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‘Sherlock Holmes’ at Theatre in the Square
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: B-
Last year, Theatre in the Square began its season with a contemporary adaptation of Aeschylus’ tragedy “The Persians,” one of the oldest plays in the Western world.
On Wednesday night, it opened its 27th season with Steven Dietz’s “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure,” adapted from the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle. Compared to the 2,500-year-old Aeschylus, the Victorian-era “Sherlock” is a toddler.
Directed by Jessica Phelps West, this updated “Sherlock” finds the world’s most famous detective (played by Martin Thompson) donning a mustache, cape and numerous other guises in an effort to save the King of Bohemia (Brik Berkes) from an embarrassing sex scandal.
As the screw turns, the Baker Street sleuth becomes embroiled in a tangled web of mystery, fake identities, hairpin revelations and unrequited love. He shoots up cocaine, battles the wicked criminal Moriarity (Barry Stoltze) and manipulates the action in a chivalrous quest to protect the famous opera singer Irene Adler (Elizabeth Wells Berkes).
But somehow the show never manages to whip up much in the way of suspense, and Holmes’ antics don’t seem nearly so clever and intricately imagined now as they must have 100 years ago.
Elementary, indeed.
To its credit, the ensemble gives it a go nonetheless. Thompson evinces an elegant and deliciously timed performance as Holmes, spouting one liners with acerbic flair. Charles Horton cuts a sweetly likeable figure as that ultimate straight man, Doctor Watson, who narrates the story as a series of flashbacks. And Elizabeth Wells Berkes is one of the few actresses I know who can exude fire and ice in the same breath. Her Adler may be the most intriguing chameleon in this whole charade.
Some of the best comedic moments come from the over-the-top antics of Scott Warren, who turns Moriarty’s sidekick Sid Prince into a galumphing bully — often at the expense of the pert James Larrabee (Christopher Ekholm), Adler’s dubious husband. Also hilarious is Brik Berkes, who makes the Slavic royal seem as thick as his pork-chop sideburns.
At the end of the day, this highly mannered parlor-room mystery might benefit from a bit more such Mel Brooks-style tomfoolery. Dietz never manages to make Sherlock’s shenanigans very vital or adventurous. Easy to digest, this trifle is seldom much of a gas.
The 411: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. 2:30 p.m. Sept. 17. No 7 p.m. show Sept. 21. Through Sept. 21. $22-$33. Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta. 770-422-8369, theatreinthesquare.com
Bottom line: No tingles.
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