"William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes," Founded on Conan Doyle's Stories
"William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes," Founded on Conan Doyle's Stories is an article published in The New-York Times on 5 november 1899.
"William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes," Founded on Conan Doyle's Stories
William Gillette will begin a long engagement at the Garrick Theatre to-morrow night in his new play called "Sherlock Holmes," founded on Conan Doyle's detective stories, and written by Dr. Doyle in collaboration with Mr. Gillette. This piece has been favorably received in various towns. It is taken chiefly from that one of the Sherlock Holmes yarns entitled "A Scandal in Bohemia," but is made up of almost wholly new material, and is in four acts.
James Larrabee and his wife, Madge, adroit adventurers, have in their power Alice Faulkner, whose sister was betrayed by a man of royal blood, and died, leaving letters which the Larrabees desire to use for purposes of blackmail. Miss Faulkner has the letters, but will not surrender them to her persecutors. Sherlock Holmes is employed by the royal personage to recover the letters. In doing so he falls in love with Miss Faulkner, and leaves the documents in her possession.
Larrabee seeks the aid of that "spider of crime," Moriarty, who takes up the case for the purpose of defeating his deadly enemy, Holmes. The first scene of Act. II. reveals Moriarty at work in his underground office. In the second scene Moriarty and Holmes meet in the detective's rooms. In Act III. the scene is once more an underground chamber, to which Holmes and Miss Faulkner have been enticed by Larrabee and his accomplices. The plan is then to kill the detective and the lady, but Holmes, of course, outwits his enemies. In the last act the conspirators are all neatly trapped, and Holmes declares his love for Alice.
Gillette's fitness for his new role is obvious. The cast will include Katharine Florence as Alice Faulkner, Ralph Delmore and Judith Berolde as the Larrabees, George Wessels as Moriarty, and George Honey, Henry McArdle, Henry Herman, and Reuben Fax in other rôles.
