Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theater will be presenting the play “Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B” at First Street Community Theater in uptown Mount Vernon. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Feb. 3, Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, and a 2 p.m. matinee Feb. 4. Tickets for shows are available at mvlct.com.
The play, written by Kate Hamill, is directed by Claire Boston.
Boston said she had wanted to direct a Kate Hamill show with MVLCT this season, but her first choice had just been performed nearby recently.
“When I went back to the drawing board, I found this script for this show, and just fell in love with it,” Boston said. “It’s a fairly new play, having just appeared at a Kansas City theater for a repertory, so MVLCT is one of the first hundred theaters performing this show in the world.”
Boston said the show is just so much fun, and, because it is recent, delves into topics like the COVID pandemic.
“The whole point of the play is Holmes and Watson trying to spark a connection,” Boston said. “This is like this duo’s origin story retold, and that really drives the point forward.”
Emma Kostiv plays Dr. Joan Watson in the production, as well as serving as the costume person.
“I’ve never done a show at MVLCT before, and I’ve always wanted to,” Kostiv said. “I have read several Kate Hamill shows, and when I read this adaptation I loved the comedy of the show. It’s such a smart and funny role.”
She’s also loved getting to know so many on the small cast.
Her biggest challenge – the lines to memorize.
“I also never leave the stage for almost the entirety of the show’s run time,” Kostiv said.
Opposite Kostiv is Rachel Korach Howell, another first-time performer with MVLCT.
“I haven’t been on stage in a long time,” Howell said. “I’ve done some directing, but not acting. After I read the script, I cannot describe how much I loved the part and wanted to be part of the show.”
She described the show as super prescient in the way it tackles several issues in modernizing the feminine characters.
Brian Smith plays the roles of Lestrade and Elliott Monk.
He said he has played in Hamill shows before and loved the script, and wanted the chance to work with director Boston again.
With these roles, he has loved that he gets to be smarmy and weird in his roles, which is a “fun stretch for him as an actor.”
Melissa Kaska plays the roles of Irene Adler and Hudson.
“I’ve worked with Claire before and wanted to work with her again,” Kasca said. “The show is so fun and stylish, I just couldn’t resist auditioning.”
Kasca said she hopes people come see the show because it has so many fun surprises and is a very stylistic adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.
“People should come out to support MVLCT,” Kostiv said. “It’s a really fun show, relatable, and will brighten things up in the dead of winter.”
Melissa Kasca (left, playing Irene Adler) and Rachel Korach Howell (playing Sherlock Holmes) in a scene from Mount Vernon-Lisbon community Theater's production of "Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B"