Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

by Ken Ludwig

Get your deerstalker cap on-the play's afoot! Comedic genius Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo) transforms Arthur Conan Doyle's classic The Hound of the Baskervilles into a murderously funny adventure. Sherlock Holmes is on the case. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one. To find their ingenious killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Watch as our intrepid investigators try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit as five actors deftly portray more than 40 characters. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can our heroes discover the truth in time? Join the fun and see how far from elementary the truth can be.

Genres: Plays, Mystery, Theatre

94 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2015

About the author

KEN LUDWIG is an internationally-acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had 6 shows on Broadway and 6 in the West End. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Edgar Award, the SETC Distinguished Career Award, the Edwin Forrest Award for Services to the Theatre and he is a McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman Fellow. His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Bristol Old Vic. His first play on Broadway, Lend Me A Tenor, won three Tony Awards and the New York Times called it "one of the two great farces by a living writer." His other best-known Broadway and West End shows include Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway, Tony Award Winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Twentieth Century, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Game’s Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, Midsummer/Jersey, The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and The Beaux’ Stratagem. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, was published in June 2013 by Random House, and his work has been published by the Yale Review. He has degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College and Cambridge University. For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com

Reviews

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread last night to kick off our rehearsal process! The show goes up at the end of May and I'm so excited to work on this project. Lists coming out of my ears already.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit average as a reading experience, but it could be a great production with the right director and actors to sort it all out. As noted in another review, this is very derivative of the style of The 39 Steps with quick changes, funny voices, and characters playing multiple parts. It does a serviceable job of translating The Hound of the Baskervilles to the stage, but it's more about the humor than the mystery. This would be a great pleasure for Holmes fans if done right (but then again, could be painful if done badly).

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Baskerville” by Ken Ludwig is an intriguing, mind melting play based on the classic “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Arthur Conan Doyle. In this twisted mystery, Sherlock Holmes and his companion Doctor Watson are confronted with the case of Sir Charles Baskerville, who met an untimely death due to an elusive (maybe not-so-legendary) hound. This plunged Sir Henry Baskerville, a Texan, into inheriting his estate. With this, the 1890’s lads Watson and Holmes are assigned to the case and travel to the English countryside to investigate the case further. Along the way there are twists and turns that bring us closer and even yet much farther from the case than we have ever expected. A prominent message in the story is the awareness of the fragile balance between life and death. We see this multiple times, especially towards the end of the play when Victor is found dead on the moors and mistaken for Sir Henry. Watson is grief stricken as he stumbles upon the apparent state of what he believes is not only just one of his clients, but one of his newer and closer friends as he swears to Holmes that “[He] will put [Stapleton] away for life!”(74).

My favorite character in this play is Jack Stapleton. Stapleton is the antagonist of the story who lives on the moors with his sister, Beryl, whom he forces to present herself as his wife. He immediately comes across as an eccentric oddball, which makes him even funnier than ever and gives the actor free rein to make outstanding character choices to bring Stapleton to life. Due to this butterfly crazed fellow’s unsuspicious manner, it is even more dramatic when we learn he is the culprit behind the murders we see throughout the story as he makes a starved hound do his bidding. I think the author intended the audience to feel comfortable with Stapleton so it’s that much more shocking later on when we learn the truth. After figuring out Stapleton is the culprit, Holmes states this difference in character, saying “He’s as cool as one of his butterflies, tempting capture, then fluttering away” (77). Holmes and Watson pray they can stop him before his next kill. I enjoyed Stapleton the most because of the difference in character that shines through in the text and even further when it is presented on stage through the perspective of the actor.

I absolutely loved this playwright. Throughout the process of reading, I was forced to think and I was constantly in Holmes’s position, making deductions and predictions left and right. I also prefer reading scripts as I find that they give you more of an in depth analysis of what the author intended as he wrote. The stage directions help me visualize the character and understand more about how they are feeling without having it said in front of me in black and white. As an actress, I also particularly enjoy reading scripts because they help me connect to the characters more as I read. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys acting or mysteries, also to anyone who needs help visualizing what’s going on. The book does a really good job of explaining the plot without delving into too much explanation, which also makes me want to recommend this to anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, but can’t follow along as well with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s version.

[Tony Loyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very similar to The 39 Steps play but whereas The 39 Steps is a raucous comedy, Baskerville is not. There are notes of comedy but in its essence, this is a straight Sherlock Holmes play with rather thin writing that relies on a small cast playing multiple parts for a reason besides humour. At least that's how I read it. I didn't find many laughs in here, it's possible the small cast is to make it easier to produce but it's a device that is usually used for comedies, so I'm at something of a loss. It's cute but no substance and few laughs and I don't think seeing this play live would miraculously change anything. Also, the amount of scene changes and costume changes are all but impossible to achieve on stage and obviously needs to be done minimalistically if at all, and that would make this show unappealing visually on top of everything else. I wasn't a fan of this show, which is a shame as I generally like the author.

[John Geddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my taste, it’s very 39 Steps. Even with that caveat, I’m unsure how the staging would work. The ongoing joke about everyone having an accent (big and for comedy) feels like it would get grating. I’d definitely be interested in seeing a production though. I may just be too much of a traditionalist.

[Jessica Sturm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like Ludwigs plays the best roles are for men. Many have remarked this would be great staged. I'm in a production now and it is much better staged.

[Gregory Andis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun!!!

[Elyra Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun play, especially for Holmes fans!

[Lissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the play aloud with my kids in preparation for seeing it produced at our community theatre. Delightful!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful

[Dan Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spoof of hound of the Baskerville this play has three actor playing various roles throughout the play.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious.

[Will Jenkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is said that the best way to "read" a play is to see it performed (professionally if it all possible). By reading a script you don't get nuances that are added to the script by the actors and directors. Ludwig's Baskerville is a play I am curious to see performed as reading the play itself for possible future production didn't do much for me. The plot of course follows the Doyle story but much of the humor seems to come off as a shameless rip-off of Patrick Barlow's 39 Steps, which uses the idea of a limited number of actors playing multiple roles. Many of the comic ideas come from larger than life foreign characters doing outrageous accents (like 39 Steps) and actors transforming into different characters on the spot (ditto). While Ludwig creates a fast paced story and some good comic effects, it's terribly difficult to not compare this play to the one that certainly was its inspiration.

[Kendra Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read; probably even more fun staged. Could split the women into several roles, but yet again, the best roles are for men. Would be fun to watch. Lots of theatre magic.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more the second time