Photo Flash: First Look at NW Children's Theater's SHERLOCK HOLMES World Premiere

NWCT's 22nd Season of Plays opens with this energetic reboot featuring "the world's most famous detective." Recast as a young boarding school student, Sherlock Holmes (Andrew Fridae) quickly makes his mark on the Criterion Academy. Here he must befriend Watson (Mitchell Lenneville), navigate the twists and turns of school politics, and crack the case all while struggling to stay on the right side of the Headmaster (longtime NWCT performer and local comedian Kevin-Michael Moore). This world premiere adaptation is written by local playwright Jeff Sanders, who previously collaborated with NWCT on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Swiss Family Robinson. Check out production photos below!

The performance runs September 27 - October 26, 2014 at NW Neighborhood Cultural Center (1819 NW Everett Street, Portland). Participants pick up their event programs and start tour here.

TICKETS: 503-222-4480 or online at nwcts.org

In the close quarters of 221B Baker Hall, young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are unlikely boarding school roommates. But when a visiting magician's performance goes mysteriously awry, they must join together to unravel the secrets of Criterion Academy.

This original adaptation also brings to life the world of Victorian-era magic as personified by "The Great Grigori." This Rasputin-like mystic's magic-show-gone-wrong sets the stage for young Sherlock to come to the rescue. Many of the illusions performed in this production are taken from traditional acts of the period, including a famous Houdini original.

Sherlock Holmes has long been honored with the title of "world's most famous detective" and has seen a dramatic resurgence in popularity in recent years. Several screen adaptations have introduced a new generation to the famous sleuth, and a recent visit to OMSI by the International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes brought the world of 221 B Baker St to the Portland waterfront. Finding a way to adapt Holmes for children was a challenge that sparked the imagination of writer Jeff Sanders and NWCT's Artistic Director Sarah Jane Hardy.

"Sherlock as a character seemed a natural fit for children's theater," says Hardy. "He is defined by his enthusiastic curiosity and even as an adult has a very childlike relationship with the world. In many ways Sherlock Holmes is the character that has changed the least in re-setting this story at a school."

Sherlock Holmes is produced in part through the support of the Collins Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Cultural Trust, Regional Arts and Culture Council and Work for Art, and NWCT Donor Circle Members. Over 4,000 students will follow the clues with young Sherlock and friends over six student matinees.

INFO: 503-222-4480 or nwcts.org

Photo Credit: David Kinder

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