Desert Ensemble Theatre’s world-premiere production of Sherlock Holmes Confidential runs for another weekend at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
The play, by DET co-founder Tony Padilla, was presented as part of the company’s 2022 summer reading series, and it went over so well that executive director Shawn Abramowitz and artistic director Jerome Elliott Moskowitz (who directs here) made it this season’s final offering.
The play—Padilla’s ninth original production performed by DET—offers a different and surprising look at the famous Sherlock Holmes, who we all know as a sophisticated and brilliant problem-solver. Right?
Wrong.
It’s around 1890 in London, and Doctor Watson, played by Justin Ledesma, has just ended his time as a soldier in India; he hopes to become a writer. (We all know what eventually happened to that idea.) He has returned from India with plenty of tea. Ledesma puts a lot into his role, with changeable facial expressions and lots of posturing, and his hard work pays off beautifully. Wait until you hear the explanation of his name.
Like Watson, Sherlock Holmes, played by Alex Price, is just at the start of his career. We see how the whole myth of Holmes is created by Watson’s newspaper writings. Price manages to give us a different, mostly reactive version of the character, rather than the proactive one we usually see. He harrumphs a lot.
Lady Hudson (or simply Mrs. Hudson, as she likes to be known), is the owner of an enormous house which contains several flats—one of which Watson proposes to share with Sherlock Holmes. Barbara Kerr nearly steals the show in this role, with the most believable British accent in the cast, and her supreme confidence in handling her huge and flattering skirts. Her gestures are perfect, and she never misses a word through some very long and elaborate monologues. She also can be hugely funny. Kerr is perfectly cast as a lady who surprises us with her brilliance.
Nora Tate, played by Katrina Dixon, is an ambitious young woman in a garden-style hat who has set her mind on marrying Sherlock Holmes. In fact, she is so focused on cornering Holmes that she uses all of her wiles (and beautiful costumes), as well as her business connections, to try to make this happen.
Larry Dyekman plays two roles. In Act One, he is Inspector Leicester (pronounced “Lester”—you know how the English can be); in Act Two, he surprises us by appearing as Professor Sanchez. Both characters move the plot along and fill in information for the audience. With the number of English accents available to actors, it would have been nice to see some vocal variety, but evidently the effort went into his appearance change.
Speaking of appearances, we have to make special mention of the costumes, designed by Andrew Maclaine. The cast is so well dressed; no effort was spared in the costumes’ creation. Also worth a mention is the work of the scenic designer, Thomas L. Valach. Every time I go to this theater, the stage seems to be bigger, and I can’t figure out how that happens. The use of this space is extraordinary. Most of the play happens in Sherlock and Watson’s flat, and as the action continues, we spot more decorative details … like that skull, for example! (Unfortunately, the riser creaked loudly every time anyone walked on it; if that can’t be fixed, perhaps it would be better left flat.)
The playwright did a lot of research, perfectly exemplified by someone in the cast saying “Darjeeling” (an Indian tea, if you didn’t grow up in a household where it was used), which was deliciously verbalized a couple of times. There are many examples like that, and clearly the atmosphere of those times enchanted Padilla.
Both playwright Padilla and director Moskowitz have put a lot of work and much thought into the play’s success. In the foyer before the performance, I ran into both of them and asked if the writer had attended rehearsals. Padilla—shamelessly sporting a T-shirt advertising his show—admitted, “Yeah, I went to a couple of the rehearsals, made a couple of suggestions … .” I’ll bet.
Sherlock Holmes Confidential is a well-crafted work—and it will be most interesting to see what happens to it in the future.
Desert Ensemble Theatre’s production of Sherlock Holmes Confidential will be performed at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, through Sunday, April 21, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $37.50. For tickets or more information, call 760-565-2476, or visit www.desertensembletheatre.org.