Five actors will bring a combination of 44 different characters to life in a production of “Baskerville” at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. Leading characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are the only two characters not played by multiple actors throughout the entire play.
“It sometimes feels like we are in the center of a solar system,” said Andrew Mueller, who plays Watson in the production. “Everything is spinning around us.”
The play centers around one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous mysteries, “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” but with comedy throughout the entire production. The changing characters and feats the actors must go through create a fast-paced environment that hopes to draw the audience in, said Timothy Hull, who plays Sherlock Holmes.
“The style really invites the audience to be in on the joke,” Mueller said. “These people are doing all of these things. It really relishes in the feat of it.”
Though the original story wasn’t a comedy, Hull said the play is very closely adapted. The comedy does not detract from the story but rather enhances it, Mueller said.
“The comedy makes the whole thing more fun,” Mueller said. “Sherlock Holmes is such a lovable and engaging character, but he can be distancing.”
Hull said the fact the play is so lighthearted allows it to span generations. The mysteries would be much too cerebral he said, without the lengths the production goes through to make the piece humorous.
“Having us rooted as the two iconic characters, we are sort of the center, that grounding aspect,” Hull said. “All the chaos happens around us.”
The comedy within the play makes the production much more accessible and adds to the entertainment value, Hull said.
“It makes it and enjoyable night at the theater for all ages,” he said. “You can go and get your dose of Sherlock without coming away from it feeling mentally exhausted.”
