Ken Ludwig's BASKERVILLE will Tickle Your Funny Bone!

It's not a mystery why Cleveland audiences scramble to the theatre when a Ken Ludwig piece is set to take the stage. Ludwig's witty works are always guaranteed to leave audiences howling with laughter, and this master of madcap's latest work to come to Cleveland Play House is no exception. Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery is the hilarious adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Ludwig transforms this famous mystery into an all-out comedic theatrical adventure full of humor, horror, and stage magic as Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson face their most puzzling and dangerous case yet. Comprised of a cast of five actors playing nearly 40 roles, this kooky caper is loaded with non-stop action and plenty of physical comedy. Directed by Brendon Fox, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery will run from Jan. 21st- Feb. 12th in the Allen Theatre, and is generously sponsored by Zinner & Co.

CPH Artistic Director Laura Kepley notes: "Our audiences adore Ken Ludwig's plays. They are witty yet unpretentious with high and low-brow humor mixed together. But most of all, they convey a real love of theatrical story telling. Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery offers the perfect blend of mystery and comedy that is wildly entertaining."

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Cast

Jacob James (Doctor Watson) has done seven seasons with The Stratford Festival with credits including: The Tempest, Love's Labor's Lost, Noises Off, and As You Like It. Jacob originated the role of Clown #1 in the Canadian premiere of 39 Steps and has also played Hannay at Neptune Theatre. Other credits: Billy Bishop Goes to War and The Drowsy Chaperone with Thousand Islands Playhouse. Jacob has received two Dora Awards and a theatre world nomination for his work with Toronto's VideoCabaret. Film/TV/Voice: TURN: Washington's Spies (AMC), Martian Chronicles (BBC), Fireman Sam, and The 99 (animated series). Graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Birmingham Conservatory, and Second City Conservatory.

Brian Owen (Actor One) was most recently seen in Camelot with Robert Sean Leonard at Westport Country Playhouse. He's thrilled to join Brendon Fox once more after playing Smee in his Peter and the Starcatcher. New York credits include Never Have I Ever (TinyRhino at Joe's Pub), and Lisa and Leonardo. Regional credits include Sweeney Todd, South Pacific, Both Your Houses, The Matchmaker, and Sense and Sensibility (with Jon Jory at Actors' Theatre of Louisville). He's been in A Midsummer Night's Dream too many times to count. Film/TV credits include: Hack 911 on TruTV, Never Caesar: Make Rome Great Again, Stages of Stanley, and Cinnamon Roll. He is a member of the collective Never Caesar whose viral video Trump-rested Development was featured by Time Magazine, Slate, and Vulture. His favorite role is husband to his wife Nicole. MFA: FSU/Asolo. Proud member AEA and Team Boals. @bistrowen www.briandouglasowen.com

EVAN Alexander Smith (Actor Two) is thrilled to make his debut at Cleveland Play House! He most recently appeared on Broadway in Amazing Grace and in the U.S. National Tour of Dirty Dancing (Robbie). Evan was born and raised in Canada where he starred as the title role in the Toronto company of The Toxic Avenger. He also spent two seasons at the prestigious Shaw Festival in Ragtime (Younger Brother), Lady Windermere's Fan (Mr. Hopper), Guys and Dolls (Harry the Horse) and John Guare's His Girl Friday (Sweeney). Other favorites include The Rocky Horror Show (Brad) and The Fantasticks (Matt). Evan is a Dora Award Nominee, Gemini Award winner and a classically trained graduate of George Brown Theatre School in Toronto, Canada. Proud member of Actors' Equity Association (#askifitsequity). www.EvanAlexanderSmith.com. @iamevansmith

Nisi Sturgis (Actress One) CPH welcomed her as Mrs. Giving in In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. In 2015, she toured in Disgraced at the Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Rep., and Seattle Rep. (BATA award). On Broadway, she appeared as The Woman in 39 Steps. Some Off-Broadway credits include Intimate Apparel and The Pretty Trap. She loves Shakespeare, roles across the country include: Hermione, Titania, Lady Macbeth, Viola, and the Nurse. Regional highlights are Doubt, Pride and Prejudice, You Can't Take It With You, Mrs. Warren's Profession (Denver Center); A Doll's House, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Life of Riley, Pentecost, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles (The Old Globe); A Streetcar Named Desire, Arms and the Man, Our Town, Trelawny of the Wells (Shakespeare Theatre NJ); Failure: A Love Story (ISF); Upcoming as Imogene in Cybelline. MFA from The Old Globe Theatre. Recurring role as June Thompson for five seasons in HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

