BWW Previews: First Stage Recreates the Suspense of Sherlock Homes in World Premiere: THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS

Who remembers when Sherlock Holmes needed the assistance of five street urchins named after his famous residence on 221b Baker Street to assist him in solving mysteries, a gang called "The Baker Street Irregulars?" Die hard fans of Sherlock Holmes, and now, Milwaukee, when First Stage presents their World Premiere play in October titled: Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars. Written by Eric Coble, the production explores the three years when Holmes disappeared, or his hiatus," a time when one of the stories ended as he and his arch enemy Moriarty careened over a waterfall, supposedly to their deaths.

In the First Stage World Premiere, Coble blends four graphic novels written by Tony Lee and illustrated by Dan Boultwood published in 2011. In a collaboration, Lee and Coble crafted Sherlock's street urchins from the more than 50 stories and four novels penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle beginning in 1887, timeless in their appeal with the tales of detectives Sherlock Homes and his faithful assistant Dr John Watson. During several of the stories, Sherlock relies on his youthful accomplices headed by Wiggins to help him solve his mysteries, for which he pays one shilling a day, plus expenses, and a guinea, a pound plus a shilling, for any clues the Baker Street Irregulars discover. In Coble's adaptation with Lee, The Baker Street Irregulars replace Holmes in his work with Watson, and the detective pair's housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, after Sherlock's disappearance.

First Stage double casts the Baker Street gang--Wiggins, Tiny and Chen, and then Ash and Pockets who add feminine interest--with 12 young performers who alternate performances. In this production another teenager Eliza becomes part of the Irregular's first case and then joins the amateur sleuths. Throughout the First Stage adaptation, Director Jeff Frank revives the faith and trust Homes originally placed in these forgotten street youth. Although when Sherlock disappears, the quintet needs to convince Mrs. Hudson and Watson they will be worthy of Holmes' great reputation.

Which Frank explains, "Is one uplifting message told in The Baker Street Irregulars. These youth are abandoned and overlooked by society, yet Sherlock treated them with respect so the street kids feel they own Sherlock their loyalty [when he disappears]."

"These five or six street youth resemble a family [when placed] together with Sherlock and Watson as mentors, or father figures." Frank continues exploring how the Baker Street Irregulars allude to what constitutes a family, a significant theme necessary in today's world. When actual families may be spread across miles of highways, across countries, so then friends become a person's family.

Which leads to a concurrent theme in the production Frank expands on when he mentions while a person cannot choose their birth families and the people their parents or siblings may be, an individual can choose their friends or who they will be. In The Baker Street Irregulars, Wiggins has a father who chose to be a criminal. Franks stresses, "Wiggins decides to be unlike his father, and help Sherlock and this band of abandoned kids. There's a line in the play where Wiggins says: 'We cannot choose our fathers, but we can choose the person we become.'"

Which all happens on these dark, gritty Victorian streets in London designed by Brandon Kirkham, a place where family, friends, teamwork and loyalty illuminate hope for the Irregulars and the audience. To underscore these themes along with the suspense inherent to Sherlock's mysteries, original music composed by John Nicholson seamlessly ebbs and flows with the story's emotional arc. Period musical pieces married to modern pop pieces composed by Mumford & Sons or Stomp will be seen live, on stage, where the young performers play fiddle, guitar and percussion. Frank believes in the importance of this music when he says, "You can watch the players actually perform the score on stage. We auditioned almost 50 musicians for these two sets of four...So the power of Sherlock, the folk tale resonates with the power of the music."

What a great platform for the iconic Sherlock Holmes to revisit Milwaukee-so young audiences (and anyone who has a passion for mystery) can delve into this intellectual and fascinating literary character. Where teenagers assume a valuable role in solving crimes with the prestigious Homes and Watson, A hope that can then translate to the audience discovering confidence in their own lives off stage.

"Only one adult in a young person's life can inspire them to be greater than that person ever dreams, imagines they can be." Frank quietyly claims this belief because the story illustrates that Sherlock Holmes respected these youth, and then they began to respect themselves. "This has been the premise for the First Stage Theater Academy...to build that confidence in young people...We're working hard to deliver pieces for the whole family. Where these dark passages fly by moment to moment in a vibrant production..that helps the Baker Street Irregulars, just like our First Stage performers, to find themselves, who they are, through these relationships."

Beginning October 17 In Milwaukee, seize the chance to discover the secrets revealed and shared through the determination of young people in this First Stage World Premiere, the suspense and surprises unlocked in Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars.

First Stage presents the World Premiere of Sherlock Homes: The Baker Street Irregulars at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts through November 15. For further information or tickets, please call: 414. 273.7206 or www.firststage.org

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