Golden Oldie

A Sherlock Holmes that’s hardly elementary.
by Andria Regan
Rating: 2 out of 5

Are you perchance dating a much, much older woman? Perhaps you have an anniversary coming up and would like to impress the old lady with a romantic evening, where she’ll not only have a good time, but feel comfortable among her peers? The historic Pasadena Playhouse is offering up a solution for just this occasion; Sherlock Holmes, The Final Adventure is the latest creation from prolific playwright Steven Dietz and is ruffling blue-feathered hair all across town.

Dark, foggy, cobblestone streets, paved with intrigue and suspicion—it isn’t just the perfect romantic setting, but also the beginning of a wonderfully old-school mystery. Sherlock—created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887—is to this day a cult favorite, a creamy blend of Scooby Doo and James Bond. He strides through harm’s way, fumbles through friendships and romance, all the while shooting heroin.

Dietz gives a seamless nod to the great Doyle by arming his characters with dialogue of timeless wit. Just once I would love to strike someone stupid with a quick stab of my tongue, render someone slack-jawed with a detailed observation. One of my favorites is when Sherlock determines Watson has rearranged his room, moving a dressing table from one side to the other, therefore accounting for the poorly shaven portion of Watson’s’ face, opposite of his usual poorly shaven spot.

Sherlock (played by Mark Capri) is the character we all wish were real, a pure tune of all that is right and dependable. And so it’s of mild concern when the show opens with a “read all about it” report of his death. I was actually worried. Is it possible that the man who can outwit an iron room full of deadly gas has finally met his death? Did the mouse from The Green Mile finally die too? Did Bastian from The Never Ending Story call out his mothers’ name a moment too late? Was Neo’s love for Trinity not enough to bring her back to life in The Matrix? The audience is left to sweat it out up until the very last moment, traveling through the final adventurous days of Sherlock, narrated by his trusty friend and confidante Doctor Watson (Victor Talmadge), hoping against hope that word of Sherlock’s death is nothing but a cruel deterrent.

Ultimately, the plot line is of no particular concern, it’s a standard one-size-fits-all whodunit, and has the common, one-too-many twists toward the end. What’s refreshing is that Dietz doesn’t try to make the play, or the legend of Sherlock, anything more than what it naturally is. It’s silly, fun, and laughable (the characters somewhat, and the story very). Capri nails Mr. Holmes, using the ridiculousness of his character to his benefit. He does indeed become the man you root for, the good you will to overcome evil. He even lit a fire in my accompanying friend who admitted to having a bit of a crush on the ol’ detective by the end of the night.

Victor Talmadge does equally impressive work playing the straight man, Doctor Watson, to Mr. Holmes. He selflessly acts as a bouncing board, sacrificing all the good lines to set up the detective’s. Professor Moriarty (Laurence Ballard) is the typical, beyond-evil villain—though I never quite felt that if I encountered Mr. Moriarty in a dark alley in Echo Park, I couldn’t easily kick his ass, or at least evade capture by simply pointing behind him and yelling, “My god! Would you look at the size of the moon this evening!” I wanted him to be more; more than a guy in a nice suit hitting his mark at the end of an eerie spotlight and grumbling his evil lines. The King of Bohemia (Preston Maybank) strikes me similarly, just barely missing the opportunity in his outrageous character. Irene Adler (Libby West), James Larrabee (Kenneth Merckx, Jr), and Madge Larrabee (Erin Bennett) are all played by smart and well-trained thespians, filling the play with gooey love triangles and mistaken identities, adding to an already finely tuned production. A pleasant and unexpected surprise is revealed in hobo misfit Sid Prince (played by an amazingly subtle Roberto Guajardo). Nothing but grit and guile, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

If you’ve never experienced professional theater, or are perhaps a little weary of having a hard workout as an audience member, desperately trying to keep up with all the metaphors and symbolic gestures of interpretation, then give Mr. Sherlock Holmes a go. He’s guaranteed goods—like a well-tuned phonograph, simple yet innovative, and built to last. LAA

Running May 5 – June 11 @ The Pasadena Playhouse. www.pasadenaplayhouse.org (don’t forget the org… .com gives you a porn site)