Sherlock Holmes is on the Case at DMT, 2/14-3/2

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre opens its 2013-14 Season of Mystery & Romance with a bang in February with "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" by Steven Dietz. The play, based on the original 1899 script by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle, won the 2007 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Play. Directed by Kendall Tieck, the play features an ensemble of Bay Area performers including Craig Dickerson as Sherlock Homes, Scott G. Hartman as Dr. Watson, Steve Schwartz as Moriarty, J. Geoffrey Colton as The King of Bohemia, Sarah Klaren as Irene Adler, Brian O'Connor as James Larrabee, Eve McElheney as Madge Larrabee and Bruce Kaplan as Sid Prince.

"Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" previews on Thursday, February 14, opens February 15 at 8:00 p.m., and runs through March 10, 2013, at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third Street, in Hayward. There will be a special Saturday matinee on March 2, 2013, at 2:00 p.m., followed by a talkback session with the director and cast. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre is a program and facility of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District.

"Dietz's genius here is in creating both story and dialogue that could pass for Doyle's own. The playwright ... has created a gleeful whodunit that's both deeply original and an expert homage to all things Holmesian" ~ Phoenix New Times.

Combining two of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, 'The Scandal in Bohemia' and 'The Final Problem,' award-winning playwright Steven Dietz's fast-paced thriller packs a punch. Hot on the trail with their latest case, the world's greatest detective and his able sidekick Doctor Watson tangle with a temptress only to find themselves in the clutches of Sherlock's longtime adversary, the malevolent Professor Moriarty.

Steven Dietz is one of America's most prolific and widely-produced contemporary playwrights. His more than 30 plays have been seen at over one hundred regional theatres in the United States, as well as Off-Broadway and internationally. In addition to winning the 2007 Edgar Award for Drama, Mr. Dietz is a two-time winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award and a recipient of the PEN USA West Award in Drama (for "Lonely Planet"). He has received new play commissions from the Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Actor's Theatre of Louisville and ACT Theatre (Seattle), among others. His plays include "Shooting Star," "Inventing Van Gogh," "God's Country," "Private Eyes," "The Nina Variations," "Trust," "Rocket Man," "Halcyon Days," "Ten November," "Foolin' Around with Infinity" and "More Fun Than Bowling" and a stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula." Mr. Dietz also has extensive directing credits at many leading regional theatres, including San Jose Repertory Theatre in the Bay Area. He served as resident director for ten years at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, as well as artistic director of Midwest PlayLabs. Mr. Dietz teaches playwriting and directing at the University of Texas at Austin and regularly directs at the University's ZACH Theatre where his newest commissioned work, "Mad Beat," will premiere in April 2013.