by Ken Ludwig
​directed by Ted Osborne
​​
Run Dates:
November 2 to November 4, 2017

Synopsis

This play was named the “Best Mystery Play of 2012” by The Mystery Writers of America. "The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes for The Holidays) is a fast-paced ensemble piece filled with great roles, and keeps everyone guessing 'who done it?' right up the very end of the show," says the veteran SOAP director. (SOAP Theatre patrons will likely remember the non-stop laughter when SOAP presented Moon Over Buffalo in 2006 and Lend Me A Tenor in 2014, both also by Ludwig.)

It’s December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast-members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. Then it’s up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays.
Early Rehearsals
Behind the Scenes

Producers -------------------------------------  Patrick Turner and Andrea Furlan
Director -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ted Osborne
Assistant Director & Stage Manager ------------------------ Jackie Brockholm
Set Design & Construction----------------------------------------- Craig Bjornson
Props and Set Dressing --------------------------------------------- Andrea Furlan
Costume Design -----------------------------------------------  Bernice Myllyniemi
Dresser ----------------------------------------------------------  Maryann Bolenback
Hair & make-up------------------------------------ Ashly Jones & Lisa Gludovatz
Stage Hand -------------------------------------------------------------- Lyn Kaulback
Prompter ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clem Jones
Lighting Design & Operator -------------------------------------------  Tom Szalay
Sound Design ------------------------------------------------------------ Trevor Leigh
Sound Operator ----------------------------------------------------------- Brian Hesje
Marketing and Media ---------------------------------------------------  Tom Szalay
Concession ------------------------------------------------------------  Louise Szalay

Cast and Characters

Nathan Linders returned to the SOAP stage after almost two years off to play WILLIAM GILLETTE, an eccentric yet lovable, actor extraordinaire.​​
​Always a mother, MARTHA GILLETTE lives with William in his Connecticut castle. MARTHA was played by SOAP newcomer, Connie Mythen.
​Jim Dinwoodie debuts with SOAP as FELIX GEISEL, a member of William’s theatre ensemble, and William's friend since childhood.
​Angela Stuart is back from being a cook in Don't Dress for Dinner, to play MADGE GEISEL, Felix's wife and also a member of the ensemble.
​SOAP veteran, Craig Bjornson, is back, now as as SIMON BRIGHT, a sometimes naïve but always earnest member of the ensemble.
​Jen Jensen returned to be type cast as AGGIE WHEELER, a sweet, lovable and adoring member of the cast.
INSPECTOR GORING was played by Andrea Furlan in her first SOAP role in front of the curtain. A local police officer, Goring is sometimes addled but known for closing cases.​​
​The most unexpected guest, DARIA CHASE is a local theatre critic who never stops, played by Diane Gludovatz, happy to be playing her own gender again.
Watch Interview with Director, Ted Osborne

Playwright - Ken Ludwig

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Ken Ludwig has had six shows on Broadway and seven in London’s West End, and his plays and musicals have been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages.

His first play on Broadway, Lend Me A Tenor, which the Washington Post called "one of the classic comedies of the 20th century,” won two Tony Awards and was nominated for seven. He has also won two Laurence Olivier Awards (England’s highest theater honor), the Charles MacArthur Award, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Edgar Award for Best Mystery from The Mystery Writers of America, the SETC Distinguished Career Award, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Services to the American Theatre.

His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Old Globe and the Bristol Old Vic. He has written 22 plays and musicals, including Crazy For You (5 years on Broadway and the West End, Tony and Olivier Award Winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo (Broadway and West End), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Broadway), Treasure Island (West End), Twentieth Century (Broadway), Leading Ladies, Shakespeare in Hollywood, The Game’s Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, The Three Musketeers and The Beaux’ Stratagem. His most recent plays include Baskerville, A Comedy of Tenors, and Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol (2015 Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Play).

His newest book, How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, (winner of the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of 2014) is published by Random House. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His work is published by the Yale Review, and he is a Sallie B. Goodman Fellow of the McCarter Theatre, Princeton. He holds degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College and Cambridge University.

For more information, please visit www.kenludwig.com