Portland Stage Presents SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE This Weekend

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz, adapted from the original 1899 play by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Gillette, opens at Portland Stage Friday, October 28 at 7:30 pm. This adaptation follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson on two of the detective's most daring cases: "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Final Problem." In Act One, while securing a compromising photo of the King of Bohemia and Irene Adler, Sherlock discovers he has met his match in Adler. In Act Two, Sherlock discovers that his fiercest rival, the Napoleon of Crime, James Moriarty, will not be caught, and Holmes' meddling will end with someone's life on the line.

This play features disguises, daring chases, and desperate circumstances for Holmes and his allies (as well as a few of Moriarty's cronies), leading to the iconic Reichenbach Falls. While many adaptations have taken a camp or humorous look at Holmes, Dietz remains faithful to the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sure to delight those new to the consulting detective and well-versed fans alike.

Ezra Barnes is playing Sherlock. Barnes was the Founding Artistic Director of Connecticut's Shakespeare on the Sound and led the company for 13 seasons. His Off-Broadway appearances include the acclaimed New York premiere of Fraser Grace's Breakfast With Mugabe (which he also produced), which received a Best New Play nomination by the Off-Broadway Alliance and a critics pick for the NY Times and Time Out. As an 11-year-old child obsessed with Sherlock, Barnes' parents took him to see the Royal Shakespeare Company Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes.

While recalling that memory, Barnes added, "John Wood was playing Sherlock, and I still remember a couple of moments from that production. It was so astounding, I even knew it as a kid. It is fascinating how formative that experience was. I ask myself. Can I be that graceful, that elegant, that incisive, that direct, that brilliant? One can be. But will I be?"

The eight-member cast has multiple ties to Maine. Brian Lee Huynh (Dr. Watson) grew up on Munjoy Hill until moving and graduating from Gorham High School. Amongst the actor's multiple Off-Broadway and regional show credits, Huynh has appeared in War Horse at the Lincoln Center Theater on Broadway. This will be the seasoned actor's professional debut in Maine. Also making his Portland Stage debut is new local Michael Grew in the role of James Larrabee. Grew has performed at Kennedy Center in The Brand New Kid, among many other roles on stage and screen. Irene Adler and Moriarty will be performed by local equity actors Isabelle Van Vleet making her Portland Stage debut, and Tom Ford. The latter has filled many roles at Portland Stage, most recently starring in Last Ship to Proxima Centauri by Greg Lam, directed by Kevin R. Free. Free is also directing this production of Sherlock Holmes: The Last Adventure.

Portland Stage's production previews on October 26 and 27 and will run from October 28 through November 20, with a digital-on-demand version streaming from November 9 through December 4.

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure is the second of six Mainstage productions in the 2022-23 Portland Stage season, which also includes A Tuna Christmas by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams; Sweet Goats and Blueberry Señoritas by Richard Blanco and Vanessa Garcia; August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned, and The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter.

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