WEST SPRINGFIELD — Spoiler alert ahead — but it isn’t about how the play ends.
If you plan on purchasing tickets to The Majestic’s first play of the new year, “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally published in 1902, it is not the serious whodunnit mystery you might be expecting.
What audiences will be seeing is a side-splitting funny makeover adapted by Olivier Award nominees Steven Canny and John Nicholson. It was first performed by Peepolykus at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 2007, before transferring to the West End of London.
The plot involves legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion Dr. Watson investigating the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, who is believed to have been killed by a supernatural hound. The comedy features three actors who play multiple roles, with plenty of physical comedy, slapstick and quick costume changes, while bringing the eerie plot to life in a high-energy romp that both spoofs and celebrates the iconic detective story.
“While the play is not a true representation of the film or book, but a spoof, the cast is still trying to solve a mystery and all the elements of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ are present,” said Gina Kaufmann, who is directing the play.
“It certainly is a challenge to direct just three actors who between them play about 17 different characters. I think audiences will be laughing their heads off seeing these three people embody these different characters and do everything live on stage from quick changes to moving props. It is a joy working with them. They get the style so clearly and are well prepared for opening night,” she added.
Kaufmann — who is a professor of theater at UMass Amherst — previously directed “The Odd Couple” and the musical “The Last Five Years” for Majestic Theater.
“I’m happy to be back. Sue Dziura (producing director at The Majestic), who I directed in a play for New Century Theater — we have kept in touch and remain good friends — asked me to direct ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles.’ This play is all about comedic timing, something I really love to work with as a director. And it has Monty Python aspects to it as a spoof on noir detective stories,” she said.
The cast includes Jack Grigoli as Sir Henry and others, Jay Sefton as Watson and more, and Abuzar Farrukh in multiple roles.
Similar to Dziura, Grigoli believes audiences will find many aspects of the play enjoyable.
“I think the audience will enjoy the attempt we are making to tell the story as well as the chemistry between the three of us. I see it as being different every night for us and the audience. Obviously, we are well rehearsed, but whatever happens on stage along the way, we will just go with it. A lot of clever lighting and sound design will add the eeriness to the play, but the real story is pretty chilling, and we are still attempting to carry that feeling with us,” he said.
A stage and voice over actor from Wilbraham who has performed locally including at The Majestic as well as in California, Grigoli noted spoofs are nothing new to him.
“While in California, I was one of three actors in a similar style comedy called ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),’ where we comically condensed all of Shakespeare’s 37 works in just 90 minutes,” he said.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles” runs through Feb. 16, followed on Feb. 26 by Ken Ludwig’s “Dear Jack, Dear Louise.”
Tickets to the show range from $35 to $38 and can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling 413-747-7797, or by going online to majestictheater.com. Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.