\u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d is a hilarious stage comedy that will keep you laughing even as you try to figure out \u201cwhodunit.\u201d<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t figure it out. That\u2019s OK. You weren\u2019t meant do.<\/p>\n
You will laugh. That you were meant to do.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a \u201cMoriarty\u201d lesson in laughter with \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d through Aug. 1, PA Shakespeare Festival, Main Stage Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d is in repertory with William Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cRomeo & Juliet,\u201d through Aug. 2, PA Shakespeare Festival.<\/p>\n
The July 18 opening night performance of \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d was seen for this review.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d is a parody of the world of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective of some four novels and 56 short stories (1887-1927) by Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930).<\/p>\n
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed human literary character, according to Guinness World Records. Readers of the works about the Victorian and Edwardian era crime-sleuth are said to have created the concept of fandom.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to be a member of The Baker Street Irregulars, the organization Sherlock Holmes\u2019 fans founded in 1934, to enjoy \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt Pfeiffer, director, PSF\u2019s \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d doesn\u2019t miss an opportunity to give Sherlock a good Sherlockian in the humor department.<\/p>\n
The play derives its comedy from wordplay, the faux umbrage in the interplay of its characters and sight gags (the Mona Lisa-esque face cut-out painting is one example).<\/p>\n
Pfeiffer plumbs with his inherent and self-assured enthusiasm and with great amusement the eccentricities of the characters, all the while keeping the play grounded within the intricacies of the plot.<\/p>\n
If the play\u2019s the thing, especially at a Shakespeare festival, even more so, the actors\u2019 performances win the day. \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d provides a field day for the wonderful PSF cast, who fully relish and embrace their parts with gusto, glee and strength.<\/p>\n
Pfeiffer gives full comedic license to the actors, none more so than Ian Merrill Peakes, who, in addition to playing Holmes\u2019 arch-nemesis, the titular Moriarty, plays King Otto and Others too numerous to mention. I cannot put into words how hilarious is Ian Merrill Peakes\u2019 performance. Or should I say performances?<\/p>\n
Ian Merrill Peakes is often seen in serious roles at PSF. In \u201cMoriarty,\u201d his comedic potential is unleashed. His is one of the funniest performances ever at PSF and a memorable turn in his career there. PSF theater-goers will long be talking about his performance. The play is worth seeing for Ian Merrill Peakes\u2019 performance alone.<\/p>\n
This is not to slight PSF\u2019s \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d other stellar performers, who assay some 30 roles in the show.<\/p>\n
Cassia Thompson is a delight portraying Irene Adler and startlingly good in other roles (Mrs. Hudson, Cartwright), such as when she scrunches down into an otherwise unrecognizable character.<\/p>\n
Karen Peakes is transformational as Daisy, Mrs. Barbaras, Hilda Klebb and Others. She\u2019s as funny as she is as tightly-wound in her performance, replete in one role with a \u201cBride of Frankenstein\u201d by way of \u201cYoung Frankenstein\u201d white streak in an Elsa Lanchester-inspired hairstyle.<\/p>\n
Doug Hara as Doctor Watson plays it straight, yet not without clever acknowledgment, with the slightest of sly and impish looks, shared with the audience.<\/p>\n
At the center of the meshugenah is Sherlock Holmes, played by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as a man in control: cool, precise, ever-present and smugly reassuring when he dons the deerstalker hat, Inverness cape and mimes smoking the curved calabash pipe.<\/p>\n
Adding to the fun is a puppet of a shaggy dog created by Angel D\u2019Andria.<\/p>\n
The show moves fast, propelled by a plot based on several of Doyle\u2019s stories and books. There\u2019s a fair amount of action, too, including an intense scene of swordplay guided by Eli Lynn, fight director.<\/p>\n
The PSF production has original music by Alex Bechtel that is played by an on-stage ensemble of Tyler Borneo, Arrianna Daniels, Darin F. Earl II, Eli Lynn and Daniel J. Espie, music director, working with David M. Greenberg, sound designer.<\/p>\n
Percussive and sound gags lend to the proceedings the effect of foley artists in a radio play broadcast.<\/p>\n
The production is shrouded in an exquisite set of dark wood hues festooned with fascinating details by Brian Sidney Bembridge, scenic designer, and has an exceptionally responsive mood by Thom Weaver, lighting designer.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no place like Holmes for legerdemain. The legendary sleuth looks behind the disguise, seeing what we don\u2019t, what is hiding in plain sight, before your very eyes, this sleight of hand that is \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d a gem of a production at the PA Shakespeare Festival. This is ensemble theater at its best. You would be remiss if you miss it.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d 7:30 p.m. July 16, 17, 18, 23, 25, 29, 31; 6:30 p.m. July 21, 28; 2 p.m. July 22, 26, Aug. 1. \u201cEpilogues,\u201d free discussion and behind-the-scenes look at the show, 10 a.m. July 25. Audio-described, open-captioned performance, 2 p.m. Aug. 1. PA Shakespeare Festival, Main Stage Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-9455, https:\/\/pashakespeare.org\/<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY KRISTY MCKEEVERIan Merrill Peakes (Moriarty), \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d PA Shakespeare Festival, DeSales University.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY KRISTY MCKEEVERMaboud Ebrahimzadeh (Sherlock Holmes), \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d PA Shakespeare Festival, DeSales University.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY KRISTY MCKEEVERDoug Hara (Doctor Watson), \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d PA Shakespeare Festival, DeSales University.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY KRISTY MCKEEVERKaren Peakes, Cassia Thompson, \u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty,\u201d PA Shakespeare Festival, DeSales University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cKen Ludwig\u2019s Moriarty\u201d is a hilarious stage comedy that will keep you laughing even as you try to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-250995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}