SANDY — The Hale Centre Theatre presents the regional premiere of an entertaining and comedic, delightful and dangerous Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure. The production, directed by Ryan Simmons, brings the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories between dramatic highs and lows filled with beats of comedic hilarity. The plot follows Sherlock Holmes in pursuit of his nemesis Moriarty. John Watson, friend and storyteller, narrates the story as Holmes encounters Irene Adler and the criminal associates of Moriarty. Many story elements and devices are recognizable from the original works, though they are arranged in a way unique to this stage play.
Editor’s Note: Production Photos have not yet been received by UTAJ. When they are, they will be added to this review.
Uniquely, the structure and ambiance of Moriarty is in the form of a classic melodrama, a popular theatrical form in the late nineteenth century. Effectively, the historical era of Sherlock Holmes is reflected in the theatrical presentation for the modern audience. Central to this is the high stakes conflict between Moriarty, Sherlock, and Adler. Combining the iconic character of Moriarty who appears in The Final Problem with “the woman” of A Scandal in Bohemia allows for these sensational characters to take place in this melodrama as villain and love interest.
Ludwig’s script is fluid, fast, and engaging, whizzing through London at the deductive speed of the world’s greatest detective in a great game to catch Moriarty. Inspector Lestrade, the Baker Street Irregulars, Mycroft Holmes, and Mrs. Hudson are all included as colorful characters to liven and dramatize the story.
With so many characters in the story, the cast of seven plays multiple roles. The play is framed as a theatre troupe bringing the show to life. Director Simmons stages the opening moments under the preshow introduction with the cast entering as actors preparing for a performance. They enter casually on a sparsely set stage with only three large wooden boxes marked in italics “Moriarty,” a ghost light, and a velvet chair. As the preshow closes, dramatic violin music begins. Tavnir Carey playing Actor 1 mimes playing the violin and is revealed as the hero of the story, Sherlock Holmes. The remainder of the cast moves swiftly to unbox and set the stage.
The scenic design by Jenn Taylor & Madeline Ashton is stunning. The Sorenson Jewel Box stage is transformed to nineteenth century London with tall panels showing the alleys of city streets and the skyline in the background. The visual space looks like a detailed sketchbook come to life. The design creates depth with long dramatic lines as all objects and shapes along the London skyline disappear to a vanishing point on the horizon. There is a very distinct look and every single piece of the set fits into the design seamlessly. This extreme perspective is reflected in smaller set pieces like the locomotive train and the carriage car. 221 B Baker Street is an excellent set piece that pushes forward as a physical set on the stage then brilliantly opens to reveal the sitting room. Many stage pieces are designed to be rotated to reveal interior spaces making the set movements efficient and fluid.
The most theatrical element was how effortlessly the small cast transformed into the many characters to fill this production. The cast’s talents allowed for many characters made memorable by such distinct personalities of dramatic or comedic intensity. In the program, actors are billed simply as Actor 1, Actor 2 … through Actor 7 with no reference to specific characters played in the production. Fortunately, the performances make deducing the roles possible, but I apologize for any errors.
BJ Whimpey plays Actor 3 and was outstanding. Whimpey was so perfectly engaged in each role, it was difficult to recognize that Moriarty, Mycroft, Mrs. Gasner, and King Otto are all played by Whimpey. Whimpey used dialect and movement to distinguish between these many roles. His performance was well done as it avoided blending the roles together and making the overlapping performer obvious. This allowed Whimpey to stand out as the ominous and dark Moriarty. The lighting by Marianne Ohran supported Whimpey’s performance, casting Moriarty in long, dark shadows or in backlighting. Moriarty’s reveal in the second act is dramatic, using a silhouette of a man in a top hat who, after moving, reveals himself as the villain to Holmes and Adler.
Carey plays Actor 1 who takes the role of Sherlock Holmes. The performance of Sherlock in the first act felt muted compared to the second. There’s a lot of characters introduced in the first and they all have intensely strong personalities distracting from Sherlock and making the detective feel less sensational in comparison to others. This changes following the first direct encounter between hero and villain. The tension onstage between Sherlock and Moriarty was dramatic and dangerous, with lines and blocking masterfully performed by Carey and Whimpey. In the second act, when Sherlock is actively deducing and detecting to follow Moriarty’s henchmen, Carey takes control of the scenes, delivering the sequences with a marvelous performance.
Chandler Bishop is identified as Actor 2, plays Dr. John Watson, and is excellent as the narrator. Bishop’s asides to the audience throughout the production are humorous. They begin as true asides, then escalate throughout to where the other characters notice Watson is speaking to someone else. Bishop is enthusiastic and devoted, and there’s a twinkle in his eye perfect for the storyteller engaging with the audience.
Clara Wright as Actor 4 primarily plays Irene Adler. Wright is charming and attractive, easily justifying Holmes’s attraction to Adler. Wright’s scenes with Carey are entertaining and well balanced, making Irene a fitting equal to Sherlock. Their humor and wit is best portrayed in a scene through a “narrow” cavern which is actually an occupied aisle of the audience. The physical humor of this scene is amplified by Carey and Wright’s chemistry and wit.
There are two places that felt off in the production. The cold open following the “unpacking” is the prologue showing a dramatic tense confrontation projected in shadow. It is dark and intense. But it is immediately followed by an introduction to Holmes noticing Adler at the opera narrated by Watson. The opera singers are portrayed by photo cutout boards with the actors miming singing but somewhat out-of-sync with the music. It is such a tonal shift it was difficult to tell if the opera singers miming was poorly performed or staged to be obviously comedic.
The second moment is the final confrontation where the playwright Ludwig chooses to resolve the story by subverting expectations. The story provides new context to support this ending, but it felt thinly developed. In the context of the melodrama (and compared to Doyle’s stories), the play leaves Sherlock slightly diminished as the protagonist and hero against his iconic foe Moriarty.
The properties design by Fergus J. Walsh is excellent, blending solid craft with the makeshift designs of a small theatre troupe. Toby the Dog is portrayed as a suitcase with tail and head puppeteered by Carolyn Hartvigsen, Actor 5. Other characters, like the opera singers and press, are portrayed by photo cutout boards controlled by the supporting actors particularly Hartvigsen, Issac Martinez Trinidad (Actor 6), and Ethan Freestone (Actor 7).
The element really pulling the production together is the dramatic mood music throughout the production with sound design by Kristin Tenney. The pulsing music underscoring the chase and fight sequences, dramatic soaring crescendos amplifying the conflicts, and even silence helps amplify the mood appropriately.
Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty runs just over 90 minutes including intermission and is packed full of humorous moments and great drama. There’s a sense of energy and brightness to the characters and the performers are clearly engaged in the storytelling as they traverse through this adventure. It is a natural deduction to pursue this new-to-Utah production with impeccable production value and excellent performances.
Editor’s Note: This reviewer attended a performance on Wednesday, August 19th. This show is double cast with alternating actors on Mon., Wed., Fri. & Tues., Thurs., Sat. This review covers the Mon., Wed., Fri. cast.
MORE INFO: Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty is currently playing on Hale Centre Theatre’s Sorensen Jewel Box Stage in Sandy until November 14th. Performances are held Monday through Saturday at 7:00 PM. Most Saturdays offer a 12:00PM and 3:30PM matinee. Tickets are $54-75 with youth (5-17) tickets at half price. For the most up-to-date performance schedule and official ticketing, visit their website at https://hct.org/.
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