SEQUIM — Sequim’s community theater is serving up a murder mystery for the season.
A classic Sherlock-style murder mystery hits the Olympic Theatre Arts stage in early December with the production of “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,” a thriller/farce that channels the fictional Sherlock Holmes with the storied, real-life stage veteran William Gillette.
Joel Hoffman, who portrays Gillette, said he enjoys his character most when he’s causing trouble.
“He likes to stir things up,” Hoffman said with a grin.
The production will run Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. from Dec. 1-18 at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave. Tickets are $20 and available online at olympictheatrearts.org or by calling the box office at 360-683-7326 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday
Set in 1936, the stage story follows Gillette — an actor, playwright and stage manager who reportedly played the iconic Holmes more than 1,300 times over a three-decade career, including radio appearances and a 1916 silent film — as he hosts a holiday party at his Connecticut castle. The weekend of revelry, however, ends in the murder of his fellow cast members.
Not surprisingly, everyone is a suspect, as Gillette takes on Holmes’ persona to solve the mystery before another victim is claimed.
“There are no minor characters; everybody has to pull their weight,” noted Merrin Packer, who portrays Aggie Wheeler — who provides the evening’s first big news that less than a year after having become a honeymoon widow, she has married.
There’s a lot of range for Packer’s character and others backing Hoffman’s Gillette.
“For supporting characters, that’s rare,” Packer said. “A lot of what she does is subtle.”
The production is directed by Steve Humphrey and includes other local thespian favorites as Steve Rodeman, Cheryl DiPietro, Cheryl Tamblyn, Jamie Pauley, Stephan Willms and Christine Palka.
The play is set in Gillette’s newly built fortress of secret rooms, malfunctioning closets and tricky walls. Gillette also has invited a notorious theater critic — Daria Chase, played by Pauley — who is writing a profile of him for Vanity Fair.
“It’s fun to play the villain,” Pauley said. “She is kind of aggressive. It’s fun to yell at (people).”
Pauley mused that her Daria is not unlike Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” fame: “She doesn’t think she’s bad.”
The plot twists when the group learns that a stage doorman named Noggs has just been murdered, and a note found at the scene of the crime suggests the killer is most likely one of the guests.
Soon, a body turns up — stabbed on Gillette’s couch. Before Gillette can take on his Sherlock Holmes persona to solve the murder, however, a bumbling yet sincere inspector rings the doorbell.
“I like the ways the characters are playing off each other,” noted Palka, who takes the role of Inspector Goring. “Nobody is two-dimensional.”
Palka said she appreciates her opportunity to play a female inspector in a traditionally male-dominated field.
It helps to have a director like Humphrey, she said.
“He really draws a good performance out of people,” Palka said.
Rodeman takes the role of Felix Geisel, whom the actor says is like a Watson to Gillette’s Holmes.
“I get a lot of the comic relief,” Rodeman noted. “That’s one of the reasons I like it: different characters, different voices.”
A big Sherlock Holmes and William Shakespeare fan, Rodeman said “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays” has elements of both.
“It’s a blending of two of the things I like the most,” he said. “It’s also a great group of people.”
Willms plays Wheeler’s new husband, Simon Bright. Relatively new to the stage, Willms worked as a prosecutor before retiring to Sequim in 2021. He joined the OTA family as a stage crew member and had never acted before taking minor roles in “Calendar Girls” — a one scene, 15-line part — and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”
“I was hooked,” Willms said.
Simon Bright is a step up for Willms, he said.
“This is by far the most complex (role). My character is mostly comedy, some drama. I enjoy it immensely.”
DiPietro portrays Martha Gillette, the lead’s mother who dotes on her son. Martha may seem a bit ditsy, DiPietro noted, but she has an unexpected depth to her.
“(Martha is) smart as a fox underneath,” DiPietro said. “She’s kind of a mystery herself.”
Assistant director Carl Honore adds “flavorings” and makes suggestions to enhance the production, he said.
“The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,” which won the 2012 Edgar Award for Best Play, highlight’s Gillette’s knack for subtlety, Honore said.
“It’s all reaction stuff; Gillette himself was more of a reactor than an actor,” Honore noted.
And despite its setting nearly a century ago, Palka said this mystery is timeless: “It’s set in 1930s, but could have happened in 2023.”
For more about Olympic Theatre Arts, including other upcoming productions, visit olympictheatrearts.org.
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Michael Dashiell is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. Reach him at editor@sequimgazette.com.
