Character Antics Deliver Belly Laughs at Actor’s Production of Baskerville (Actor's Theatre)

Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Directed by Amelia Acosta Powell

Based on book The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Review by Loraine Lawson Entire contents are copyright © 2026 Loraine Lawson. All rights reserved.

The Hound of The Baskervilles, with its gothic, supernatural undertones, is one of the best known and loved Sherlock Holmes books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But leave it to an American, playwright Ken Ludwig, to turn the spooky novel into a comedy for modern audiences.

Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery premiered Wednesday night at Actor’s Theatre with six actors playing a variety of roles, much to the audience’s amusement.

How funny is it? Let’s just say one actor broke character laughing at the ad-libbed antics of his co-star, New York actor Futaba, with a broken prop. I’m not throwing shade at this actor, because frankly, we were all laughing.

Sherlock Holmes is played by Sheldon Best, who won an Obie award for his work in The Fires. Best brought the proper amount of Sherlock Holmes’ famous confidence and flair to the role.

What’s interesting is that of all the main characters, he actually has the least time on stage. Instead, much of the action focuses on Doctor Watson, played fabulously by local actor Crystian Wiltshire. Regular theater-goers might recognize Wiltshire as Jonathan Harker from Dracula.

Watson is sent to Baskerville to investigate and report back to Holmes after Sir Charles Baskerville is killed, reportedly by a huge, supernatural hound on the moor bordering his estate. The play basically follows the original plot, but with a healthy dose of physical humor.

Fans of Young Frankenstein will particularly appreciate the nod to its “walk this way” schtick where the Barrymores, played by Futaba and Dara Jade Tiller, bid Watson and Sir Henry Baskerville, played by Vic Leon, to “walk this way” as they shuffle off dramatically. Tiller and Leon are both local actors. Tiller has played Mina in Dracula and Leon has held numerous roles in local productions, including the narrator in Actor Theatre’s A Christmas Carol.

Futaba, Tiller and Leon portray a variety of villagers, desk clerks, street urchins and servants, often hilariously switching characters and costumes on stage as they re-enact various scenes described by Holmes and Watson. I hate to say anyone in this capable cast stole the show, but if I were so inclined, I’d have to say Futaba very nearly did. His slapstick character quirks delivered laugh after laugh. Tiller and Leon weren’t slouches, either. The three had audiences guffawing over their antics.

Kudos, too, to the set designers who made lots of portable furniture props to help create the story.

If you’re looking for a lighthearted way to spend an evening, you can’t go wrong with this production. It plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with weekend matinees, and runs through Sept. 27.

Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Actor's Theatre of Louisville September 9-27 2026 Pamela Brown Auditorium at Actor's Theatre of Louisville 316 West Main Street Louisville KY 40202 https://www.actorstheatre.org/