sherlock Holmes</i>. It had been playing London in 1901. And that makes it no mystery that a quotation from the popular play was used in a British advertisement the same year—the play had by then been seen by a great many Englishmen.<br />
<br />
With the continued concurrent performances and tours of the play in the U.S. and in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century, it influenced people’s idea of Sherlock Holmes. To many theatergoers the master detective in the play became more real than the canonical Holmes. The deerstalker and curved pipe came to be connected with Holmes largely thanks to the play. Professor Moriarty had previously only figured in one single short story, but here he was established as the Napoleon of crime. And it is not unlikely that the famous quotation was born there.<br />
<br />
In the script Holmes once says “elementary, my dear fellow.” But since he also says “my dear Watson” a number of times, it might very well have happened that “elementary, my dear fellow” turned into “elementary, my dear Watson” after Gillette—and the other actors who played Holmes—had performed the play for some years, even though they never changed the written script.<br />
<br />
And even if the line was never actually uttered in the play, the audiences might very well have collectively mixed together those two phrases into one and thought that they had heard “elementary, my dear Watson.” In all probability it
was through the spoken line that the phrase was coined, and it happened thanks
to William Gillette. Conan Doyle had created Sherlock Holmes as a character,
but there is no doubt that it was Gillette’s success that turned the master
detective into one of the world’s most famous and recognizable symbols.

<br />
<br />
<b><i>Author's note:</i></b> I wrote this some time ago, wanting to elaborate on some facts I mention in my book <i>From Holmes to Sherlock</i> (published in Swedish in 2013), and I thought it fitting to post my findings in connection with the forthcoming English edition in 2017. However, since <a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/07/14/watson/" target="_blank">Quote Investigator</a> posted a similar article a few weeks ago – based on pretty much the same sources – I see no reason to wait any longer with sharing these observations.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Editor's note:</i></b> In addition to the English edition of <i>From Holmes to Sherlock</i>, Mattias is also the co-editor (with Matt Laffey) of <i><a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/newspaper.html" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle in the Newspapers</a></i>, a multi-volume project under the banner of Wessex Press.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />