What if Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson lived in the present day, were both women, and instead of being an ex-British Army surgeon, Watson is a divorcee from New York dealing with pandemic PTSD? That’s the premise of Kate Hamill’s Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B. The Ross Valley Players have a production running at the Marin Art and Garden Center through June 14.
Directed by Mary Anne Rodgers, it stars Adrian Deane as Sherlock Holmes, Jennifer Le Blanc as Joan Watson, Sarah McKereghan as Irene Adler (and others) and Steve Price as Inspector Lestrade (and others).
Le Blanc’s naturalistic acting, which is still somehow in tune with the play’s wackiness, is a joy to watch and assists the audience in staying engaged in the silliness.
The set by Mikiko Uesugi is beautifully cluttered and functions to portray multiple locations. Set dressing and props (Dianne Harrison) are well-detailed and well-thought-out. There was some good use of lighting by Frank Sarubbi, especially at the train station, as well as some fun costumes by Valera Coble.
If, like me, Conan Doyle is part of the bedrock in one’s literary landscape, the plot will hold no surprises. While there are plenty of fun moments in Hamill’s script for Sherlock Holmes fans, it is too close to the source material to be true satire and is too preachy when it asks why people like mysteries, without earning an answer.
There is also no substantial change to the story or characters by the gender swap (or the 120-year difference in the timeline). Especially since the script focuses on an Irene Adler plotline. Conan Doyle’s entire point of Irene Adler was to show that a woman could be Holmes’ equal; when Holmes is already a woman, that point is moot.
But perhaps what is more disappointing about this show is that, sometimes, it doesn’t matter how tight the script is or how talented the cast and crew are; for whatever reason, a show is just less than the sum of its parts. Yes, there are definitely things that could have helped this show. Actors were sometimes in the dark. Costumes often pulled focus from the actors, and Deane’s Holmes shouts enough to become exhausting to watch.
Overall, this is an experienced cast, a talented director and a funny, if flawed, script, which means the ultimate mystery here is why the parts don’t add up to make a more entertaining whole.
‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B’ runs through June 14 at the Barn Theatre in the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Thurs.–Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $30–$45. 415.456.9555. rossvalleyplayers.com.
