Artists Rep Continues 30th Anniversary Season With Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol

Portland, November 15th. If you’re looking for holiday entertainment from one of Portland’s many outstanding theater companies, Artists Rep has an unique offering starting November 27th. Our favorite quirky, Scrooge-infused inquisitor and his host of supernatural visitors return this holiday season with a remount of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, crafted by Seattle veteran playwright John Longenbaugh. In this caper through time, Dr. Watson rallies to cheer Holmes into celebrating the holiday season but the unrepentant, ill-tempered detective resists until he is forced to deduce the facts and solve the most important mystery of his own life – past, present and future.

This production offers an opportunity to revisit the script, shift focus and go a little deeper into the overall theme of the universal spirit of the season with returning and new cast members. Michael Mendelson will reprise his role of Sherlock in this 2012 production; he is joined by new cast members Tim Blough as Dr. Watson, Jane Fellows as Mrs. Hudson and Melissa Whitney as Becky – full cast list below. The play premiered at Taproot Theatre Company in Seattle to standing room only houses for the 2010 holidays and had its second production as Artists Rep’s 2012 holiday show.

CAST

Holmes Michael Mendelson

Watson Tim Blough

Mrs. Hudson Jane Fellows

Becky Melissa Whitney

Moriarty Tobias Andersen

Young Holmes Matthew Kerrigan

Lestrade Nathan Crosby

Old Garrison Gary Powell

 

PRODUCTION

Set Designer Jeff Seats

Lighting Designer Jeff Forbes

Sound Designer Rodolfo Ortega

Costume Designer Jessica Bobillot

Props Designer Rusty Tennant

Stage Manager Tozzi McDowell

Production Assistants Olivia Murphy, Kristen Mun

 

About the play:

John Longenbaugh, Playwright

John Longenbaugh has been writing and directing plays in Seattle and elsewhere for over 20 years. A graduate of London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, he’s been the artistic director of Ursa Major Theatre and Theatre Babylon, and has written nearly a dozen full-length plays and a lot of shorter ones. Favorites include Scotch and Donuts, Little White Pill, The Man Who Was Thursday (staged at Taproot in 2002), How to be Cool, and the collected evening of shorts Arcana, recently staged at Open Circle Theatre. He is a proud member of The Dramatist Guild and The Sound of the Baskervilles.

Jon Kretzu, Director

Jon Kretzu has directed 50 productions in almost 20 years at Artists Rep including the world premieres of Tracy Letts’ Three Sisters, Marc Acito and C.S Whitcomb’s Holidazed, Joseph Fisher’s The Seagull, The New House and (I Am Still) The Duchess of Malfi, and Richard Kramer’s adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. He has also directed Next to Normal, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, A Streetcar Named Desire, The History Boys, Othello, Design For Living, All My Sons, Speech and Debate, Orson’s Shadow, The Retreat from Moscow, Mr. Marmalade, Assassins, Humble Boy, Death of a Salesman, Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, The Laramie Project, Dinner with Friends, Master Class, Present Laughter, A Question of Mercy, Indiscretions, Keely and Du, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Breaking the Code, Chaps!, The Sea, The Normal Heart, The Destiny of Me, Buried Child, The Artificial Jungle, Three Tall Women (USIA International Tour) and co-directed House and Garden with Allen Nause. Other Portland directing credits include Cloud 9 at Theatre Vertigo, Dracula for Northwest Classical Theatre Company, The Carpetbagger’s Children for Profile Theatre, Guys and Dolls for The Musical Theatre Company, Romeo and Juliet, A Winter’s Tale, Much Ado About, Nothing and As You Like It for Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company, Waiting for Vern, Jeffrey, Bent and The Sum of Us for triangle productions!, Broadway Bound and Hay Fever for Portland Repertory Theatre, The Importance of Being Earnest for New Rose Theatre, The Mystery of Irma Vep for Storefront Theatre and Down the Road for the Oregon One-Act Festival. Jon has also directed numerous productions in Seattle, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles. Jon recently directed the final workshop production of It Shoulda Been You at the Village Theatre before it heads to Broadway in the Spring.

Artists Repertory Theatre

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol is presented with support from the United Airlines and OPSIS Architecture. The 2012/13 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Premiere season sponsors are Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate and The Oregonian. Season hotel sponsors are Mark Spencer Hotel and Hotel deLuxe. The 2012/13 radio sponsor is KINK.FM. Other support comes from Regional Arts Culture Council, Work for Art, Oregon Arts Commission, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, All Classical and Maletis Beverage. Now celebrating its 30^th season, Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theatre company in Portland. Artists Rep strives to challenge artists and audiences with plays of depth and vibrancy in an intimate setting. Artists Rep explores the strengths, frailties, and diversity of the human condition primarily through regional premieres, commissioned works and selected classics appropriate to contemporary issues.

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 Information submitted by Nicole A. Lane, Artists Repertory Theatre