Kyle Kellams: Let’s go the other way, because it’s Wednesday and because I have Becca Martin Brown on the phone from Bella Vista. Becca, happy mid-October.
Becca Martin Brown: How did that happen?
Kyle: You know, I was telling somebody the other day that August seemed to be the exact right length. Then September just kind of flew by. So let’s see what October gives us.
Becca: Well, I hate to tell you this, my very old friend, but we’re getting very old, and everything flies by. But this month we are immersed in a couple of things. One of them is Sherlock Holmes, which we talked about — the show that I’m in called An Evening with Sherlock Holmes with Northwest Arkansas Audio Theater. We talked about that last week. But we’re also going to talk today about a production at Don Tyson School of Innovation called Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig.
Kyle: All right. I’m looking forward to this. This has to be great. And we’re going to talk to Kevin Cohea, the theater teacher there. And now with us on the phone is Kevin. Coach Kevin, welcome to Ozarks at Large.
Kevin Cody: Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Becca: I am so excited that Ken Ludwig has done a Sherlock Holmes show. Tell me how you found the script. Tell me all about it. It sounds fabulous, and I haven’t even read about it.
Kevin: Listen, Ken Ludwig is the kids’—my kids love Ludwig’s stuff. A couple of years ago, we did his adaptation of Robin Hood called Sherwood. He did the adaptation of The Three Musketeers that TheatreSquared just did, and there are a million adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. Some of the parents said, “Will you do some Sherlock Holmes? That’d be cool.” So we had some by request. There are a million adaptations of them. But then we came across Ken Ludwig’s version, and we read it, and we were like, “That’s the flavor right there. That’s what we want to do.” He takes these classic stories — Robin Hood, The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes — and puts his comedic twist on them. So it’s just a lot of fun. We read it, and we were like, “That’s the Sherlock Holmes we want to do.”
Becca: The Hound of the Baskervilles is, I think, the signature Sherlock Holmes story. Did the kids know the story, or was this all new to them?
Kevin: You know, it’s funny because some of them did and some of them didn’t. Sherlock’s a little dated these days, but some of them were aware of it. That was nice. And the ones that weren’t were like, “That’s really fun.” It is the quintessential Sherlock Holmes story. I remember reading it whenever I was in school.
Kyle: So if you’re familiar with The Hound of the Baskervilles, we know that there is this legendary, somewhat demonic hound that’s at the center of it. Is Ken Ludwig’s version faithful, at least to that part?
Kevin: Pretty faithful. Like I said, he makes it comedic — there are lots of jokes in there, too — but it stays pretty true to the story. You know, this legend of a hound that’s killing off the members of the Baskerville family through the centuries. Now the most recent one’s been killed off, and a new one’s about to inherit the property. And how do we save him from being killed off by the hound?
Kyle: I imagine this is a production where you have a lot of fun with everything from sets to costumes to dialogue. What’s it like putting it together?
Kevin: Well, this has been a pretty tight turnaround. We’re going a little earlier in the year than we usually do just because of scheduling. Usually, we have a few more weeks. So it’s been a pretty tight turnaround, but we’re going to knock it out. It’s been a lot of fun. The kids have had a lot of fun with the costumes, of course — trying to find the right Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap and everything. They’ve had a lot of fun with that.
Becca: And I have to say this anytime we talk about high school theater to our listeners — please don’t wait to go to high school theater until you know a kid in the show.
Kevin: Yeah. I mean, everybody got their start somewhere. For a lot of them, my start came full circle the last time we did a Ludwig show because the first show I ever did in high school was Robin Hood. So it came full circle on that one when I had a chance to direct the Ludwig version of it. And so now here we are with another literary classic. These kids — they’re so passionate about it, and they put all their heart into it. They’re doing such a great job, and I’m so proud of the work they’re doing.
Kyle: When we talk with theater companies like TheatreSquared or The Equity Project that comes into Walton Arts Center or Fort Smith Little Theatre, some of them have a pretty rigid schedule, whether it’s after work or nine to five. What is the production and rehearsal schedule for y’all?
Kevin: You know, I tell the kids that I see them more than my own child. We get out of school at 4. They get a little half-hour break to breathe, go grab a snack, and then we start rehearsal at 4:30. We’re in there until usually 8 o’clock. This week, of course, is production week, so we’ll be in there later until we’re done. These kids — we’re spending 12, 13 hours a day in the building, just doing what we need to do to get it done. They’re very much committed to the project.
Becca: So the show is on stage when?
Kevin: It’s this weekend at the Pat Ellison Performing Arts Center at Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale. It’s at 2667 Hylton Road in Springdale. It opens Thursday night and runs the 9th, 10th, and 11th — that’s Thursday, Friday, Saturday — at 6:30 p.m. And then this year, we’re trying something new. We’re trying a Sunday matinee for the folks that maybe don’t like to get out and drive after dark. So we’re going to do a Sunday matinee on the 12th, and that starts at 2 p.m.
Becca: It’s $10. Do they need to get online somehow and get tickets, or can they get seats at the door?
Kevin: You can get them at the door or online. You can go online to soipac.ludus.com, or you can always get tickets at the door. It’s general admission seating, so there’s no reserved seating — just get your ticket and come on in.
Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery opens Thursday.
Kyle: Kevin, thank you so much for your time.
Kevin: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Please come see the show.
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