Theatre Review: Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

A Fun Whodunit at Theatre Three

Theatre Three BASKERVILLE Elena Faverio, Ana McCasland, Evan Donnellan, Kevin Callaghan, Jonathan Sawyer CoffinTheatre Three continues its outstanding 2021-2022 season with a mainstage production of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. This acclaimed adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1901 classic The Hound of the Baskerville is chock-full of intrigue, mystery, murder, and belly laughs. In 2017, Baskerville was one of the most produced plays in the United States.

Under Christine Boehm’s astute direction, this show is a tour de force, high energy, theatrical delight. Like the book it is based upon, this play is clever, well-crafted, and filled with countless colorful characters. Keep in mind that the novel was written as a serious detective story, whereas Baskerville intends to be a murderously funny show. However, the recurring theme that good always triumphs over evil, which runs through all of Sherlock Holmes’s stories, rings out loud and clear in Ken Ludwig’s adaptation.

Theatre Three BASKERVILLE Evan Donnellan & Kevin CallaghanEvan Donnellan’s Sherlock Holmes, complete with his trademark hat and pipe, is everything this favorite sleuth is expected to be: quick-witted, decisive, confident, and at times obsessive and irritating. In this farcical production, Sherlock Holmes is the straight man, and Mr. Donnellan amazingly managed to maintain the classic deadpan manner while surrounded by a whole lot of slapstick shenanigans going on! Kevin Callaghan, as his trustworthy sidekick, Dr. John Watson, is dignified and intelligent when necessary, yet he also has a strong sense of comedic timing, and his pratfalls and delivery of funny lines were spot on. Watson is the heart and soul of this play, and Mr. Callaghan’s powerful stage presence was captivating throughout.

The ensemble, Jonathan Sawyer Coffin, Elena Faverio, and Ana McCasland, are multitalented performers. With the help of hats, costumes, props, accents, and mannerisms, they transformed from one character to the next in the blink of an eye.   Kudos to all three of these versatile actors for doing much of the heavy lifting in this show, as they each had to portray a wide array of stock characters such as a nurse, maid, doctor, train conductor, desk clerk, country farmer, and trap driver, to name just a few of the over 40 characters they depict. Mr. Coffin did an outstanding performance as Sir Henry Baskerville, a young Texas cowboy, and some of the biggest laughs came from his portrayal of Daisy. Ms. McCasland, a natural-born comedian, aced the role of Stapleton, the geeky butterfly chaser with a dark side, and Elena Faverio was convincing as the scrappy Dickensian street urchin and equally as believable as the flirtatious, lovestruck Miss Stapleton.

This clever, fast-paced comedy is challenging for all the creatives involved, and the design team hit all the right marks. Randall Parsons’s innovative set design evoked Theatre Three BASKERVILLE Kevin Callaghan, Ana McCasland, Jonathan Sawyer Coffin, Elena Faverioan eerie mood while allowing the fast scene changes to happen effortlessly. Tim Haggerty’s realistic sound effects, including death knells, thunder, rain, hounds howling, and strong winds, definitely added to the show’s overall success, as did Chakira Doherty’s authentic period costumes. Ms. Doherty had the additional task of ensuring the costumes facilitated all the rapid-fire changes that this zany script demanded.

This must-see fun, family-friendly show runs now through February 5^th. To purchase tickets, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Long Island Authors Group. She is the author of three self-help books, Grant Me a Higher Love, Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships, and Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic. www.grantmeahigherlove.com