There are several reasons I love watching James Houska on stage: he can do just about any accent you can think of believably, he’s not afraid to look quite silly, he throws himself into the characters he plays, and seems to effortlessly float from character to character within the same show and make them distinctive from one another. I found Mr. Houska to be the most interesting actor to watch on stage for Riverwalk’s “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” because he jumped into his roles with gusto in a show that lacked energy and, well, suspense, or for that matter even all that much of a plot.
Of course, the fault of the script shouldn’t reflect on the actors, and mostly what I saw on stage was a very flawed script which attempted to create mystery, intelligence and an ultimate rivalry between a brilliantly deductive Detective Holmes and a maniacally evil mastermind, Moriarty. The problem is, Holmes was not terribly charming nor Moriarty terribly evil, and there was no real explanation for their rivalry. That makes for a difficult relationship to create then, since it is established superficially.
Terry Jones picks up most of the jokes in the show, making a really likeable Watson, however. He carried a heavy-line load, and he did a great job of showing his loyalty to Holmes and making the audience believe it. He also narrates the show, and keeps the audience abreast through all of the scene changes.
Kevin Burnham as Sherlock Holmes seemed to run through his lines, in fact to the point of stumbling over the lines of other actors on stage, and wasn’t as dynamic, or as funny, as I hoped. There wasn’t any chemistry between he and Irene Adler, played by his wife Tanya Burnham, which rather surprised me. It was as if they were walking through the play and rushed the scenes they were in. Mrs. Burnham didn’t have chemistry with Joe Dickson either. Mr. Dickson did a fine job of playing a doting husband and then a sniveling bad guy – unlikable and better off dead. Quite suitably played indeed. Another praiseworthy mention in a small role is Amy Winchell; she went from nosy housemaid to bitter sister looking for revenge with passion and again, provided a bit of emotion in a show that lacked the intensity one would think you would find between arch-enemies.
Mrs. Burnham did do a great job in the scene she shared with Michael Hays. She felt authentic, and though that scene was short, it was very well done. Mr. Hays as the King of Bohemia held his own and offered a good emotional foil to Mr. Burnham’s intellectual Holmes. He held himself in a worried kingly sort of fashion (though I was a bit confused by his entrance), and he was able to salvage some humor as well. Good job, Mr. Hays.
And then we have Mark Zussman as Dr. Moriarty, the mastermind criminal to Sherlock Holmes. Through no fault of Mr. Zussman, he seemed more like Moe of the Three Stooges rather than some sort of supra-intelligent human and the only man with enough ambition to take on Holmes. His character bumbles in and out of the play and talks a great deal about how intelligent Holmes is and how to prepare for him; however, it just isn’t well fleshed-out nor particularly "evil." In fact, his character as written seemed rather dull, and it was good to see Mr. Zussman breathe some life into it. He was superbly costumed, as were all of the characters in the cast, but I didn’t catch fear and awe from his performance. He and Mr. Burnham seemed to play stereotypes, which may have been a directorial choice, instead of taking their lines and putting emotion, depth, intonation and other resonances within their vocalizations. They seemed to be directed to be caricatures, rather than characters, on stage.
The set was very well dressed and built, aptly thought out and designed for the show. The black stairs at the back seemed somewhat awkward, but then melded into the background since most of the action takes place downstage. Some of the tech sounds seemed out of place or a bit loud, but otherwise the technical aspects of the show went very well.
Overall I’m not impressed with Mr. Dietz’ script; if it had ended in the gas room I would have been happier, and it would have made more sense. It seemed to go on and on, without much purpose or drive. The actors did their best to breathe life into the show; I was left wanting Holmes to be more charming, more alluring to Ms. Adler, more of an adversary to Dr. Moriarty, and more of a mystery…
Of course, the fault of the script shouldn’t reflect on the actors, and mostly what I saw on stage was a very flawed script which attempted to create mystery, intelligence and an ultimate rivalry between a brilliantly deductive Detective Holmes and a maniacally evil mastermind, Moriarty. The problem is, Holmes was not terribly charming nor Moriarty terribly evil, and there was no real explanation for their rivalry. That makes for a difficult relationship to create then, since it is established superficially.
Terry Jones picks up most of the jokes in the show, making a really likeable Watson, however. He carried a heavy-line load, and he did a great job of showing his loyalty to Holmes and making the audience believe it. He also narrates the show, and keeps the audience abreast through all of the scene changes.
Kevin Burnham as Sherlock Holmes seemed to run through his lines, in fact to the point of stumbling over the lines of other actors on stage, and wasn’t as dynamic, or as funny, as I hoped. There wasn’t any chemistry between he and Irene Adler, played by his wife Tanya Burnham, which rather surprised me. It was as if they were walking through the play and rushed the scenes they were in. Mrs. Burnham didn’t have chemistry with Joe Dickson either. Mr. Dickson did a fine job of playing a doting husband and then a sniveling bad guy – unlikable and better off dead. Quite suitably played indeed. Another praiseworthy mention in a small role is Amy Winchell; she went from nosy housemaid to bitter sister looking for revenge with passion and again, provided a bit of emotion in a show that lacked the intensity one would think you would find between arch-enemies.
Mrs. Burnham did do a great job in the scene she shared with Michael Hays. She felt authentic, and though that scene was short, it was very well done. Mr. Hays as the King of Bohemia held his own and offered a good emotional foil to Mr. Burnham’s intellectual Holmes. He held himself in a worried kingly sort of fashion (though I was a bit confused by his entrance), and he was able to salvage some humor as well. Good job, Mr. Hays.
And then we have Mark Zussman as Dr. Moriarty, the mastermind criminal to Sherlock Holmes. Through no fault of Mr. Zussman, he seemed more like Moe of the Three Stooges rather than some sort of supra-intelligent human and the only man with enough ambition to take on Holmes. His character bumbles in and out of the play and talks a great deal about how intelligent Holmes is and how to prepare for him; however, it just isn’t well fleshed-out nor particularly "evil." In fact, his character as written seemed rather dull, and it was good to see Mr. Zussman breathe some life into it. He was superbly costumed, as were all of the characters in the cast, but I didn’t catch fear and awe from his performance. He and Mr. Burnham seemed to play stereotypes, which may have been a directorial choice, instead of taking their lines and putting emotion, depth, intonation and other resonances within their vocalizations. They seemed to be directed to be caricatures, rather than characters, on stage.
The set was very well dressed and built, aptly thought out and designed for the show. The black stairs at the back seemed somewhat awkward, but then melded into the background since most of the action takes place downstage. Some of the tech sounds seemed out of place or a bit loud, but otherwise the technical aspects of the show went very well.
Overall I’m not impressed with Mr. Dietz’ script; if it had ended in the gas room I would have been happier, and it would have made more sense. It seemed to go on and on, without much purpose or drive. The actors did their best to breathe life into the show; I was left wanting Holmes to be more charming, more alluring to Ms. Adler, more of an adversary to Dr. Moriarty, and more of a mystery…
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