The Art of Audio #10: "The Game is a-foot!" or "Your show is undone"

The Joe Bev
Experience

The Art of Audio #10

"The Game is a-foot!"
or "Your show is undone"

I recently remastered (from the original master tapes) The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, my ten-part series of half-hour radio theater, paying homage to the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. You can buy the series on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible for Kindle, Blackberry, Android, iPhone, iPod or iPad download, or CD purchase or rental.

Get The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes

In episode one: "The Mystery of the Creepy Hack Writer," Holmes is 28-year old beggar on Baker Street when Doctor John H. Watson, MD, takes him into his lodgings at 221 Baker Street, London, much to the dismay of Watson's Irish landlady, Mrs. Hudson. Soon, Holmes is thrust into his very case when they are visited by three mysterious men. Who is the creepy hack writer? You will have to listen, to find out!! 

Vernon Morris played Sherlock Holmes

I was inspired to create this radio series, first from reading Conan Doyle's stories. I tried to fill the scripts with sly references to the original "Canon," as it s called. Even the Baker Street Irregulars and other Holmesian groups and scholars have enjoyed this about my series. 

Me with Daws Butler

My second inspiration was Daws Butler, the great voice actor and my mentor. In 1976, Daws wrote a script called "Sherlock Holmes in Trouble," which portrayed Holmes as a booby and Watson as a selfish intellectual using Holmes. It led to several other scripts some if which were produced, including "This Here is Your Life, Sherlock Holmes," written and performed by Daws and his acting workshop. 

The third inspiration came when I met a group of actors I met in the summer of 1982. I was acting in an Off-Broadway play, "Spider's Web" by Lucille Fletcher, author of the great radio play. "Sorry, Wrong Number." I was the mysterious Butler (I didn't do it.) and the cast was rounded out by Brit Vernon Morris, and an American cast of wonderful actors I grew to love over the months we performed for the Meat & Potatoes Company, with no air condition! 

The cast of The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes

My parody of a Holmes
Sidney Paget  illustration.

All the characters in "Spider's Web" had their Holmesian counterparts. I quickly decided to write a ten-part radio drama series, built around the first Daws Butler script, which eventually served as episode three in th plot arc of my series, starring this cast. The Misadentures of Sherlock Holmes premiered in October 1983 on WBAI and ran through 1985. By the time, we were finished, we had ten great, inspired half-hours. 


I later discovered that Ellery Queen had published an anthology of parodies in 1944 also called The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, and another of the same title edited by Sebastian Wolfe in 1990-91. 

They have since played on public radio stations across the United States, in Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. Mostly, recently, they aired on XM Radio, since 2003. Vernon Morris was an amazing Holmes, playing him more like Stan Laurel than Basil Rathbone. Henry J. Quinn, though not English, played his Watson as a pompous, lying egotist, the opposite of the Nigel Bruce booby interpretation of the character from the 1940s movies. Henry was a retired FBI agent, who took up acting late and was often seen in sketches on David Letterman. The late Jan Meredith of North Carolina was the nutty but jovial Mrs. Hudson, played as an Irish woman. English actress Gwendolyn Lewis played Holmes's secret love, Irene Adler, as a sexy tone-deaf tart who dreamed of being an opera singer.

The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes by Joe Bevilacqua (Audiobook Review)Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven 

Title: The Misadventures of Sherlock HolmesSeries: The Comedy-O-Rama HourAuthor: Joe BevilacquaNarrator: Full castCopyright: 2011, Waterlogg ProductionsDuration: 4 hours, 56 minutesGenres: humor, radio productionFiled in: Audiobook Reviews 

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Fans of the legendary figure of Sherlock Holmes are sure to get a kick out of this. Arthur Conan Doyle spent many years recounting the adventures of the world’s greatest detective, but now the truth is revealed. In these dramatic and hilarious episodes, we find an aging Dr. Watson, finally setting the record straight in the form of his personal journal.

