Review: 'Baskerville' by Phoenix Stage Company

Photos by Lisa Cherie

The play’s afoot in Oakville

Oakville, CT - Phoenix Stage Company opened their production of ‘Baskerville’ at the former Clockwork Repertory in Oakville on Saturday evening to an appreciative audience.

Playwright Ken Ludwig (‘Lend Me a Tenor,’ ‘Moon Over Buffalo’) has transformed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale of Sherlock Holmes ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ into a “murderously” funny adventure. The award-winning mastermind of mayhem has done it again with a super fast-paced comedy about the beloved detective who is attempting to solve his most notorious case. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are dropping one by one and in order to find their clever killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the moors of Devonshire before the family curse takes its newest heir.

The opening night audience got to watch as the intrepid investigators tried to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit and laugh along with all of the fun. For those of us unfamiliar with the novel, we were kept guessing until the final moments.

Directed by Ed Bassett, this was a fast-paced comedy that reminded me of ‘The 39 Steps.’ After the intermission, there was a recap of the suspects that was both funny and helpful. The costumes designed by the director were delightfully authentic and Aric Martin was the wig master. The very simple set allowed the actors to paint the necessary pictures, with props by Lori Poulin to guide the way.

CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast of the Backstage with Johnny O interview with Lori Poulin and Kaycee Ross.

Community theatre veteran Jonathan Ross, who was in the cast of ‘Bleacher Bums, the very first production of the PSC in the original Naugatuck location, only plays Sherlock Holmes and Tim Phillips only appears as Dr. Watson. Both did a fine job of bringing the classic duo to life.

The rest of the cast members, all of whom have appeared in numerous PCS productions, got to play more than 40 supporting players and that was probably the best thing about this piece. Debbie Goodman was in her element in her many roles, ranging from a baby, to a funny German maid to a besotted blonde named Miss Stapleton. I pretty much laughed every time she entered in a different wig. Rodney K had his own long list of changes in costume/character/accent and he did so convincingly. Kaycee Ross’ characters ranged in age from a teenaged boy, to a male inspector to a gray-haired housekeeper. Dan Willey worked his magic onstage to morph into characters both male and female, one more engaging than the next.

The actor Rodney K had requested on social media a copy of the Weekend section of the Rep-Am that featured a great photo of the cast on the cover, so I left mine for him at the box office when I claimed my ticket. The Waterbury newspaper’s reviewer Joanne Greco Rochman was in attendance for her review, so look for it on Thursday in the Weekend section. In his curtain speech with Agnes Dann, Mr. Bassett spoke of the upcoming mini-golf tournament on Aug. 5 that is always a lot of fun.

I also ran into some other celebrities in the audience on opening night. Roy O’Neil, who wrote the book and lyrics for ‘Eddie and the Palaceades’ recognized me and told me of a workshop of his musical coming up in New York featuring Waterbury’s own Mandy Leigh Thompson. Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre director Bob Tansley, a Sherlock Holmes aficionado, shared with me which musical he has planned for next year. Community theatre veteran actress Lea Dmytryck sat in the front row and spoke with Mr. Bassett about her newest project.

I sat next to Suz Abrams, the director of the upcoming PSC production of the play ‘Female Transport.’ Auditions for the drama will be July 16th & 17th 7-9pm at Phoenix Stage Company. They are seeking any ethnicities, all adult ages, and low-English/Cockney accent. I also got to meet the stage manager of the upcoming Shakesperience production of ‘The Tempest’ and hear how rehearsals are going. ‘The Tempest’ will be performed on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30pm at Hollow Park in Woodbury and CJ Janis will be playing guitar onstage in the role of the boatswain. Then after the curtain call, I was able to hug Ms. Goodman, who was celebrating her birthday on opening night.

This was a fun romp that challenged the audience to pay attention. Get your deerstalker cap on and head to the Phoenix Stage Company and see how far from elementary the truth can truly be.

‘Baskerville’ by Ken Ludwig continues at Phoenix Stage Company on Sun., July 16, 2017 | 3pm. Fri., July 21, 2017 | 8pm, Sat., July 22, 2017 | 8pm, Sun., July 23, 2017 | 3pm, Fri., July 28, 2017 | 8pm and Sat., and July 29, 2017 | 8pm.

Next up at PSC is ‘Rebel Yells,’ the winner of the new works project in 2015 that runs Sept. 9 - 23. The play was written by Steve Warren and is directed by Ed Bassett. Seven soldiers and a nurse share a hospital ward in Richmond, Virginia even as the cannon balls fall around them during the last days of the Civil War. While each has lost something different to the war - an arm, a leg, a voice, a faith, a son—all have lost their courage and self-respect. In the course of the play, harsh secrets of wartime deeds emerge as the men struggle to recover their honor and redeem themselves even as their beloved South dies just outside the hospital walls. The cast includes Kristen Jacobsen, Dan Willey, Leland Schick, Rob Richnavsky, Jonathan Ross, Josh Gogol, Tim Phillips and Chris Evans will return to the PSC for this “beautiful” work.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and posts reviews of well over 100 reviews each year. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch site(s) closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417