A key component to the success of this play was the acting. There were several memorable performances, but unfortunately neither were the main characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Neither were bad, and in fact, both were quite good at times, but it's impossible not to compare them to the great performances of past people who have played these characters. Jason Herman, who played Sherlock, seemed to consistently speak in the same manner with the same accent while Kristopher Pettey at times struggled to maintain a British accent. Jason Wayne Christian stood out from his first scene on stage. His first appearance, where he introduces himself, was an instant scene stealer. He had a booming voice that commanded the audience's attention. Despite barely being in the first act, his introduction made the audience aware of his impending arrival and what that meant for the characters. Two other actors who stood out were Charlie Wilkerson, as James Larrabee, and Chelsea Christian, as Madge Larrabee. Despite little character backstory, the actors were able to convey who they were as people.
Since this is a play about Sherlock Holmes in the late 1800s, an important aspect to nail down is the costumes. The costumes were serviceable but not remarkable. Sherlock Holmes wears various disguises in this play, most of them very slight changes that make for a convincing disguise. When he dresses up as a priest, he simply puts on a floppy hat and an alb (I believe that's the term). Obviously, there are enough limits to completely fool the audience, but very little changes like that make for a world of credibility with the audience. Also, speaking as a person unaware of the clothing popularity of the late 1800s, they were convincing as clothes from Britain back then. I thought the King of Bohemia's costume was the least effective. It did the job of portraying his importance, but it looks too cheap for a king. It looks like it was either plucked from a costume room or made from scratch, which is very well might have been. It wasn't that harmful, because like I said, it got the point across.
The lighting design mostly focused on making sure the audience was paying attention to the right part of the stage given that only half of the stage was used at any moment. An unrealistic wish from myself would be that the other side wouldn't be seen at all, but given the monetary constraints, that's not a realistic complaint. Still, the lighting did the job in showing where the audience can look and nothing stood out for pointing the lighting in a confusing way. The one impressive feature from lighting that had to have been planned was when the King of Bohemia walks on stage looking for Sherlock. He's checking places where he could be and you can see the king's shadow on both walls, the wall to his right and in front of him. I'm not sure if there was any significance to this decision, but it made for a cool visual.
Mini-Review
The Columbia Entertainment Company Theatre recently premiered Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, a play based on the original 1899 play. Director Jim Yelton clearly is a fan of the popular series. The acts were preceded by the theme song of the British TV series, Sherlock. Since they were aiming high for this play, the costumes were a vital part of the play. Costume Mistresses Beth Key and Mary Shaw did not do any amazing work, but they were believable and in the right time period. If there's a weakness to this play is that the supporting players were better acted than the main performances of Sherlock Holmes (Jason Herman) and Dr. Watson (Kristopher Pettey). However, this may not be their fault, because it's near impossible to not compare them with previous adaptations, which have been blessed with some great actors. The plot of the play is most likely well-known and easy to follow. Any fans of Sherlock Holmes will be satisfied by this play.
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