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.
The opening of this murder-mystery has been postponed to Dec. 8 and runs through Dec. 17, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Two performances are added to make up for the postponed weekend: 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, and 2 pm. on Saturday, Dec. 16 (in addition to the 7 p.m. performance on that date).
Tickets are $20 and available online at olympictheatrearts.org or by calling the box office (360-683-7326) between 1-4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
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.
‘Stir things up’
Joel Hoffman, who portrays Gillette, said he enjoys his character most when he’s causing trouble.
“He likes to stir things up,” Hoffman says with a grin.
Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell William Gillette (portrayed by Joel Hoffman, fourth from left) finds a note that reveals that a stage doorman where he and fellow thespians work has just been murdered — suggesting the killer is most likely one of the guests he’s hosting. Looking on are, from left, Madge Geisel (Cheryl Tamblyn), Felix Geisel (Steve Rodeman), Aggie Wheeler (Merrin Packer), Simon Bright (Stephan Willms) and Martha Gillette (Cheryl DiPietro).
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.”
Martha Gillette (portrayed by Cheryl DiPietro), right, reacts to a story from Aggie Wheeler (Merrin Packer) in an early scene of “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.”
‘Fun to play the villain’
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,” says Pauley. “She is kind of aggressive. It’s fun to yell at (people).”
Pauley muses 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.
Sequim Gazette photoS by Michael Dashiell Jamie Pauley portrays Daria Chase, an antagonistic Vanity Fair columnist, in an early scene of “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.” Looking on are, from left, Madge Geisel (Cheryl Tamblyn), Felix Geisel (Steve Rodeman) and Martha Gillette (Cheryl DiPietro).
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,” notes Palka, who takes the role of Inspector Goring. “Nobody is two-dimensional.”
Palka says she appreciates her opportunity to play a female inspector in a traditionally male-dominated field.
It helps to have a director like Humphrey, she says.
“He really draws a good performance out of people,” Palka says.
Rodeman takes the role of Felix Geisel, whom the actor says is like a Watson to Gillette’s Holmes.
Olympic Theatre Arts veteran Steve Rodeman, right, portrays actor Felix Geisel portraying Moriarty in a play-with-in-a-play in OTA’s upcoming production of “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.”
“I get a lot of the comic relief,” Rodeman notes. “That’s one of the reasons I like it: different characters, different voices.”
A big Sherlock Holmes and William Shakespeare fan, Rodeman says “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays” has elements of both.
“It’s a blending of the two of the things I like the most,” he says. “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 says.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Acerbic magazine columnist Daria Chase (portrayed by Jamie Pauley) reveals that newly-married Simon Bright (Stephan Willms) has inherited a fortune in an early scene of “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.” Looking on are host William Gillette (Joel Hoffman) and Bright’s new bridge, Aggie Wheeler (Merrin Packer).
Simon Bright is a step up for Willms, he says.
“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 notes, but she has an unexpected depth to her.
“(Martha is) smart as a fox underneath,” DiPietro says. “She’s kind of a mystery herself.”
Assistant director Carl Honore adds “flavorings” and makes suggestions to enhance the production, he says.
“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 says.
“It’s all reaction stuff; Gillette himself was more of a reactor than an actor,” Honore notes.
Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Fellow actors look for the assailant following a play-within-a-play Olympic Theatre Arts’ “The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays.” Veteran stage actor William Gillette (portrayed by Joel Hoffman) is gunned down, and fellow thespians Madge Geisel (Cheryl Tamblyn), Felix Geisel (Steve Rodeman), Aggie Wheeler (Merrin Packer) and Simon Bright (Stephan Willms) come to his aid.
And despite its setting nearly a century ago, Palka says 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.
‘The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays’
An Olympic Theatre Arts murder-mystery
When: December 1-17; 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. on Sundays
Where: Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave.
Tickets: $20, available at olympictheatrearts.org or by calling the OTA box office (360-683-7326) between 1-4 p.m.m Tuesday-Friday
More info: olympictheatrearts.org