In episode 1, The Mystery of the Creepy Hack Writer, we learn that Sherlock Holmes was a beggar on the streets when Dr. Watson took pity and invited him to stay at his flat on Baker Street. Furthermore, it is revealed that Holmes is little more than a bumbling fool who couldn’t solve his way out of a wet paper bag. Presently, Watson is approached by a hack writer by the name of Arthur Conan Doyle who strikes a deal with Watson. They will co-write a series of detective stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. Of course no one will want to read about a blithering idiot, so they will make Holmes out to be a master of deductive reasoning. 

And so, the legend of Sheer-luck, er I mean Sherlock Holmes begins. As recounted in later episodes, Doyle and Watson’s gimmick is a tremendous success, and the books sell like onion buns. That’s a rather obscure reference, I know, but if you listen to these episodes, you’ll understand.

Of course, you can’t have Sherlock without the nefarious Professor Moriarty. That would be like pickled rhubarb without the toast. Forgive me, another obscure reference. In episode 2, My Dinner at Baker Street, we learn how the two really met, as the foes sit down to dinner. Maybe it was the food that set them off. The landlady, Miss Hudson, served beef brisket and plums, artichoke pudding (she used all the plums in the brisket), a vegetable dish of carrots in mustard and ice cream sauce, and for dessert (you guessed it) pickled rhubarb on milk toast. This was a funny episode as you can imagine. After dinner, Holmes and Moriarty engage in a sword fight, before which Moriarty has to show Holmes how to hold the sword correctly. I got plenty of laughs from this one.

And that’s only the beginning. This volume includes ten episodes in all, explaining in great detail the truth behind the myth. Other episodes include:Sherlock Holmes in Trouble, A Study in Lavendar, The Death of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, The Giant Rat of Sumatra, Tales from the Vienna Wards, His Second to Last Bow, Revenge of the Bee Keeper, and Holmes’ Creepy Christmas.These full cast audio productions include the voice talents of Vernon Morris as Sherlock Holmes, Henry J Quinn as Dr. John Watson, Jan Meredith as Miss Hudson, Ed Hyland as Professor Moriarty, and William Gillette as Arthur Conan Doyle. Other voice artists include Terry Price, Gwendolyn Lewis, B H Barry, and Joe Bevilacqua. Don’t worry if you aren’t familiar with these names, their voice characterizations are as good as any you’ll hear.

Like I said, fans of Sherlock will get a real kick out of these comedies. Personally, I’m not very familiar with Holmes, but I got a kick out of these anyway. The humor is sometimes campy and sometimes rather clever and subtle. And the acting and sound effects are of the highest quality. Give this a try, you won’t be disappointed. 

For more about The Comedy-O-Rama Hour, visit www.comedyorama.com. 

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A review from an Audible.com listener: Craig, Williamsport, MD, United States "Roll Over Doyle" - If the Holmesian canon is sacred to you - avoid this book. If, however, you want a good, sarcastic, ironic, well written AND even say silly pastiche, this is your baby. Nothing is sacred - not even the ideas brought forth from the authors themselves. A right jolly romp. BTW The Giant Rat of Sumatra is finally unhinged - as it were.

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Here is complete episode guide to The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes:

Episode One: “The Mystery of the Creepy Hack Writer”

In 1887, Holmes is a 28-year old beggar on Baker Street when Doctor John H. Watson, MD, takes him into his lodgings at 221 Baker Street, London, much to the dismay of Watson's Irish landlady, Mrs. Hudson. Soon, Holmes is thrust into his very case when they are visited by three mysterious men. Who is the creepy hack writer? You will have to listen, to find out!! Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Ms. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Arthur Conan Doyle and all other roles: Joe Bevilacqua.

Episode Two: "My Dinner at Baker Street"
Holmes invites his old math teacher to dinner, not knowing he is the evil Moriarty who is there to kill him. The story ends with a hilarious sword fight (with REAL swords, choreographed by Broadway's Ed Easton.) I wrote this one by hand on a legal pad in 12 hours one day in 1983 when I was visiting Daws Butler. He had dropped me off at LAX and my flight was delayed. I was stuck so I bought a pen and pad and what you hear on this show is exactly what I wrote that day! Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Professor Moriarty: Ed Hyland.

