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The beguiling thriller Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club on stage at Park Square June 7July 14

Inspired by Park Squares last Holmes send up, this regional premiere of Jeffrey Hatchers new play stacks up the bodies and makes the great sleuth a suspect

St. Paul, Minn., March 27, 2013 Park Square closes its season June 2013 with the beguiling thriller SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SUICIDE CLUB, a new script by Jeffrey Hatcher. A fast-paced mash-up of the unforgettable characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson, this script has its roots in Park Squares last wildly popular homage to the great sleuth, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (2010). David Ira Goldstein (Artistic Director of the Arizona Theatre Company, former Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Saint Paul) and Jeff Hatcher were in the audience at that show, explains Park Square Artistic Director Richard Cook. Jeff boasted he could write an even better Sherlock and David Ira said then Ill commission it. David Mann directs and Steve Hendrickson returns once again as the absurdly smart Holmes, this time in a thriller with multiple murders in which Holmes is either target or suspect.

The show is set behind the impressive façade of a windowless house, in which some of Europe's most powerful men gather to play a game. The game is Murder, and this is The Suicide Club. But the club has a new member: Sherlock Holmes. Does Holmes want to die? Is he the killer? Or is some other game afoot? Holmes and Watson find themselves one step behind as the corpses of Europe's power players start turning up all over London.

Jeffs writing is quick-witted and this play is very fast on its feet, says Mann. Our production will use an abstract steel set and video projections to move from ornate interiors to the London streets in an instant but also to give the audience more information. While this show is firmly set in the Victorian period, I'm intrigued by the possibilities afforded by technology and editing to draw you in to Holmes' rapid-fire thinking and give you information (if you can keep up!). This is a stage play, of course, so I want to use the video in abstract and theatrical ways to engage the audiences imagination he explains. One image Im toying with, for example, is when we hear about a character being pushed down a flight of stairs. With video its tempting to see the whole action happen, but I think its more powerful to see just the hand on the back of the shoulder and hear the sound.

Combining Conan Doyles unforgettable characters with Robert Louis Stevensons novella The Suicide Club Stevenson has never been done before, but is a terrific jumping-off point, says playwright Jeffrey Hatcher. Stevenson wrote The Suicide Club in 1878, almost ten years before Arthur Conan Doyles first Holmes and Watson novel, he explains, but theres an eerie prescience in Stevensons story, especially as it features an amateur detective named Prince Florizel who solves cases with the aid of his friend Colonel Geraldine. There are wonderful things in The Suicide Club characters, plot twists, dialogue that are perfect re-imagined as a Sherlock Holmes story.

Mann has great talent on tap for this production: Steve Hendrickson, who delighted Park Square audiences with his portrayals of the sleuth in 2008 and 2010, is reunited with Bob Davis as Dr. Watson, who was appreciated for smart rather than bumbling portrayal of the famous sidekick in 2008. Allen Hamilton, (The Last Seder, Agatha Christies Spiders Web), plays Sherlocks mysterious and equally smart brother Mycroft Holmes. Charity Jones (The Sisters Rosensweig) plays the deliciously evil secretary of the Suicide Club and James Cada, who has twice played Holmes nemesis Professor Moriarty on Park Squares stage, returns in this adventure as Inspector Micklewhite. Bruce Bohne (The Odyssey, Othello), Nathan Christopher, Kathryn Lawrey (The Diary of Anne Frank), Bryan Porter, and Karen Wiese-Thompson (Laughter on the 23^rd Floor, Dead Mans Cell Phone) round out the stellar ensemble.

Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Suicide Clubs production team includes Katie Willer (Assistant Director), Andrea M.Gross (Costume Designer), Amy Bouthilette (Properties Designer), Michael Hoover (Scenic Designer), Michael P. Kittel (Lighting Designer),Todd Edwards (Projection Designer) and Katharine Horowitz (Sound Designer). Jamie J. Kranz is stage manager.

Performance Schedule: Previews begin June 7 and run through June 15. Friday, June 16 is Opening Night, and the run continues through July 14. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday performances, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the companys intimate 340-seat theater in Saint Pauls historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $25. Regular Run: $38 & $58. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square box office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon-5 p.m. Monday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

CALENDAR INFORMATION

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club

By Jeffrey Hatcher

Directed by David Mann

Previews: June 715, 2013

Regular Run: June 8July 14, 2013

The game is afoot and its Murder! Sherlock Holmes is the newest member of the exclusive The Suicide Club, but does he want to die or is he the killer? Holmes and Watson find themselves one step behind as the corpses of Europe's power players start turning up all over London. A rapid-fire parade of clues that keeps your mind racing. --azcentral.com

Tickets: Previews: $25. Regular Run: $38 & $58

PARK SQUARE THEATRE, 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul

Box office: 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org

P: Preview O: Opening B: 99-cent Preview (no advance sales) ASL: American Sign Language Interpretation

AD: Audio Description D: Post-show Discussion C: Open Captioning

Good People (2013-2014 Season Opener)

Previews: Sept 13-19, 2013

Regular Run: Sept 20-Oct 6, 2013

By David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Joel Sass, featuring Viriginia Burke, Angie Timberman and the Park Square debut of James Denton (Desperate Housewives)

A good night out is bingo and beer, but Margies just lost another job. Facing eviction, she reaches out to Mike, her high school boyfriend whos made it. Its crazy and embarrassing, but it just might change her luck. But is he secure enough to face his humble beginnings? A tough and tender play about the insurmountable class divide. --Variety Contains adult language. 2013-2014 Subscription packages on sale now; single tickets go on sale in late July.

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. Box office: 651.291.7005. www.parksquaretheatre.org