Just wear your deerstalker detective cap to help you track all the clues.
The story centers on the mysterious passing of Sir Charles Baskerville, ostensibly from a heart attack, though all signs point to him having been scared to death by the legendary monstrous and ferocious hound that haunts the moors surrounding his estate. Well adapted and structured for the stage by F. Andrew Leslie from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original 1901 serialized novel, the play takes surprising twists and turns as Holmes (Joe Pridemore) and trusted sidekick Dr. Watson (an excellent Stephen Alan Carver) navigate the people and seemingly supernatural surroundings of Baskerville Hall.
At stake is the life of Sir Charles’s successor, Sir Henry (heartily played by David Vaillancourt), who comes to live at the estate despite the ominous warnings and suspicious behaviors of the other characters, including the rather eerie John Stapleton (a well cast Jason Cook).
Fortunately, Sir Henry is accompanied by Watson, who dutifully takes notes for Holmes on everything he observes, such as cryptic candlelit signals by Barrymore the butler (John Francis) and the occasional resounding howl by the hound itself. The Gothic set (designed by Greg Fritsche) enhances the creepiness factor, dominated by a large window overlooking the moor and furnished in a Victorian style, complete with teacups and brandy glasses. Costumes (by Donna Fritsche) are also stuffily and ornately Victorian and reinforce the claustrophobic quality of the story. Sir Henry Baskerville (Vaillancourt) is most dapper in his various vested outfits, fitting of his station, and the women’s meticulously designed dresses include period bustles and hats.
The women characters also add refreshing notes to the otherwise male-dominated analytic discussions.
Jessica Plotin as Beryl Stapleton is especially expressive in voice and gesture, haunted by personal circumstance, and Briana Miller as Laura Lyons brings emotional depth to her role as a woman on the edge of impropriety having been abandoned by her husband and disowned by her father.
But, of the solid cast, Stephen Alan Carver carries the show as Dr. Watson, delivering his lines with well paced acuity and humor, serving as the perfect foil to Holmes’s serious and smug intellect. It may have helped that Carver is reprising his role as Watson from a previous Sherlock Holmes production at the LBPH and so has had more opportunity to settle into the skin of his character than some of the others on opening night, for whom the use of English accents sometimes seemed to get in the way of more natural and animated delivery. Perhaps this will become more relaxed going forward as it would especially benefit the opening scene at 221B Baker Street in which a detailed background of the Baskervilles is recounted to Holmes and Watson by Sir Charles’ friend, Dr. Mortimer (Mark Eggert), before the story then moves to Baskerville Hall.
Despite this minor hiccup, The Hound of the Baskervilles is the perfect pre-Halloween production to get you in the spirit, with a lot of sinister substance to sink your teeth into.
The Hound of the Baskervilles continues in the Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., through Oct. 22, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are $20 to $24. For tickets and information, call the box office at (562) 494-1014 or visit lbplayhouse.org.