Rafael Untalan (Sherlock Holmes) is delighted to be making his Cleveland Play House debut. His regional credits include: Equivocation (Virginia Repertory Theatre), Yellow Face and Falling Out of Time (Theater J), Twelfth Night (LA TheatreWorks), The Ramayana (A Contemporary Theatre), The Winter's Tale and Amadeus (Marin Shakespeare), A Tale of Two Cities and In the Northern Lands (Seattle Children's Theatre), Anime Momotaro and Sinbad (Imagination Stage) and Akeelah and the Bee (Arena Stage). Rafael spent three years in the Acting Company of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he appeared in numerous productions, including Cyrano de Bergerac and Romeo and Juliet. He received DC Metro Theater Arts 2014 recognition as Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Marcus Gee in Yellow Face. The Richmond Theatre Critics Circle nominated Rafael for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role in 2015, for his work as Shag (a.k.a., William Shakespeare) in Equivocation. Film and television credits include: Earth and Eden (Invisible Pictures), and Leverage (TNT). Rafael received his MFA from The Academy for Classical Acting, at the George Washington University.

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Creative Team

Ken Ludwig (Playwright) has had 6 shows on Broadway and 7 in London's West End, and his plays and musicals have been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. His first play on Broadway, Lend Me A Tenor, which the Washington Post called "one of the classic comedies of the 20th century," won two Tony Awards and was nominated for seven. He has also won two Laurence Olivier Awards (England's highest theater honor), the Charles MacArthur Award, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Edgar Award for Best Mystery from The Mystery Writers of America, the SETC Distinguished Career Award, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Services to the American Theatre. His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Bristol Old Vic. He has written 22 plays and musicals, including Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway and the West End, Tony and Olivier Award Winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo (Broadway and West End), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Broadway), Treasure Island (West End), Twentieth Century (Broadway), Leading Ladies, Shakespeare in Hollywood, The Game's Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, The Three Musketeers, and The Beaux' Stratagem. His most recent plays include Baskerville, A Comedy of Tenors, and Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol (2015 Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Play). His newest book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, (winner of the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of 2014) is published by Random House. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, HAl Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His work is published by the Yale Review, and he is a Sallie B. Goodman Fellow of the McCarter Theatre, Princeton. He holds degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College and Cambridge University. For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com.

BRENDON FOX (Director) is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Washington College, Maryland. Prior to that he was the Assistant Professor of Second Year Acting at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. He is a teacher, director, and producer who has worked around the country at a number of prominent regional theaters, universities and training programs. Regional directing credits include: The Pitman Painters (American Stage), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Houston Shakespeare Festival), Shipwrecked! (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Much Ado About Nothing with Dana Delany (Old Globe Theatre), Opus (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Portland Center Stage), Peter and the Starcatcher and Angels in America (Playmakers Repertory Theatre), As You Like It (Weston Theatre Company), and Fallen Angels (Theatre at Monmouth). He has workshopped new plays at the Kennedy Center, JAW New Play Festival at Portland Center Stage, New Harmony Project, and the Asolo Unplugged Series. He holds a BS in Performance Studies at Northwestern University and an MFA in Directing at UCLA. Reviews, pictures, and a more extensive bio can be found at www.foxdirector.com.

The Design Team for Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery includes: Timothy R. Mackabee (Scenic Designer), Lex Liang (Costume Designer), Peter Maradudin (Lighting Designer), Victoria Deiorio (Original Music and Sound Design), Thom Jones (Dialect Coach), Ron Wilson (Fight Choreographer). The Stage Manager for this production is Bruno Ingram and the Assistant Stage Manager is CHRISTOPHER KEE ANAYA-GORMAN.

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Events - All FREE

Clues to Character Monday, January 9 from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. How an actor develops his character doesn't need to be a mystery. In fact, in the case of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, how 5 actors play nearly 40 characters doesn't either! Join the show's director, Brendon Fox, and the incredibly talented acting ensemble as they clue you in to creating a character (or 40!) for the stage through demonstrations, discussions and participation.

Sunday, January 29 from 9:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Tuesday, January 31 from 9:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday, February 5 from 9:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Stay after the show to continue the conversation our plays start! TalkBacks offer the chance to interact with the cast and CPH Artistic Staff in an open and lively Q&A about the play and the questions it raises.

Pre-Show Conversations begin 45 minutes prior to the start of each performance.

Ticket Information

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery will take place in the Allen Theatre from Jan. 21- Feb. 12. Tickets range in price from $25-$100 each. To order single tickets please call 216-241-6000 or visit clevelandplayhouse.com. Groups of 10+ save up to 40% off single ticket prices; call 216-400-7027.

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