Episode Three: "Sherlock Holmes in Trouble"
This is the Daws Butler script that started it all. Cockney Bert Stover visits 221-B Baker Street to ask Holmes to find the ''bloke what done in'' his Teresa, who turns out to be a cat Holmes himself tripped over and killed near London Bridge while out buying an onion bun. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Bert Stover: Joe Bevilacqua.

Episode Four: "A Study in Lavender"
This was the second script I wrote while I was in college. Holmes is visited by his old flame Irene Adler, who wants him to investigate her husband's murder. The husband? Professor James Moriarty! Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Irene Adler: Terry Price; Young Basil Rathbone: Terry Price.

Episode Five: "The Death of Mr. Sherlock Holmes"
While the great detective is in India on holiday, Watson conducts Holmes's death to boost his sagging books sales. Holmes is mistaken for an imposture and put in jail with Gandhi, who he trades places with to escape. When Holmes returns Holmes he gives Watson a present, a box of cheese he bought on the island of Sumatra. Unfortunately, all that is is the box is a rat who ate the cheese. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Gandhi: Gary Beery; Hester and Lester: Joe Bevilacqua; newspaper reporter: Vernon Morris; prison guard: William Melillo.

Episode Six: "The Giant Rat of Sumatra"
Holmes has a drug-induced vision about the rat he inadvertently brought home from Sumatra. The rat talks to him, recites ''Jabberwocky,'' eats all the cheese in the flat, grows gigantic, breaks through the walls of 221-B Baker Street and ravages London and beyond in search of more cheese. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; The Rat: Henry J. Quinn; additional characters by Joe Bevilacqua, William Melillo and Gary Beery.

Episode Seven: "Tales From the Vienna Wards"
Holmes finds himself in the loony bin, being treated by an equally loony Doctor Sigmund Freud, who eventually uses a strange method of ''singing therapy” to cure him, as well as Watson, Irene Adler and Mrs. Hudson. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; Irene Adler: Gwendolyn Lewis; Sigmund Fred: Joe Bevilacqua.

Episode Eight:  "His Second to Last Bow"
In 1924, Holmes, Watson and Mrs. Hudson travel to America in search of Sherlock Holmes imposer, only to discover it is actor William Gillette who is playing the detective in a Broadway musical. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; William Gillette and all other characters and songs: Joe Bevilacqua.

Episode Nine: "Revenge of the Beekeeper"
In 1929, Beekeeper Holmes comes out of retirement one last time to find out who is trying to kill him. Mrs. Hudson appears to have gone made and now thinks SHE is Sherlock Holmes, so Holmes dresses up as Mrs. Hudson to solve the case. The trail leads him the the onion bun shop he frequents near London Bridge, where he encounters every characters from the previous eight episodes. In the end, Holmes has his revenge on them all by dying of natural causes before the have a chance to kill him. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mrs. Hudson: Jan Meredith; all other characters: Joe Bevilacqua. The show includes outtakes from “Holmes Creepy Christmas”.

Episode Ten:  "Holmes Creepy Christmas"
This special holiday story takes place in 1888, when Holmes, Watson and Watson's wife, Mary Morstan, visit Scotland and the castle of Lord Tavis Mac Millian, only to become entangled in the curse of the Loch Alsh monstor and the ghost of Mac Beth. Sherlock Holmes: Vernon Morris; Dr. John H. Watson, MD: Henry J. Quinn; Mary Morstan: Gwendolyn Lewis; Tavis Mac Millian: B.H. Barry; the three witches: Jan Meredith, Gwendolyn Lewis; Joe Bevilacqua; Scotty Mac Melillo: Vernon Morris.


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I will be releasing another 600-plus hours of audio entertainment in 2012, including NEW (serious) Sherlock Holmes mysteries. What are some of the new titles coming up? Tune in next time and find out...




Best to you all,

Joe Bev.

Joe Bevilacqua is a veteran award-winning actor, writer, author and producer. His audio is available at Amazon, iTunes, and Audible for Kindle, Blackberry, Android, iPhone, iPod or iPad download, or CD purchase or rental. Find out more!