Review: Phoenix Theater Presents BASKERVILLE

If you love a freewheeling fast-paced farce, you'll enjoy BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY, now tearing up the stage at Phoenix Theatre with twists, turns, and detours that transform Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles into a howl and a hoot.

If you're expecting the traditional Sherlock whodunit with a blustering Dr. Watson and the vainglorious master sleuth, dispel yourself of the notion. Ken Ludwig's play flits from convention and flies wildly off the rails, with the small cast of characters nimbly playing multiple characters with multiple costume changes to boot before your very eyes.

The mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, seemingly at the hands ~ or, more precisely, the claws ~ of a supernatural hound, unleashes fanciful speculation about a family curse that jeopardizes the heirs to the estate. Holmes ("There is a feverish quality to this unlikely tale that appeals to me.") opts to take the case, dispatching Watson first to scout out the terrain. From there on, it's a magical mystery tour along the way of which a bevy of outlandish characters flash in and out.

If amongst all the action, you're able to track the unfolding trajectory of clues, congrats! Indeed, even the laugh lines tend to fall flat and fail to elicit much knee-slapping. In this play, the plot and the lines are rather beside the point; it's the experience.

First of all, the atmospherics are striking: Tiana Torrilhon's marvelous set, aided and abetted by Daniel Davisson's dramatic lighting and corresponding music selections from the classics, conveys the broken Landscape and haunting mood of the moors of Devonshire.

Second, Robert Kolby Harper's direction yields a speedway of high octane performances from Michael Jenkinson (a thoroughly engaging Watson), Randy Messersmith (a self-assured but distinctively lower key Holmes), Emily Mohney (an enthralling Mrs. Hudson), Pasha Yamotahari, and Toby Yatso. Mohney, Yamotahari and Yatso, likewise playing multiple roles, are exceptional in lending the play its frantic comic tenor. Whilst watching them, particularly Yatso's litheness and agility (and a most unconventional portrayal of Inspector Lestrade), I felt like I was in on an homage to the likes of Chaplin and Keaton.

There's much to enjoy in this tightly crafted and finely tuned production where alternative facts are de rigueur, Holmes holds the key to the puzzle, and the audience goes along for the ride.

BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY continues its run at Phoenix Theatre through February 12th.

Photo credit to Reg Madison Photography

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