GreenMan Theatre puts on ‘Miss Holmes Returns’
Cast rehearsals and ticket sales are in full swing for GreenMan Theatre Troupe’s May 9-18, staged reading of “Miss Holmes Returns,” a murder mystery based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and written by Christopher M. Walsh.
In the follow-up to Walsh’s play “Miss Holmes,” “Miss Holmes Returns” showcases the Victorian-era sleuthing friendship of Miss Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Dorothy Watson.
The mystery centers around nurse and activist Priya Singh who finds herself wanted for murder and on the run. Pursued by authorities who choose to ignore a clear case of self-defense due to her Indian heritage and to a sinister plot from the shadowy criminal underworld that reaches to the highest levels of British government, Singh turns to Miss Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Dorothy Watson for help.
Cast members are:
• Katie Soria as Sherlock Holmes
• Lauren Anders Visser as Dr. Dorothy Watson
• Judith McLaughlin as Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock and Watson’s disapproving landlady
• Kevin Hathaway as Scotland Yard Inspector Geoffrey Lestrade
• Victor Polites as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother, and as a dockworker
• Sia Mesariya as Priya Singh, a nurse and activist, the daughter of Indian immigrants
• Abby McEntee as Josephine Butler, a feminist political activist and organizer
• Tess Caldwell, Olive McGann, a former prostitute, now an assistant to Josephine Butler
• Antonia Arellano as Mrs. Wiggins, a member of Sherlock’s Knitting Circle
• Tony Lopez as Daniel Burke, a banker with ties to organized crime
• Rob Cramer as Adam Worthington, a bookish teacher
“For audiences that came to GreenMan’s production of ‘Miss Holmes,’ it will feel like coming home to revisit many characters they already know,” said director Becca Easley. “And new audience members will find they don’t need previous knowledge of the characters because ‘Miss Holmes Returns’ is written as a stand-alone mystery.”
“Miss Holmes Returns” will be Hathaway’s first appearance in a staged reading. (A staged reading is a rehearsed read-through of a script performed in front of a seated audience featuring costuming and minimal props.)
A veteran of GreenMan Theatre productions, he has appeared in three of the troupe’s annual murder mystery dinner theaters and in “The Gravediggers” in “8 to the Bar 2024.”
“The acting experience is very different, and it’s fun working around the limitations of a staged reading,” Hathaway said. “I’m enjoying bringing my role as Scotland Yard Inspector Geoffrey Lestrade to life. He’s one of the few good cops on the force.”
In her first GreenMan Theatre role, McEntee was thrilled to learn that her character — feminist, activist and organizer Josephine Butler — was an actual historical figure from the Victorian era.
When McEntee described her character Butler to her twin sister, her sister said, “Oh, so basically, you’re playing yourself!” “I admit I am somewhat of an activist too,” McEntee said. “I like that Butler lives her values and is fighting for equal rights for women.”
The staged reading of “Miss Holmes Returns” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, May 9-18, at Elmhurst History Museum’s Education Center, 120 E. Park Ave.
Tickets are $15. “That’s a really reasonable price for a full-length performance,” Easley said. Tickets can be purchased at ticketpeak.co/GMTT, or at the door prior to each performance providing the show is not sold out.
In its 21st season, GreenMan Theatre Troupe is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide a source of cultural enrichment and pride for the community by presenting diverse, quality productions and providing opportunities for personal growth in the theatrical arts. GreenMan has been presenting plays in Elmhurst since being founded in 2003. Past productions include “Dracula,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Doubtful Abbey.” GreenMan also offers classes and workshops for members and the community and welcomes new members and participants in all aspects of theater production. GreenMan programs are partially supported by Explore Elmhurst, as well as other individual and corporate donations.