ORLANDO — Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Hound Of The Baskervilles is a sharp, eerie thriller that has enthralled readers for over a century, sending Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on the trail of a demonic hound terrorizing the village of Dartmoor and causing the premature death of members of the Baskervilles family.
The decision by Orlando Shakes to produce its own version of The Hound Of The Baskervilles seems logical for a Halloween season production, and the show does have a demonic hound, a shadowy figure that prowls the Baskervilles home at night, an eerie fog-covered moor, and even a werewolf tossed in for good measure.
But folks – this ain’t no horror show. In the grand tradition of slapstick and vaudeville, Orlando Shakes’ own The Hound Of the Baskervilles is a savage attack on the funny bone, determined to ring as many laugh-out-loud moments from the audience as the cast of zany nillies can manage. As it turns out, they manage quite a lot!
The Hound Of The Baskervilles is being performed now through Sunday, Nov. 2 inside the Shakes’ Goldman Theater, where three actors — Blake Croft, Philip Nolen and Timothy Williams — keep the gags flowing as they perform at the speed of a jumbo jet. If you’re a bit tuned out of this season’s push for all things terrifying, or shows about depressing people and their miserable lives, The Hound Of The Baskervilles is your happy anecdote: the sillier it gets, the louder the laughter. From goofy puns to pawsome dog jokes, this Hound is paww-fect escapist fare!
What is The Hound Of The Baskervilles?
Orlando Shakes is reviving a comedy they produced back in 2017, a camp-filled version of the Sherlock Holmes saga about the hunt for a man-killing-beast in England, adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson. Even Sherlock Holmes fans seem likely to find this extended Saturday Night Live-type skits wildly engaging; it demonstrates sheer delight in mocking all things Sherlock, with our three actors not only juggling multiple parts but engaging in a fierce battle to out-mug one another. At times I couldn’t tell if they were supremely gifted comedic actors, or simply three buds having a grand old time on stage. It works either way.
The show opens with Croft in a dark, shadowy moor, hearing the ominous sound of a dog howling. The howls get more fierce, panic comes over Croft and he starts to run, and appears to dies one of theatre history’s hammiest deaths. Oh, yummy!
Then the Fourth Wall between audience and performer is broken when Williams emerges to say, oops, sorry to interrupt the proceedings, but there’s an important announcement they force to mention before the show started. Since an Orlando Shakes patron died of fright the night before, would anyone prefer to leave now?
If anybody truly believed they might die of fright, I have an Eiffel Tower in Paris to sell them.
The show demonstrates no fear of being insanely juvenile — there are flatulence gags, poop jokes, shrieking black cats, and perhaps most humorously, a clever in-joke for Central Florida’s gay community when one character says “Queer place, this Dartmour,” and Watson responds, “Not since they painted over the cross walks.” Buh-dum-tiss! And yes, that one did get a hearty uproarious laugh.
In a very Monty Python-esque madcap spirit, the show has its finest moment of hilarity at the start of the second act, when Williams insists they perform the entire first act again before launching the second one. Reluctantly, they do — in an astonishing 5 minutes — and it moves so quickly and hysterically that it’s priceless. It was entirely possible that some members of the audience might have collapsed then – but from laughter, not terror.
How is the Orlando Shakes Production?
In their program notes, Orlando Shakes advises: “You are about to enter the world of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson where mystery meets mayhem and the hound is always hungrier than he looks … Do not enter if your do not understand sarcasm.” Good point, although anyone who has spent decades watching Saturday Night Live or know the history of vaudeville will get this one instantly. Hilarity is a good friend to speed; the performers keep it moving at such a lightning fast pace that the audience never has time to do more than roll in the aisles laughing.
Croft, Nolen and Williams are a fabulous tag team, juggling so many minor roles that its dizzying. Together they plumb rich humor in a steam bath, a horse drawn carriage, and a creepy Gothic mansion, while the proficient Orlando Shakes tech team livens things with sound effects that are often as funny as the performers. One of the highlights: on their first night in the Baskervilles home, Croft is scared to be alone in bed while a shadowy figure stalks him – and then its Nolen in bed! Then Croft! Then they’re together! It’s one of the funniest set pieces in the show.
With the great Shakespeare tragedy Romeo And Juliet on tap for the spring, it’s nice to get a joyful breather in this pleasantly goofball show that seldom aims higher than simply keeping us laughing. Happily, it definitely exceeds its ambitions.
Where Can I See The Hound of The Baskervilles?
The Hound Of the Baskervilles is being performed now through Sunday, Nov. 2 at Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St. in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park. The show is 2 hours long, with a 15 minute intermission, and being performed in the Goldman theater.
Call 407-447-1700 for tickets and more information.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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