Sherlock takes a wild ride in comical 'Hound of the Baskervilles'

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Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular detectives of all time, a favorite in the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle and the countless radio, film and television retellings of his stories, both classic and modern, serious and funny.

Patrick Noonan plays Sherlock Holmes and several other characters in Florida Studio Theatre's production of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/PROVIDED BY FST

Patrick Noonan plays Sherlock Holmes and several other characters in Florida Studio Theatre's production of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/PROVIDED BY FST

He is one of the most enduring and continually popular characters of the last century, considering the recent success of the “Sherlock” TV films on PBS and the CBS drama “Elementary.”

But the new version of his popular story “The Hound of the Baskervilles” that begins Wednesday at Florida Studio Theatre may offer a new perspective on Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson — laughter is expected to accompany the mystery.

The play by Steven Canny and John Nicholson uses just three actors to play about 17 characters over the course of a story told in a way that pokes fun at the conventions of Doyle’s style while honoring the characters’ history.

“He’s more traditional than not,” director Gavin Cameron-Webb says of the portrayal of Holmes by Patrick Noonan. “We’ve got him a deer stalker (hat) and a pipe, and he’ll be starting violin lessons.”

Cameron-Webb said the show has the playful spirit of “The 39 Steps,” which features four actors playing dozens of characters in a spoof of a classic Alfred Hitchcock film and an earlier story.

The New York Times described “Hound” as “a happy spoof of what was once a serious piece of fiction.”

In the FST production, Noonan, Michael Daly (who plays Watson) and Tom Patterson are as much quick change artists as they are actors. In one scene, Doyle said he has about 17 seconds at one point to change from one costume to another, while Patterson said he has to go from pants on to pants off in about two seconds in another.

From left, Patrick Noonan, Michael Daly and Tom Patterson play all the roles in the comical three-actor version of the classic Sherlock Holmes story "The Hound of the Baskervilles" at Florida Studio Theatre. MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/PROVIDED BY FST

From left, Patrick Noonan, Michael Daly and Tom Patterson play all the roles in the comical three-actor version of the classic Sherlock Holmes story "The Hound of the Baskervilles" at Florida Studio Theatre. MATTHEW HOLLER PHOTO/PROVIDED BY FST

Noonan and Daly have experience with this sort of costume trickery. Though he was last seen at FST as King Arthur in “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” Noonan also starred in FST’s production of “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” in which he played multiple roles, both male and female.

Daly likewise played lots of different parts in FST’s “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare... Abridged.”

Though they have varying connections to Holmes — Noonan once played him at age 20, and Patterson read Doyle’s stories when he was in sixth grade — the cast members and Cameron-Webb have great respect for the character .“Police detectives are the bread and butter of our entertainment. It’s a mania of absorbing detective stories,” Cameron-Webb said.

The actors said they like that Holmes is not some kind of cartoonish super hero.“His powers are self-generated,” Daly said. “He’s not an android. He’s not imbued with any powers.”

Patterson said he always appreciated that Holmes was something of an “outsider. Despite knowing everything, he was not in the mainstream. He was not a policeman or a hired detective. He was just a person with an absurd gift that made him strange and brilliant, especially if you don’t feel you fit in.

“The plot will be familiar to those who have read the books or seen the films, though Cameron-Webb said it’s not necessary to have any past experience with Holmes or Doyle’s stories. It involves a murder investigation at Baskerville Hall and the potential dangers facing the new heir to the family, which is said to be cursed.

Cameron-Webb said his role as director becomes “an exercise in logistics. What piece of furniture is where, what actor is where and how does he get around. My focus is on the machinery of the play rather than on the characters in the play. This is one of the clever parts of the script.

The characters are so well known, we accept the shorthand that we get.”

THEATER PREVIEW
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" runs July 1-Aug. 2 in Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. For more information: 366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

Noted actors who have played Sherlock Holmes
William Gillette, "Sherlock Holmes," 1899 play and 1916 film

William Gillette was the star of the original 1899 stage play "Sherlock Holmes" and made a career out of playing the detective.

William Gillette was the star of the original 1899 stage play "Sherlock Holmes" and made a career out of playing the detective.

John Barrymore, "Sherlock Holmes," 1922 film

Raymond Massey, “The Speckled Band,” 1931 film

John Gielgud, “New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” 1939-1947, radio

Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes in 14 feature films between 1939 and 1946.

Basil Rathbone played Sherlock Holmes in 14 feature films between 1939 and 1946.

Basil Rathbone, 14 films between 1939 and 1946

George C. Scott, “They Might Be Giants” 1971 film

Roger Moore, “Sherlock Holmes in New York,” 1976, TV film

Leonard Nimoy, “Sherlock Holmes," 1976 play

Larry Hagman, “Return of the World’s Greatest Detective,” 1976, TV film

Christopher Plummer, 1977, 1979 films

Peter O’Toole, 1983 series of animated films

Jeremy Brett, 1984-94, 41 TV episodes of four Sherlock Holmes series

Michael Caine, “Without a Clue,” 1988 film

Frank Langella, “Sherlock’s Last Case,” 1990 Broadway show

Charlton Heston, “The Crucifer of Blood,” 1981 stage and film

Christopher Lee, 1962, 1991, 1992 films

Matt Frewer, 2000-2002 series of TV films

Rupert Everett, “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking,” 2004 TV

Robert Downey Jr., 2009-11 films

Robert Downey Jr., left, played Sherlock Holmes opposite Jude Law as Mr. Watson in two feature films with a third coming.

Robert Downey Jr., left, played Sherlock Holmes opposite Jude Law as Mr. Watson in two feature films with a third coming.

Jonny Lee Miller, “Elementary” 2012 (premiere) CBS TV series

Benedict Cumberbatch, BBC's "Sherlock,” beginning 2010

THEATER PREVIEW
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" runs July 1-Aug. 2 in Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. For more information: 366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
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Jay Handelman

Jay Handelman is the theater and television critic for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he has worked since 1984. He also is President of the Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time past chairman of the association's executive committee. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4931. Follow him at @jayhandelman on Twitter. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.
Last modified: July 1, 2015
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