Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol: Highly-anticipated world premiere, delayed by arson, finally comes to the stage

Play by Seattle’s John Longenbaugh opens at Taproot Theatre on November 26

SEATTLE – October 19, 2010 – One year after the October 2009 arson that forced Taproot Theatre to postpone its world premiere production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, the theatre finally brings this holiday mystery to the stage in November and December. Underscoring the anticipation for this premiere by Seattle playwright John Longenbaugh, tickets are selling fast; two performances are already sold out, and Taproot has added an additional senior matinee. Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol—directed by producing artistic director Scott Nolte—opens on November 26 and runs through December 30, with low-price previews on November 19 and 20, plus a pay-what-you-can performance on November 24.

These then are the facts: The year, 1894. The date, Christmas Eve. The location, 221B Baker Street. After being presumed dead for three years, a hardened Sherlock Holmes resurfaces, turning his back on the people who need him most. Three unexpected callers arrive on Christmas Eve uncovering clues from the detective's past, present and future. Can they save Holmes and his world from a dire end? They must "do it all in one night" to accomplish the task.

Longenbaugh—a director and playwright with over 20 years of theatre experience—conceived the idea forSherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol out of a desire to see a holiday production that offers all the joys of classic stories such as Dickens’ oft-produced A Christmas Carol, but with some surprises mixed in. Having worked with Taproot Theatre in the past for the premiere of his play The Man Who Was Thursday (2002), Longenbaugh approached Nolte in 2007 about sitting in on a reading of the play. From there the two worked out a plan for getting the script ready to premiere at Taproot Theatre in November 2009.

However, on October 23, 2009, just four days after the first rehearsal, an arsonist set fire to the building adjacent to the theatre, forcing Taproot to temporarily relocate and postpone the play. Since then, Longenbaugh’s My Time with the Lady, co-written with Ron Richardson, premiered at the Little Red Studio in August, followed by Arcana, the collected evening of shorts, staged at Open Circle in September.

This holiday season the original cast from the planned 2009 production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol returns, with acclaimed actor Terry Edward Moore as Sherlock Holmes, along with David Dorrian, Aaron Lamb, Pam Nolte, Jesse Notehelfer, Eric Riedmann and Alex Robertson. Stephen Grenley joins the cast as Watson. The production team includes scenic and sound designer Mark Lund, costume designer Sarah Burch Gordon and lighting designer Jody Briggs. Britney Smallwood serves as stage manager, Shanna Ridenour as dialect coach and Judy Naegeli as dramaturg.