The Game is Afoot with BASKERVILLE – A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY at Way Off Broadway

By: Feb. 11, 2020
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The Game is Afoot with BASKERVILLE – A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY at Way Off Broadway

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre is preparing to welcome one of the greatest detectives in literary history this spring with its production of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Beginning on March 13th - Friday the 13th, nonetheless - Sherlock Holmes and his crime solving partner Dr. John Watson will take to the stage to solve one of the pair's most notorious cases, The Hound of the Baskerville. However, this is a Sherlock Holmes mystery with a twist. The play's afoot! From the award-winning mastermind of mayhem, Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo), comes a fast-paced comedy about everyone's favorite detective.

Holmes is on the case as the male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one. To find their ingenious killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Audiences watch as our intrepid investigators try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can our heroes discover the truth in time? The truth is far from elementary as Holmes and Watson try to solve the case as ONLY three other actors play 43 different characters, bringing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mystery to life on the stage.

Baskerville - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery received its world premiere as a co-production between Arena Stage in Washington, DC and the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey in early 2015, directed by Amanda Dehnert. Later that same year, Baskerville premiered on the West Coast at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in a mounting directed by Josh Rhodes.

As DC Theatre Scene said at the time, "Baskerville is a madcap send-up of what you might hold dear about that Doyle classic, done up in the style of The 39 Steps."

Taking on the role of the world's most famous detective is Joseph Waeyaert, a familiar face to Way Off Broadway audiences, with Matthew Crawford returning to the theatre as Dr. John Watson after having last appeared in SHREK - The Musical during the 2018 Season. Joining the duo as every other character in the play are Sarah Melinda, Steve Steele, and Laura Walling.

Way Off Broadway's staging of Baskerville is under the direction of Justin M. Kiska, who is also the creator and Executive Producer of Marquee Mysteries, the theatre's interactive mystery series, which is in its 15th Season of producing murder mystery events throughout the area.

"Everyone loves a good who dunnit," says Kiska. "And this is a brilliantly funny, fast-paced adaptation of one of Holmes most memorable cases. Not to mention, with only three actors playing 43 different characters, it's also a bit of a marathon on stage. But it is so much fun to watch!"

Baskerville - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs March 13 - April 25, 2020, with performance every Friday and Saturday evening and matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month. For evening performances, guests arrive for dinner at 6:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 8:00 p.m. For matinees, doors open at 12:30 p.m. for lunch with the show beginning at 2:15 p.m. Tickets for a Friday evening or Sunday matinee are $47; Saturday evenings, tickets are $50. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (301) 662-6600.

To learn more about Baskerville, or any of Way Off Broadway's productions, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com.

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, under the direction of the Kiska family since 2002, is now in its 26th Season of producing live theatre. Since it first opened in 1995, the theatre has been a leader in the area's theatre community, proudly bringing both classic musicals, as well as regional and area premieres to the Frederick stage. Productions have included Mamma Mia!, Disney's Beauty & the Beast, Sister Act, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Monty Python's Spamalot, Noises Off, The Addams Family, Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard, Legally Blonde, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, Hairspray, South Pacific, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, Mel Brooks' The Producers, CATS, The Wedding Singer, Evita, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, La Cage aux Folles, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Annie, Bye Bye, Birdie, The King & I, ...Forum, Lend Me a Tenor, Joseph..., Blood Brothers, Mame, and 42nd Street. In addition to its regular season, Way Off Broadway produces a number of special events throughout the year, including family theatre productions and an annual Breakfast with Santa (and Mrs. Claus). Through its outside producing brand, WOB LIVE! Entertainment, the theatre also presents Marquee Mysteries - an interactive murder mystery series - not only at Way Off Broadway, but on the Walkersville Southern Railroad and at the Inn BoonsBoro. www.wayoffbroadway.com



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