Review: KEN LUDWIG'S MORIARTY: A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE at Cleveland Play House

Ken Ludwig is the crown king of writing modern farcical plays.

Ludwig and the Cleveland Play House seem to have a "thing" for each other. He has had world premiere productions of his scripts A Comedy of Tenors (2015), The Games Afoot (2011) and Leading Ladies (2004) on CPH stages. His Ken Ludwig'S MORIARTY: A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE is now having its premiere on the Allen stage.

The public relations release from the Cleveland Play House states of the show, "Five actors play over 20 roles in this brand-new adventure that has danger-and laughter! -around every corner."

The stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been very popular as adaptations for the stage, and later film, and still later television.

A recent source lists over 25,000 Holmes-related productions and products. They include the original writings, "together with the translations of these tales into sixty-three languages, plus Braille and shorthand, the writings about the writings or higher criticism, writings about Sherlockians and their societies, memorials and memorabilia, games, puzzles and quizzes, phonograph records, audio and video tapes, compact discs, laser discs, ballets, films, musicals, operettas, oratorios, plays, radio and television programs, parodies and pastiches, children's books, cartoons, comics, and a multitude of other items - from advertisements to wine." Talk about a cottage industry!

Ken Ludwig's professional theatre career started with his first Broadway play, LEND ME A TENOR in 1989 which was bannered in the New York Times as "one of the two great farces by a living writer." That play won three Tony Awards.

His second Broadway show CRAZY FOR YOU ran for over five years and won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Laurence Olivier Awards as Best Musical.

Too bad A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES AVENTURE isn't going to add to that reputation. It definitely is not of the quality of his very clever and humorous adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.

My review of that show stated, "CPH's production, creatively directed by Brendon Fox, leaps over all the farcical barriers to create mayhem. Sets zoom on and off stage, costumes morph from being one thing to being another, lighting and sound effects create mystery and intrigue. The audience is taken on a silly overly dramatic journey as the intrepid investigators escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit. "

The story line for the NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE centers on the investigation into the Bohemian king's stolen letters and cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail, and intrigue. Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress, Irene Adler, to take down criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen.

The overly obvious plot, the poorly developed humor, and poor directing, all add up to a rather boring sit.

The cast Jeffrey M. Bendere, Talley Gale, Nick Gaswirth (Dr. Watson), Olivia Gilliatt, and Christian Pedersen (Sherlock Holmes) try hard, but the slow pace, poorly designed sets, in which the same chairs never leave the stage and are shuttled around in attempts to try and create different settings, all just get in the way. The show isn't helped by the lack of vocal projection by several of cast members.

Maybe the problem is Ludwig tried to duplicate what he has done before and the gimmicks seem repeats and miss the mark. Maybe it's the lack of creative staging. Maybe it's the lack of dynamic technical works.

Whatever, this is not one of CPH's shining moments!

Capsule judgement: I wish I could say that the relationship of positive productions by CPH, Ludwig and Sherlock Holmes continue with their latest co-adventure. Unfortunately, I can't. Ken Ludwig'S MORIARTY: A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE is short on clever writing, adventure, humor, pace and enjoyment. Too bad!

The show runs through May 21, 2023 in the Allen Theatre. For tickets call 216-400-7000 or go to https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/