Life After Melodrama
On the heels of the summer melodrama The Doom Mine, or Who Got the Shaft, which their audiences greeted with volleys of plush tomatoes, the Shawnee Theatre turns to a serious mystery drama. Stephen Dietz's Sherlock Holmes: the Final Adventure is directed by the company's Artistic Director, Matt Graber.
News Blast
Before we could talk about the show, Graber shares some news.
"Shawnee entered the Chase Community Giving Contest, a Facebook-based voting competition. The top two hundred organizations receive cash grants. On the final night of voting our whole company gathered together with lap tops and cell phones. We texted and called to drum up support. When the tallies came in, Shawnee finished one hundred and ninety-ninth!"
The prize? "We'll receive a grant of twenty-thousand dollars. Going against groups from cities like LA, New York and Chicago, the scrappy little group from Bloomfield, Indiana, was able to edge out a win. We're very proud of the support from our friends. We're the only winner in the entire state. "
Sherlock Holmes Is An Award-Winner, Too
Playwright Stephen Dietz is also an award-winner; his Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure won an Edgar Award.
"Dietz has combined two of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories," Graber explains. "He melded the early work 'The Scandal in Bohemia' with the later ‘The Final Adventure.' It's great because you get two of Holmes' greatest adversaries in one play.
"There is Irene Adler, the only woman that Holmes ever felt was his equal. And then there's his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty. We have Lisa Ermel playing Adler and Kevin Guthridge as Moriarty. By the way, Kevin is also composing music for the show. He's a real Renaissance man. Holmes is played by Ronn Johnstone and Doctor Watson by Josh Carroll.
"The retelling of these two tales makes for a great mystery with some comedy and plenty of action. It's a thriller."