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| Sherlock Holmes - The Musical | |
|---|---|
| File:Sherlock Holmes the musical.jpg | |
| Music | Leslie Bricusse |
| Lyrics | Leslie Bricusse |
| Book | Leslie Bricusse |
| Productions | 1989 West End 1993 Old Vic Revival US Production: The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes |
Sherlock Holmes - The Musical is a musical based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with music, lyrics and book by Leslie Bricusse. The story concerns a 1901 confrontation between Holmes and his old arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty; Moriarty's brilliant daughter Bella proves to be an even more determined (and beautiful) foe than her father.
The musical opened on 22 October 1988 at the Northcott Theatre, in Exeter, England, and ran for a limited season of five weeks. It then played at the Cambridge Theatre on Seven Dials in London's Covent Garden area from 24 April 1989 to 8 July 1989.[1] During this time there were tube strikes (public transport) which Ron Moody worked into the script through ad-libs.
A revival tour (in a slightly revised version) opened at the Bristol Old Vic on 16 March 1993 with Robert Powell in the title role, Roy Barraclough as Watson and Louise English as Bella Spellgrove.
Plot
editThe play opens after Professor Moriarty's death and Sherlock Holmes' miraculous return to life. As Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson describe the many eccentricities on their friend ("Sherlock Holmes"), we find that Holmes is, to Watson's disbelief, missing Moriarty. ("Without Him There Can Be No Me"). Holmes is quickly assured that there is plenty of work left for him in London ("Anything You Want To Know") ("London is London"), and he is temporarily reassured.
But a meeting with the Beautiful Bella Spellgrove (the daughter of Professor Moriarty). Watson, though married, is immediately taken with her beauty ("Her Face"). Though Holmes is not as immediately smitten, he is drawn into a battle of wits of sort when Bella accuses him of hiding behind Watson's 'loveable moose' so that he can feel better about himself.("Men Like You"), which she claims as a great annoyance to women of her intelligence. We then see Mrs. Hudson lamenting the hardships in her own life, as a widow forced to rent rooms to lodgers to make ends meet ("A Lousy Life").
Act Two opens with a desperate search for Bella, as Holmes is afraid that by losing her he loses the last link to Moriarty, a connection he still misses terribly ("I Shall Find Her"). But, unbeknownst to Holmes, Bella and her mother, Mrs. Moriarty (who was a trained Italian opera singer before her marriage) are plotting to bring 'death and disgrace' to Holmes as revenge for killing Professor Moriarty ("Vendetta"). Bella is successfully able to frame Holmes for murder when he is found inside an attic locked on the inside with a sword and a stabbed body lying in front of him. Although Holmes protests that the victim's cause of death was diptheria, not the multiple stab wounds, he soon finds himself on the run from Inspector Lestrade ("Sherlock Holmes (Reprise)"). Furious with himself for falling into the trap, Holmes curses women and their affect on the workings of the mind. Despite this, he cannot stop himself from thinking about Bella ("No Reason"). While Watson reminisces about his old days in the military, ("Halcyon Days"), Bella realizes that she may need Sherlock Holmes more than she cares to admit ("Without Him There Can Be No Me (Reprise)"). Holmes, meanwhile, has disguised himself and hidden amongst the poor of London ("Apples 'n' Pears"). The people of London, however, are distracted from the 'problem' of Sherlock Holmes when rumors begin to leak out that Moriarty is back ("We Shall Find Her"). Revitalized by the news and the prospect of a true mental battle, Holmes prepares himself for a sparring with Moriarty ("My Incomparable Best").
Bella imagines that she sees her father, and tells him not to appear to her unless he can stay ("A Million Years Ago, Or Was It Yesterday?"). She and Holmes are reunited, and they both admit their attraction and that, as a pair, they would never be bored, as they bring out the best in each other ("The Best of You, The Best of Me"). Holmes is able to prove that he was not, in fact the killer, and he is finally able to fill the gap that Professor Moriarty left in his life ("Finale- Sherlock Holmes").
Cast
editThe original production of Sherlock Holmes the Musical opened at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Its original cast included:
Sherlock Holmes: Ron Moody
Dr. Watson: Derek Waring
Bella Spellgrove: Liz Robertson
Mrs. Moriarity: Eileen Battye
Inspector Lestrade: Roger Llewellyn
Mrs. Hudson: Julia Sutton
Boffy Martingdale: Colin Bennett
Duchess of Monmouth: Elena Ferrari
Sir Jevons Jarndyce: Lewis Barber
Professor Moriarty: Terry Williams
Fred Wiggins: James Francis-Johnston
Harry Mossop: Derek Cullen
Potatoes Clark: Jamie Hinde
Billy Higgins: Luke Hope
Lofty Daniel: Paul Loxton
Mick O'Reilly: Stephen Matthews
Musical Numbers
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Old Vic Revival
editStarting on March 16, 1993, previews for a UK touring revival of Sherlock Holmes: The Musical began in The Old Vic Theatre in Bristol, England [1 1] . The total run time for the revival was the brief time of April 13th, 1993 to April 24th 1993, amidst relatively poor reviews [2 1] . Music and Lyrics for the revival were still written by Leslie Bricusse, but the show featured a completely new cast as well as three new musical numbers. Besides those minor changes, the revival run remained fairly similar to the original production and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters. Actors and actresses in the revival included Robert Powell as Sherlock Holmes, James Head as Inspector Lestrade, Roy Barraclough as Dr. Watson, Louise English as Bella Spellgrove, and Marilyn Cuts as Mrs. Moriarty. Prior to the London Old Vic Revival, the show performed for a short time at the Bristol Old Vic, starting on March 11th, 1993[2 2]. The London Old Vic Theatre, located in a 192 year old building in The Cut, London, prides itself in bring constant high quality performances to the surrounding community for a number of years. The Old Vic Theatre, a registered charity organization located on King Street, prides itself in bringing the magic of theatre to anyone who shows interest, and designs community projects particularly for younger age groups to help discover a potential love of theatre at a young age.
