[NEohioPAL] 'Perhaps better than the Play House' - reviewer accolades Chagrin's "Sherlock Holmes"

[Chagrin Valley Little Theatre <cvlt@xxxxxxxx>]

 Chagrin Valley Little Theatre


   //Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz (show
   details) <http://www.cvlt.org/78thSeason/sherlock.php>

*Friday **March 28th **& Saturday March 29th at 8 PM *
40 River St. in historic Chagrin Falls Village

Adults - $14, Seniors & Students - $10 - BUY TICKETS ONLINE! 
<https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?show=2606>

Visit www.CVLT.org <http://cvlt.org/78thSeason/sherlock.php> or call 
440-247-8955 (Mon-Sat, 1-6 PM)

*GALA DINNER EVENT! March 29th, 6:00 PM *
Enjoy great food, a great show, and great earlybird parking when you 
join us for this special pre-show dinner! Twiinz Catering will provide 
Hors D'ouevres, Mixed Green Salad, Beef Tenderloin, Blue Cheese Soufflé, 
Green Beans with Almonds, English Trifle, Coffee, Tea, Red & White Wine, 
all in the theatre's own River Room!
Tickets are $60 per guest. Seating is limited. Deadline for reservations 
March 26th.
Event reservations available by phone only - call 440-247-8955 today!


     Actors Solve Holmes 'Adventure'
     Herb Hammer, Chagrin Valley Times

Those who missed last October's Cleveland Play House production of 
"Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" have been given a new opportunity 
to see the play. Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is staging its own 
version of Steven Dietz's remake of two Holmes stories rolled into one.

Comparing the production qualities of these two stagings would be 
unfair. The Play House is a big-budget professional company, while CVLT 
is a community theater forced to perform on the cheap.  But take nothing 
away from the CVLT actors, who are at least equal to or perhaps somewhat 
better than the company that performed at the Play House.

Sherlock Holmes' fans will surely be delighted with "The Final 
Adventure." Others may be troubled by the formal style of Edwardian 
London. Mr. Dietz has adapted his script in order to stay true to Arthur 
Conan Doyle's original concept. The style may be stiff, but it adds to 
the fun.

The stories Mr. Dietz has put together are from "A Scandal in Bohemia" 
and "The Adventure of the Final Problem." Both were short plays 
originally performed over 100 years ago.

Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes' loyal friend, is summoned to Holmes' 
lodgings on Baker Street. Holmes has problems, his cocaine habit being 
one of them.  Before the real story begins, what there is of it, Holmes 
reminds the audience of his powers of deduction, and then, as he must, 
follow it with, "Elementary, my dear Watson."

As in all of Arthur Conan Doyle's books and plays, Dr. Watson narrates. 
Soon after Watson arrives, the King of Bohemia swoops in and employs 
Holmes to obtain a compromising photograph, a result of a past affair 
with famed opera star Irene Adler. The photograph, he believes, will 
ruin his upcoming marriage.  This case soon becomes entangled with the 
evil Professor Moriarty, Holmes' arch enemy.

For the first time anywhere, Sherlock Holmes falls in love. He is taken 
in with the beautiful Irene Adler, but the affair is short-lived. It's 
the action Mr. Dietz is compelled to continue. With smoke bombs, police 
whistles and intended gassing of Holmes by Professor Moriarty, combined 
with across-continental race against time, the play comes to its deadly 
conclusion.

What's wrong with this play? Well, practically everything. The plot is 
intentionally confusing. The combining of two plays is part of the 
problem. The slow, stiff manner and gentlemanly behavior that 
upper-class Edwardians apparently subscribe to can be hard to take.  
It's the characters and the actors who play them that win out in the end.

Charles Leonard is the perfect Holmes, tall, lean, with his hair slicked 
back and his slow straight ahead speech. Why, you might imagine Conan 
Doyle did the casting. Director Alex Nine has stepped in to play Dr. 
Watson, the good-hearted, sometimes bumbling narrator. Mr. Nine is right 
on the money in the role and a splendid complement to Mr. Leonard.  
Michael Rogan plays Professor Moriarty in sharp contrast to his enemies. 
Rogan is excellent in the role. Greg Bealer, as the King of Bohemia, 
adds a great deal of humor to the dry script. Brenda Redmond is a 
delight as Irene, the famed opera star.

Alex Nine directs exactly as the play is written in its quirky, off-beat 
manner. The set by Edmund Wolff has an overhead transparent opening 
where characters perform out of the sight of those on stage. Whole 
scenes slide in and out of an enormous flat background. Mr. Wolff does 
his very best with the climactic scene, which doesn't really work at 
all. This, I assume, must be a budget problem.

Although certain scenes border on the melodramatic and others on the 
ridiculous, "Sherlock Homes: The Final Adventure" is a highly 
entertaining adaptation of Conan Doyle's stories.

CVLT was voted 'Best Community Theatre' by Cleveland Magazine Readers, 
and 'Best Theatre Group' on the Fox 8 HotList in 2007.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is generously funded by Cuyahoga County 
residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and is supported by the Ohio 
Arts Council.


 CVLT.org - 440.247.8955

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