Winchester Little Theatre to offer mystery, laughs in first play of the season – Northern Virginia Daily

Winchester Little Theatres new Sherlock Holmes mystery, Baskerville, has two paws in the past and two in the future.

Set in 1890, the play based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyles novel The Hound of the Baskervilles nonetheless features a Steampunk costume design that lends itself to a futuristic setting, said Director Sally Anderson.

The set design, too, is cutting edge for the small, volunteer-based theater in that its using projectors instead of practical sets or painted backdrops.

Its the biggest step that weve taken into the future, Anderson said.

Years ago, the theater showed slides during one of its productions, she recalled, but this is far more complex.

The theater, situated in an old Pennsylvania Railroad freight station in downtown Winchester, kept shows going during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering online options and having its actors perform outside.

Following a childrens summer production, the theater is now launching its first regular-season performance with a mystery that Anderson said is perfect for the nonprofit theater, for the fall, and as a way of welcoming audiences back following many long and stressful months of an ongoing pandemic.

Its a really good show to bring people back to the theater, Anderson said. Everybody needs to come in and laugh their heads off.

Although it's based on the popular Sherlock Holmes novel, the play by Ken Ludwig has a few tricks up its sleeve both in updating the story for contemporary audiences and in providing a safe theater-going experience for the cast, crew and audience.

When we were told mid-May that it looked as if we would be back on stage again, we had to find a performance that did not drain the resources, Anderson said.

Using projected backdrops is one way to keep the crew to a minimum, she said.

Another way to cut down on people backstage is to opt for a small cast thats great at doing quick changes.

In addition to Bill Taylor as Sherlock Holmes and Amy Urbanski as Dr. Watson, the play features four other actors Bridget Enggasser, Chris Frear, Josh Morgan and Christopher Lee Short portraying about 40 other characters.

Its fast-paced, and slightly farcical, Anderson said, though she assured that the play doesnt rely on slapstick to produce its laughs.

I think I pull every corny gag reference out of the hat for this so that it is very funny, she said.

The crew also uses about 200 sound cues throughout the production to keep the action going, she said.

This is the perfect play for our theater, Anderson said. [T]he audience has to use their imaginations to be with you. To me thats what theater is all about.

The audience will not be asked to social distance, but she said everyone seeing the show will be required to wear a mask.

Tickets are going amazingly well, Anderson said. I was really excited to see how people are not deterred by the masking policy.

Winchester Little Theatre is located at 315 W. Boscawen St.

Baskerville will run from Sept. 10 to 25, with performances at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. An additional 2 p.m. performance will be on Sept. 18.

Tickets are $20 for WLT members and $25 for all others. A pub night performance will be at 8 p.m. on Sept. 8, with doors opening at 7:15 p.m.

For more information, call 540-662-3331 or visit winchesterlittletheatre.org.

Link:
Winchester Little Theatre to offer mystery, laughs in first play of the season - Northern Virginia Daily

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero