Playwright: Terry McCabe after Arthur Conan Doyle
At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr
Phone: 773-293-3682; $25
Runs through: Oct. 14
BY JONATHAN ABARBANEL
About 15 minutes into The Hound of the Baskervilles—perhaps the best-known of all Sherlock Holmes stories—I sat back to relish the show. Why take useless notes on the plot twists and clues when I could enjoy the storytelling instead? Hey, it’s not as though the familiar tale has deep intellectual currents upon which to expound. Besides, Holmes and Dr. Watson were doing a splendid job on the clues and didn’t need my help; they had snared me in their narrative.
The strength of The Hound of the Baskervilles begins with Arthur Conan Doyle’s thumping-good original story, with a whiff of the supernatural about it. Terry McCabe has edited the story for this world premiere adaptation, but every word is one which Doyle himself wrote. The script retains not only Doyle’s plot, but also his literary style and narrative flavor. When City Lit did a Sherlock Holmes production last year, I felt it was too long and wordy, but this time they’ve found the proper blend of length and pace.
While we acknowledge the skillful adaptation, the lion’s share of credit must go to director Kevin Theis and his company. They make of Hound more than a mere mystery/thriller, extracting entertainment value that wouldn’t be apparent from the words on a page, in particular a pleasing vein of comedy. Theis and cohorts do this without ever camping up the familiar, easily-mocked characters of Holmes and Watson, or the clichés of the genre.
Repeating their portrayals of Holmes and Watson, Don Bender and Will Schutz are like an old, married couple: familiar and cozy, but still capable of surprise and/or a wounded ego. Bender, who has less to do than Watson this time ’round, makes Holmes more than a little world-weary yet never jaded. Schutz’s Watson is the perfect foil, crafty yet properly naive. For the supporting cast of seven, Theis has gathered capable younger actors and veterans, among them Christopher M. Walsh as country doctor Mortimer, Chris Cantelmi as Baskerville, George W. Seegebrecht as Jack Stapleton and Elise Kauzlaric in the rather limited women’s roles.
Grant Sabin’s scenic design is an unexpected treat in the somewhat claustrophobic City Lit space. Taking his cue from the West Country moors across which much of the story unfolds, he’s created a masterful sky cyclorama on the stage walls that expands the playing space and takes on a variety of textures under Sean Mallary’s lighting. Branimira Ivanova’s costumes offer the long lines of both men’s and women’s garb appropriate to the late 1880’s, with special flare in the elegant and colorful outfits for Chris Cantelmi as Sir Henry. All told, The Hound of the Baskervilles is a stylish way to go to the dogs.