Uncanny Appearance of Sherlock Holmes, The

I rarely see, anywhere, the high level of ensemble work now playing in NACL's The Uncanny Appearance of Sherlock Holmes at HERE Arts Center in SoHo. You can only achieve what they do by working together daily for years - and that is what North American Cultural Laboratory does in their upstate theater center.

In this show, a very stylized production which includes rock music, a detective-investigating-murder plot, and lots of intricate choreography of physical action and gymnastics with perfect synchronization, has the actors in presentation mode - like marionettes who are human. It's like Gordon Craig's concept of the "Ubermarionette," where the actors are moved in voice and gesture by the puppetmaster/director. In NACL's work, the company itself is the puppetmaster under the direction of, and using the story by, Brad Krumholz.

The performers, who are also the lively band in a mixture of classic rock, a bit of Weimar, a touch of "Rocky Horror" and a smidgen of French Bistro, all play many roles, and three of them are accomplished mime/gymnasts with great agility and flexibility: Brett Keyser as a strong rock-singing human Slinky Sherlock, and Liz Eckert and Sarah Dey Hirshan show their range, strength and elasticity in several roles each. Co-artistic director Tannis Kowalchuk is a surprising Dr. Watson, and Glenn Hall is fine as several characters.

Great (uncredited) costumes suggesting the 1890s, the efficient set by David Evans
Morris and lights and shadows by Juliet Chia complete this exceptional piece of theater. Go with it and it's style, and it's an exotic treat. Krumholz is a big talent, and his troupe is super. Long may they wave!