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| John Arnold playing Sherlock Holmes |
By July of each year, I figure out
the story that we’ll be telling and rough out a script, noting the places
where songs will occur. Then, I talk to my fellow composer/lyricists, John W.
Henry and Frank Fusco, and divvy up the songwriting duties.
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| John W. Henry and Frank Fusco |
For the most part, my numbers are standard
musical comedy fare, often the first song that sets things up, some character
studies, funny novelty pieces, and usually a dance. John has written our
closing numbers for the last two years. He often creates songs expressing
strong emotions that feature soulful and uplifting melodies. We tease Frank about
being our “rocker” (he’s a member of the Thunder Pigs--check them out at http://thethunderpigs.com/),
but his songs have ranged from rock to polka to mysteriously suspenseful to
prayerful repentance.
John and Frank are talented guys.
Equally talented is our arranger, Matthew T. Caine. Matt is the Director of Music at Lyttleton
Street United Methodist Church in Camden, S.C. He has his DMA in Conducting
from the University of South Carolina. With a very good nature, he transcribes
the melodies we sing or play for him and tries to correct us in our musical
errors. Sometimes, we let him think he’s right. Actually, for the most part, we’re
a pretty agreeable group and appreciate the expertise Matt brings to our
proceedings.
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| Dr. Matthew T. Caine |
Last year,
we did a version of A Christmas Carol
called Once Upon a Christmastime
(again, see the January 8, 2013 blog), with a cast of almost thirty, including
a large number of children and young people. This year, for the first time, we
have a cast of only adults. It’s the smallest cast we’ve ever had with just
eleven players.
I guess I
should have expected mostly adults when I let people know that our play would be
based on the Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes’ story, “The Adventure of the
Blue Carbuncle.” But, I had noticed the renewed interest among all ages in Holmes from the
Robert Downey movies and the CBS and PBS series. Also, you can never be sure of
the participants until you hold auditions. That’s another good reason to
write your own production. You can tailor your script to the cast you have.
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| Watson (Jim Jarvis) and Holmes painting set |
After discovering the guilty party, Holmes
releases him because “it’s the season of forgiveness.” The story has a powerful
message of the possibility for redeeming a life.
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| John Arnold and Brenda Byrd |
We’ve
enjoyed tremendously putting together our A
Sherlock Holmes Christmas. The opening night dinner theater is sold out,
but if you’re in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, December 7, come to St. Paul’s at
the corner of Bull and Blanding Streets for the matinee at 3:00 pm or the
evening performance at 7:00 pm. No charge for an hour of entertainment that
will get you in the holiday mood.
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| Susan Craft on set |
Now, you may ask, what are the Tennessee
connections mentioned in the title of this post? One relates back to our
production from last year. The young actress portraying our Fan Scrooge, Ebenezer’s
sister who comes to his school to tell him he will celebrate the holiday with
family, was the delightful Emma Imholz. She had appeared in many local
productions and some films. This year, she auditioned and was given the role of
Fan in Dolly Parton’s version of A
Christmas Carol, being presented at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Broadway
World has a video featuring scenes from the Dollywood production. Our Em is in
the opening and closing sequences of that video and we are so proud of her.
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| Emma Imholz at Dollywood |
The other Tennessee
connection? The talented and versatile Judy Egner of Knoxville, Tennessee. You don’t recognize the
name? Perhaps you know her as Kaye George,
award nominated author of several short stories and three mystery series:
Imogene Duckworthy, Cressa Carraway Musical, and People of the Wind
(Neanderthal), whose Fat Cat series, that she is writing as Janet Cantrell, will
appear in September 2014. Visit her webpage kayegeorge.com for more
information.
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| Kaye George |
Judy/Kaye/Janet, as well as being a
wonderful writer is an excellent arranger and violinist. She kindly consented
to write “A Hymn to Holmes” celebrating Sherlock’s affection for the violin as
our pre-show music. We are proud to present its world premiere!
Support your local drama, singing, and dancing groups!
What theatrical productions do you plan to see for the holidays?
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