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2024
- April 19 - May 5 Ken Ludwig's Baskerville at the Garfield Center for the Arts in Chestertown MD (about 1.5 hours from DC on the Eastern Shore). One of Ken's best Sherlockian scripts, always worth a look or a second look! Info is here.
- April 25 Beekeeper's 30th -- Russell and Holmes Day A full day of Russell and Holmes fun, celebrating 30 years since the publication of Laurie R. King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Laurie and guests (inlcuding Peter Blau, of course) will happily wax on during this honey of a day. It all happens at the Bethesda North Marriott on the day before Malice Domestic begins. Register early here. It's likely to sell out. Also see this article in Publisher's Weekly about Laurie's newest Holmes/Russell adventure, The Lantern's Dance.
- April 26 - 28 Malice Domestic The 36th annual gathering of the mildly murderous will convene at the Bethesda North Marriott. Information is here.
- May 3 - 5 Capital Rare Book Fair at Washington's University Club. Information is here.
2025
- January 15 -- 18 Sherlock Holmes Birthday Weekend As always, January will feature the longest "weekend" on the Sherlockain calendar, with legions of the devoted descending on midtown Manhattan to celebrate. The annual dinner of the Baker Street Iregulars--the sole invitation-only event of the weekend--will be held on Friday, January 17. We'll alert you to the many other events which are cordially open to all as information becomes available.
For a much more comprehensive list of Sherlockian meetings and events around the United States and beyond, see Ron Fish's
Sherlockian Calendar.
The Slavering Hound by Frederick Dorr Steele is an unpublished drawing for the 1939 Basil Rathbone Hound of the Baskervilles film. It was shown in the program for the film and featured in the 1951 Festival of Britain exhibition
The Thing’s a Play! What really happened when Holmes returned from The Great Hiatus and greeted Mrs. Hudson at 221B? Sherlockian Ray Betzner has penned a seven minute solution to that question in the form of a suitably irreverant drama, performed at the 2024 William Gillette Luncheon in New York. Carrying on Gillette’s pioneering work as Sherlock Holmes was Curtis Armstrong, himself a celebrated actor (Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business). Opposite Curtis as Mrs. Hudson was Dr. Ashley Polasek, possibly the only Sherlockian who holds a Ph.D. in Holmes adaptations. Rounding out the cast in the role of the dummy (OK, the bust) was multi-award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, who proved conclusively that there really are such things as small roles. Thanks to the recording made by the Red Circle’s Matt Hall, and permission to use the “intellectual” property from all involved, you’re invited to enjoy Mrs. Hudson and the Return of Sherlock Holmes here. Have fun! 1/31/24 AR
The Show Must Go On A throng of Red Circle stalwarts was on hand at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg for the September 30 performance of R. Hamilton Wright’s play Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem. Even so, the meeting of the Red Circle, scheduled to coincide with the performance, was cancelled at the last minute. Peter Blau was under the weather (nothing serious) and was unable to attend. Upon learning this, Carla Coupe and your webmaster made a dramatic decision just before the house lights dimmed: we formally cancelled the Red Circle meeting, thereby preserving Peter’s record of never having missed one since he reconstituted our merry band more than a half century ago. Despite our decree, the Kentlands Community Players proceeded with the performance, and all in attendance were very glad they did, agreeing unanimously that both the play and the performance were very enjoyable indeed. After the curtain calls, the evening concluded with a lively talkback among the cast, director Vanessa Markowitz and the enthusiastic audience. 10/2/23 AR
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- For earlier, archived items from The Inner Circle, click here.