Sherlock! And the Mystery of Me
"Every great story has a great beginning..."
Sherlock! And the Mystery of Me
Adapted from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle
Ages 13 and up
Book by Sarah Shulman
Music & Lyrics by Brian Scott
Synopsis
This is the origin story you’ve been waiting for! When a teenage Jane Watson suddenly finds herself orphaned her life is turned upside down. She is shuffled off to the Hudson Home for Orphaned Children. It's there that she meets the orphanage’s resident weirdo, Sherlock Holmes. Fascinated by Sherlock's eccentricities, Watson joins him on a mission to solve the varying occurrences around the orphanage. However, when a murder is committed at Hudson Home, Sherlock and Watson realize they have a real-deal mystery on their hands. With the help of their friends they take to the streets of London looking to solve the case, but Sherlock has his own secret agenda: he is after something much bigger... finding out the mystery of who he is and where he comes from. "Sherlock! And the Mystery of Me" might be a new story, but it is full of many familiar imaginings of original "Sherlock" author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Every character is pulled from his stories, and with over 200 references, easter eggs, and quotes it is sure to be educational as well as a great time for all involved!
Production
"Sherlock!" was originally produced at the Maryland Ensemble Theater as part of MET's Summer Outreach Program. From there it went on to be produced at McDaniel College and St. John's Visitation Academy. Fairly simplistic in it's design needs, it makes an ideal choice for high schools, colleges, or professional stages.
Casting "Sherlock!"
"Sherlock!" is very flexible when it comes to casting. The show could have as large of an ensemble as you would like, while featuring over10 key players, and there are several roles that can be played by actors of varying ages.
Diversity is key with Sherlock, and you'll find multiple LGBTQ+ characters and themes throughout. With the exception of a few characters (noted below), gender is fairly irrelevant to casting, allowing for gender bending. Pronouns can be changed from what is represented in the script.
Cast: (as writen in script)
Sherlock: He/him
Jane Watson: She/her (not to be changed)
Mycroft "Minny" Holmes: She/her
Sebastian: He/him
Mary: She/Her (not to be changed)
Stamford: He/him
Billy: He/Him
Wiggins: She/Her/They/Them
Lestrade: He/Him
Moriarty: He/Him
Irene Adler: She/Her
Enoch Drebber: He/Him
Mrs. Hudson: She/Him
Officer Bradstreet: He/Him
Thorne: He/him
Ensemble: orphans, hounds, irregulars, street folks, police officers
Music
Sherlock is a full scale musical with two acts and eleven songs. The music is a unique modern pop/rock style and incorporates authentic industrial sounds. The play comes with a vocal score, vocal recordings, and a complete set of professional quality perfomance tracks. Due to the deatailed sounds layered in the music, it is meant to be performed with the tracks rather than a live orchestra. "Sherlock!" contains multiple ensemble numbers as well as solos/duet numbers.
