Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson - Apt 2B (review)

 Spoilers ahoy

I owe the lovely (and having met them, I can attest they are indeed lovely) folks at the International City Theatre a profound apology.  After attending opening night, I became seriously distracted--by what does not matter--and did not check when the production was scheduled to end.

Hence this review is late.

Which is utterly terrible.  My deepest apologies.  Frankly if ICT stopped issuing invitations I could not blame them one atom.

Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson - Apt 2B by Kate Hamill is precisely the kind of re-imagination I usually enjoy intensely.  The rough notion is to take the premise of the t.v. show Sherlock (i.e. adapt the Conan Doyle characters to modern London) and then change the genders of the leads to female.  What one might fear--namely a retread--is exactly what this play is not.  The characters, while recognizable, are as distinct as any other iteration of the Great Detective.  More, there is a wild, almost farcical, at times manic energy to the whole thing which felt refreshing.  When the comedy worked, it worked very well.  More, and I cannot emphasize this enough, by the time we get to Act Two, we enter into a much more substantial story about these two characters, their sometimes-troubled relationship, what they mean to one another, exactly what each gets from the other, etc.  

Honestly, there is a problem with consistency of tone.  Combining what teeters on Monty Python with a more sincere exploration of character is a tricky balance.  This balance does not always work.  I found the prologue slightly off-putting, along with the meta references of the characters knowing they are in a play.  Don't object to the notion of either one.  Don't believe this script pulled it off.  But honestly, those make up a tiny amount of what we the audience experience.  

What I really loved in this show were the characters.  This Watson (Cheryl Daro)--and why she is not called a doctor in the title honestly baffles me a tiny bit--proves to be a shell-shocked former Type A personality with a curious savant talent I'm not going to reveal here.  Yet it is very interesting, as well as very thematically on target!  The fact she appears all in leather at her first entrance was a theatrical breath of fresh air!  Watson is so often portrayed as the stuffiest of stuffy Englishmen, one is thrilled a little bit to see a rebellious but complex American.  This version of Sherlock Holmes (Sarah Wolter) is a little bit more mainstream, other than the gender-bending--which is nicely part of the play--but with the arrogance dialed up to eleven, and a manic energy which becomes an almost James Bond-esque smoldering sexuality once she meet Irene Adler (Tamarra Graham).  Love here is a Holmes and Watson never seen before!

I also want to praise not only Graham but also Brian Stanton, who together play at least six different characters, switching up so well it adds to the gleeful fun of the production.  Honestly, everyone is doing a fine job and kudos to director Amie Farrell for selecting this cast.

Still, the whole thing felt a little too erratic in tone, style, and sometimes in terms of character development--this last being my favorite part.  The plot is fun, even if it doesn't really take off until Act Two, and a fun plot is by definition a very good thing.  Frankly, it felt to me a flaw in an otherwise very entertaining, clever, and ultimately moving play.

The International City Theatre makes a concerted effort to mount original plays and give startling insights we might not see elsewhere.  Which is another reason I feel the lateness of this review is a serious moral failing on my part.  I cannot but wish more folks had known about this production.