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Critical Response
editCritical response to the show's original production was largely negative. Jeremy Kingston, a reviewer from the Times of London, describes writer Leslie Bricusse as, "a man with a stream of melodies behind him but currently swirled, on the evidence of this show, into a melodic backwater." [2]Continuing, he writes that, "The show's tone wobbles foolishly between the earnest and the jokey, with the cast clearly preferring the latter. I would rather have the whole Holmes business either sent up rotten or played for stark, staring melodrama." Describing Derek Waring as having an, "unvaried Colonel Chinstrap mode" as Watson and Ron Moody a "tart though too emotional Sherlock", his reaction seemed to match that of much of London, as it closed later that year.
The revival at the Old Vic in 1993 did not fare much better. Benedict Nightingale, who reviewed the show for the Manchester Weekly, wrote that, "it is pretty clear that economic, not artistic, necessity explains the show's presence. Moreover Sherlock Holmes the Musical is about as likely a notion as Einstein the Clogdance."<ref>Manchester Weekly.March 22, 1993. Benedict Nightingale. "All Too Elementary, my Dear Watson". He goes on to say that, "there is something preposterous about so cerebral a hero bursting into lyrics like (of his symbiotic relationship with Moriarty) "without him there'd be no me... without evil there'd be no good of great degree."" Although Nightingale finds some redeeming qualities, saying that "Bricusse's queiter melodies have a more sophisticated lilt, and there are one or two other pluses in Bob Tomson's always energetic production, notably Mich Bearwish's vaulty, Thames side-set and Powell himself."
Related Musicals
edit- Holmes! The Musical
Sherlock Holmes The Musical is not the only of its kind to have adapted the story of Sherlock Holmes into a musical style production. In March 2002, lyricist Brett Nicholson and composer Hans Vollrath hosted NYC readings of their production: Holmes! The Musical. The two met through their jobs in Walt Disney World in 1995 and began collaborating on Holmes! The Musical five years prior to the mentioned NY readings. The show had workshop presentations in Florida prior to coming to NYC, and a website was launched on its behalf in 1998: www.holmesthemusical.com. The show was based heavily off of Arthur Conan Doyle's character, with music that Vollrath described as a cross between Sweeney Todd and Les Miserables.
Baker Street the Musical opened on February 16, 1965 and was based off of the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It had a 9 month run on Broadway. The book was written by Jerome Coopersmith with music and lyrics by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel. It opened at The Broadway Theatre on Broadway and 53rd street and stared Fritz Weaver as Sherlock Holmes, Peter Sallis as Dr. Watson, Martin Gabel as Professor Moriarty and Inga Sweson as Irene Adler. New York Times reviewer Howard Taubman commented that the production took liberties from the original stories that avid fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing may not appreciate. However, he speaks highly of the productions’ main players and offers an overall positive review.
References
edit- ^ Listing for 1989 guidetomusicaltheatre.com, retrieved December 18, 2009
- ^ Times of London. April 25 1989. Jeremy Kingston. "A Legend in Need: Sherlock Holmes the Musical".
The guide to musical theatre. (1989). Retrieved from http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/index.html
Bristol old vic. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/index.html
lesliebricusse.com
https://samuelfrench-london.co.uk/books/revenge-sherlock-holmes-libretto
http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/london_shows_chronology/1989.htm
Sherlock Holmes: The Musical (Acting Edition) by Leslie Bricusse, published by Samuel French Ltd., 1992 (ISBN 0-573-08090-9)
Sherlock Holmes: The Musical (Unknown Binding) by Leslie Bricusse, published by International Music Publications, 1990 (ISBN 0-86175-455-7)
http://find.galegroup.com/dvnw/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=DVNW&userGroupName=cornell&tabID=T003&docPage=article&docId=IF500380312&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
--> ask this guy about his production of the show: http://lagazza.scarletstreet.yuku.com/login/loginnow
go to library, see if we can get a copy of a playbill on file.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/68511-Holmes-the-Sherlock-Musical-Gets-NYC-Reading-March-26
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