Central Square Theater presents THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale. Written by Steven Canny and John Nicholson. Directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner. Scenic & Properties Design by Julia Wonkka. Costume Design by Leslie Held. Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski. Sound Design by David Bryan Jackson. At Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, through October 6, 2024.
Starting and ending at Baker Street, London, and largely set in Devonshire, England circa 1889, this spoof of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic The Hound of the Baskervilles tells the following tale: Super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes and trusty sidekick Dr. James Watson are summoned to investigate the unusual and unnatural death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose corpse was discovered on the ground surrounded by giant paw prints. The actors and audience members journey together to the mansion and moors to answer the following three questions and unlock the mystery: What frightened Sir Charles Baskerville to death? Is the family the target of a robbery or an ancient curse? Is Charles’ young heir Henry being stalked by a human murderer or a supernatural hound?
With an ensemble of three terrific actors – Aimee Doherty, Jenny S. Lee, and Sarah Morin – playing Holmes, Watson, two of the Baskervilles, and a dozen other characters (16 in total), at least thrice as many wig and beard, hat and costume quick-changes, and props galore – including a bubble-gum pink plastic gun – Central Square Theater starts off its 2024-25 season with a bang!
As Sherlock’s sidekick Dr. John Watson, Jenny S. Lee wields her pink “weapon” in a whimsical way, shooting into the sky and across the stage and down the aisles at unseen creatures (birds, hounds) heard but not seen with steely concentration as well as childlike bang-bang-bang glee. (David Bryan Jackson deserves a shoutout here for sound design – tweets, howls, gunshots – that added a vintage ‘radio show’ vibe). Lee’s Watson admires – and reveres – Holmes so much that she literally lights up with each morsel of positive feedback or sign of affirmation the famous detective sends her way.
Sarah Morin plays multiple minor characters with fabulous facial expressions, voice and speech – including accented language – impressively through a full bushy gray beard. Morin masterfully morphs her characters’ posture and body language – switching from hapless victims weighed down by life circumstances to a Henry Baskerville who’s in love and lighter than air, leaping, turning, and dancing with ease and grace.
The iconic detective is played by actress, singer, dancer, and multiple Elliot Norton and IRNE Award winner (for Best Actress in a Musical) Aimee Doherty. We don’t get to see Doherty demonstrate her strong singing and dancing chops in this ‘straight’ play, but her versatility as a character actor and flair for comedy are evident.
Besides playing Sherlock, a “master of disguise,” she dons a curly red wig, bushy black beard, and period menswear to play other characters (who conveniently aren’t part of the storytelling when Holmes is on stage). She juggles canes, a platter with a turkey and trimmings, leaps across the very wide stage in a ballgown, and redefines “horseplay” in a scene with a horse. Let’s add a fourth question to the aforementioned three: Is there anything actress Aimee Doherty can’t do (and what does she eat for breakfast)?
In the scenes where two of the three actors were onstage (that’s six different combinations of Doherty, Lee, Morin) – in a taxi on bumpy roads, in a big bed – we are treated to masterclasses in acting with a scene partner. A scene with Sherlock holding a banana and Watson, hungry for food and connection, was priceless. Another memorable moment was watching Morin and an empty picture frame playing six different family portraits in the mansion’s grand hall.
Central Square Theater’s Artistic Director, Lee Mikeska Gardner, directs the production and supports this tour-de-force trio in making the challenging character switches, different accents, and comedic and physical acting look – well, elementary. Of note, Gardner is also listed as the understudy. If any one (or more) of the actors fell ill, that performance would be one for the books.
One twist in this story is that Sherlock, who is usually the main character and hero, is not in the spotlight. This point is driven home at the top of the show by the coy but growingly confident Jenny S. Lee in the “pre-curtain” remarks (when the actors are addressing the audience as themselves, not their characters). Lee introduces Watson as the lead character, to which Doherty (as Sherlock) responds with a look of surprise and annoyance. Through a broad smile and clenched teeth, she remarks to the audience, “Yes, the lead. Count the lines.”
The quartet of women leading this production also brings out some different aspects of the story from when it is played by three male-identifying actors – including at CST in 2011 when Remo Airaldi (Holmes), Trent Mills (Henry Baskerville), and Bill Mootos (Watson) did the honors at a production directed by Thomas Derrah. Characters in drag are still dominant and provide laughs, but it is not the man in a dress whom Henry lusts for and the audience is delighted by; women are playing roles written for men in menswear for most of the production. Also, theories about Holmes and Watson having a homosexual relationship do play somewhat different with two women playing Holmes and Watson (back to the aforementioned banana scene). That being said, I would have definitely enjoyed the September 19 audience conversation about how women were depicted in Doyle’s novels.
I personally would have enjoyed seeing a set, and having the show staged on a smaller stage might have increased the intimacy (and less work for the actors). My plus-one (an old friend from Brazil) had some trouble discerning the accented speech, but I think the decision not to use body mics for amplification in the theater’s cavernous space may have contributed to some of the difficulties hearing the dialogue (and probably more work for the actors). Would I like to see this again? Yes. Do I recommend it and would I hound you to see it? No sh_t Sherlock. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/shows/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles/
