By SHARON EBERSON
Sherlock Holmes is the gift that keeps on giving to David Whalen and Andrew Paul, with another package about to be unwrapped for fans of both the timeless fictional detective and Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic.
A Sherlock Carol marks the seventh time Whalen will play Holmes, directed by Paul, and surrounded by longtime collaborators in Kinetic Theatre’s production of Mark Shanahan’s A Sherlock Carol.
(Image: Pittsburgh Irish & Classic Theatre)
As the title of the Pittsburgh premiere suggests, No. 7 is a Sherlock/Scrooge mashup murder mystery, which The New York Times called “a clever, crowd-pleasing, holiday comedy.”
A Sherlock Carol debuted in 2021, and joins what has become something of a franchise for the actor and director.
“David likes doing them as much as I do, so it’s just natural to keep on going,” Paul said. “We created this sort of Pittsburgh/Sherlock thing that everybody knows about, all over the country, and our audiences really like it.”
Shanahan’s script is packed with familiar Pittsburgh actors playing roles that intertwine Dickens’ characters with Arthur Conan Doyle’s – Simon Bradbury as Watson, James FitzGerald as Scrooge, Susie McGregor-Laine as Mrs. Dilber, Caroline Nicolian as the Countess of Morcar, Carolyn Jerz as Emma Wiggins and Joseph McGranaghan as Dr. Cratchit, with Douglas Levine providing a musical score.
The actors take on multiple roles in A Sherlock Carol, which runs December 13-22, 2024, in the Henry Heymann Theatre, inside the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland.
“The funny thing is, Joe McGranaghan had said, ‘Oh, we need to do a reunion picture,’ ” Whalen recalled over coffee recently. “I said, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘The Shaughraun.’”
That was back in 2006, Whalen’s first show with Paul’s previous company, Pittsburgh Irish & Classic Theatre.
Whalen continued, “So Joe was in that …,” and Paul finishes the list, adding, “Susie was in it. Simon was in it. And Doug Levine did the music for that one, too.”
Whalen, a Pittsburgh native, appeared for Kinetic in the #MeToo drama Oleanna earlier this year, then participated in a massive project for the Guthrie Theater in Minnesota – he was in repertory for Shakespeare’s History Plays, featuring Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V – and then moved on to the premiere of Rutka: A New Musical at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which finished up on November 10.
The actor was at a Starbucks in Pittsburgh and headed to a rehearsal, not long before taking a timeout for Thanksgiving. That would entail driving to his home near Richmond, Virginia, then driving back to once again don the mantle of Sherlock Holmes.
As the exclamation point on a busy year, returning to Pittsburgh and this role, with this cast, is “definitely reinvigorating.”
“It’s still a lot of work, but the History Plays were the most exhausting, most exhilarating thing I’ve ever been a part of in theater. Ever,” said Whalen, whose long and varied career includes Shakespeare plays for Pittsburgh Public Theater, Quantum Theatre and PICT, among others.
“And Rutka, having never been in a big pre-Broadway musical, that was really exciting and time consuming,” the actor continued. “We were getting rewrites every day. I am grateful, but it was nice to come here and reconnect.”
Whalen’s collaborations with Paul include more than two dozen projects, from Marc Antony in Julius Caesar to George W. Bush in Stuff Happens. Their previous Holmes titles have included The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Speckled Band, Holmes and Watson and Sherlock’s Last Case …
This is hardly their last stand with Holmes, as both are always in search of a Holmes play they both want to do, and this one came about through mutual theater connections.
Both men have worked with the writer Shanahan before, and that’s how Kinetic was able to bring us “Holmes for the holidays.”
“Two years ago I did his show A Merry Little Christmas Carol at Virginia Stage, and so I found out about A Sherlock Carol talking with him, and my really good friend Thom Sesma originated Scrooge in it. And [Shanahan] goes, ‘Oh, Dave, you should talk to Andrew Paul about this one.’ ”
With Shanahan’s permission, Paul has tweaked some of the roles to suit his Pittsburgh cast. Another ace up his sleeve is Levine, whose original music bolsters the action.
“I think one of the best things about this production is Doug Levine is with us in rehearsal,” Paul said. “He becomes almost another character with us as he plays. Depending on how we play the scene, he comes in underneath with music … he’s unbelievable.”
Besides the season to inspire the music, there will be some major mood swings as well.
Suffice it to say, A Sherlock Carol finds Holmes in a funk on Christmas Eve, three years after the death of his nemesis Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls. Then a stranger at his door arrives with a plea to solve the murder of someone beloved by many, sparking the detective’s interest. The game, as Holmes would say, is afoot.
It is a family friendly show that mirrors A Christmas Carol in some aspects – both Paul and Whalen note that there will be ghosts when Holmes takes his latest case.
This time of year, there are versions of A Christmas Carol going on worldwide and here at home. Adding the always in-demand Holmes to the mix has created an irresistible combo for Paul’s theater company.
As the director explained the popularity of Whalen’s Sherlock, the actor deduced another way to make his point.
“A month ago, I was coming out of a coffee shop,” he said, “and this woman stops me and goes, ‘Thank you for doing Sherlock again. We bought a dozen tickets.’ So yeah, it’s fun to be back.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
The Pittsburgh premiere of A Sherlock Carol runs December 13-22, 2024, in the Henry Heymann Theatre inside the Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Avenue, on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. Sunday, December 15, is a two-show day, and Monday, December 16, is Dark Night/Pay-What-You-Want. Tickets: https://www.kinetictheatre.org/.
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