How Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure came to be

(L to R) Matthew Carlton as Dr. Watson,
David Compton as Sherlock Holmes

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself authored the first version of this script in 1896 or so. He submitted it to the great American impresario and theatre syndicate monopolist Charles Frohman, who suggested it be given to American actor/playwright/producer William H. Gillette for further development. Doyle agreed, cashed his option check and washed his hands of it. During rewrites, Gillette cabled Doyle, “May I marry Holmes?” Doyle’s reply was succinct. “Marry him, murder him, do what you like!”

The play Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle and W.H. Gillette, with Gillette in the title role, was a sensation in the 1899-1900 Broadway season and on subsequent tour throughout America, and was the first American play (and actor) to achieve financial and artistic success in London. Gillette’s performance originated many of the trademark details that the public has come to associate with the character; the houndstooth Inverness cape and deerstalker cap, the meerschaum pipe, the self-designation of his deductions to be of an elementary nature, and a scene between Holmes and Moriarty so electrifying that over a hundred years later, only geeky Sherlock Holmes nuts (we call them “Sherlockians” in America) know that the encounter is purely an invention of Gillette. He played Holmes on the stage for more than twenty years, but dominated the public’s expectations of the character for more than a century.

The play being a star vehicle for the co-author, Dr. Watson was, unfortunately, relegated to the background, functioning primarily as a sounding board for Holmes. Hollywood later compounded the situation by utilizing the good doctor as comic relief. Only readers recognized that this steadfast friendship between two seemingly mismatched companions – the stalwart man’s man and the brilliant, remote intellectual – was the central thread of the canon.

In 2006, American playwright and certifiable Sherlockian Steven Dietz adapted Gillette’s adaptation of Doyle’s own stage adaptation, retaining Gillette’s basic plot lines while bringing the characters more into line with Doyle’s original intent and, most importantly, returning Watson to his rightful place at center stage with Holmes. Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure has played at “adult” regional theatres across America, and wherever it has played, critics have acclaimed it as a wonderful piece “for the whole family.” I quite agree, in fact, I thought it the perfect play to launch our own foray into full-length presentation for our family audience.

The game is afoot, dear friends. Enjoy.

Scot Copeland

NCT Producing Director and

director of NCT's Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure

Interview with Scot about Jason and the Golden Fleece

Jason’s story is an ancient one.
Apollonius of Rhodes first recorded his adventures in the epic poem Argonautica, written in Alexandria in the late 3rd century BC. In the following interview, Scot Copeland, NCT Producing Director, discusses what attracted him to this version of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

The story of Jason and the Golden Fleece is an ancient one. What excites you about sharing this classic story with NCT audiences?
It really should not be surprising that primitive struggles find great resonance with young audiences, because their daily struggle to grow up is fairly primal -- particularly in adolescence. Whether Greek myth (The Odyssey), Celtic (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) or even Hindu (The Ramayana), some of our most satisfying artistic connections with this age group have been the drum-pounding tales of powerfully motivated, flawed heroes struggling to find themselves in the face of all-powerful, hostile forces aligned against them. Such tales are extraordinary metaphors for adolescence itself.

Out of all the mythological stories to pull from, what specifically drew you to Jason and the Golden Fleece?
It’s an archetypical hero myth: man goes on a terrible quest to find or avenge his father and, instead, discovers himself. I was interested in exploring that in classic form as a companion piece to our production of Bud, Not Buddy earlier in the season, as that story is a contemporary piece that strums those same chords. Jason and the Golden Fleece further intrigues me because, within this tale, we see the faint beginnings of the arrogance and obsession that students will encounter again later when they study the tragic destruction of Medea.

Jason and his crew have some pretty epic adventures. Are there particular moments you are looking forward to exploring on stage?
The Argonauts encounter any number of supernatural forces and occurrences, and I’m looking forward to some exciting experiments in the rehearsal hall in how to fully realize those moments theatrically. And, of course, I think there is great potential for subtle-but-significant fireworks in the development of Jason and Medea’s early relationship.