ALLEY THEATRE
www.alleytheatre.org
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Paul R. Tetreault, Managing Director

THE ALLEY THEATRE EMBARKS ON AN
ADVENTURE WITH RARELY PRODUCED

SHERLOCK HOLMES
October 10 - November 2, 2003
The Hubbard Stage

By William Gillette
Based on the Stories of Arthur Conan Doyle

Houston, Tx - The Alley Theatre opens its 2003 - 2004 Season with William Gillette's SHERLOCK HOLMES, the only stage version of the adventurous detective exploits approved by Holmes' creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Directed by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd, Sherlock Holmes features a cast of 16, with Todd Waite and James Black facing off as Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Professor Moriarty. The two actors are joined by many of the Alley Resident Company of Actors in a lavish production of this rarely performed classic. The adventure begins with preview performances starting Friday, October 10th through Sunday, November 2nd, 2003.


(L-R) Todd Waite as Sherlock Holmes in the Alley Theatre production of Sherlock Holmes. The production opens on the Alley Theatre Hubbard Stage October 15 and runs through November 2nd, 2003. For more information, click on www.alleytheatre.org or call 713-228-8421. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.


Sherlock Holmes was first produced in 1899 as a vehicle for American actor - playwright William Gillette, who played the part for 30 years and influenced the development of the character for generations. This thrilling, romantic adventure pits Holmes and Dr. Watson against their greatest adversary, the cunning Professor Moriarty, with blackmail, entanglement and romance all playing a part in the mystery.

When the great American actor - playwright William Gillette agreed to revise a five-act drama about the exploits of Sherlock Holmes written by Arthur Conan Doyle, a new era of the Holmes legend was set in motion. Gillette extensively rewrote the script, loosely basing it on the Holmes tales A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA and THE FINAL PROBLEM and tailoring the part of Holmes to suit his own personality. Shortly after Gillette received Conan Doyle's approval of the final draft of Sherlock Holmes in 1899, the play toured across America, Europe, and England. Gillette himself played Holmes for over 30 years in thousands of stage performances. In addition to Sherlock Holmes, Gillette wrote a number of plays, including Secret Service (a New York success for Meryl Streep in its revival), a successful spy thriller and one of the first plays set in the Civil War.

SHERLOCK HOLMES CAST

MADGE LARRABEE……………………Josie de Guzman
BENJAMIN FORMAN…………………..David Born
JAMES LARRABEE……………………..Paul Hope
SIDNEY PRINCE…………………………John Tyson
ALICE FAULKNER………………………Elizabeth Heflin
TERESE……………………………….……….Julia Krohn
SHERLOCK HOLMES………………………..Todd Waite
ALFRED BASSICK…………………………...Philip Lehl
PROFESSOR MORIARTY………………….James Black
BILLY……………………………………..Tony Oller
DR. WATSON…………………………….Jeffrey Bean
JIM CRAIGIN…………………………….James Belcher
THOMAS LEARY……………………….Daniel Magill
"LIGHTFOOT" MCTAGUE……………..Timothy Wrobel
PARSONS……………………………….James Belcher
SIR EDWARD LEIGHTON……………..Charles Krohn
COUNT VON STALBURG………………Daniel Magill
WOMAN ON THE STREET……………Bettye Fitzpatrick

Setting: London, 1895

ACT I
Scene 1: The Drawing Room at the Larrabee's
Scene2: Professor Moriarty's Underground Office
Scene 3: Sherlock Holmes' Apartment in Baker Street

ACT II
Scene 1: The Stepney Gas Chamber. Midnight
Scene 2: Doctor Watson's Consulting Room in Kensington. The following evening.

"…They still live for all that love them well: in a romantic chamber of the heart: in a nostalgic country of the mind where it is always 1895." - Vincent Starrett, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

The design team for SHERLOCK HOLMES includes scenic designer Vince Mountain (Alley's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), whose evocative Victorian setting range from Baker Street to Moriarty's underground lair and the Stepney Gas Chamber to the fog-bound streets of London's east end; costume designer Fabio Toblini, who recently designed the national tour of Fame and the world premiere of The Game at Barrington Stage; lighting designer Rui Rita, who recently designed Broadway's Enchanted April; and sound designers Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen, returning to Alley after recently designing Hamlet.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to Sherlock Holmes can be purchased at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713-228-8421. Tickets to preview performances are $20 - $40; tickets to performances on or after the October 15, 2003 opening range from $35 - $50. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discount rate by calling 713-228-9341 ext. 346.



(L-R) Todd Waite as Sherlock Holmes and Jeffrey Bean as Dr. Watson in the Alley Theatre production of Sherlock Holmes. The production opens on the Alley Theatre Hubbard Stage October 15 and runs through November 2nd, 2003. For more information, click on www.alleytheatre.org or call 713-228-8421. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.