Mystery of Holmes' 'Final Adventure'

Actor Bill Harris thinks people often may underestimate the physical prowess of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, popularly known as "The Bloodhound of Baker Street," made famous in the 1800s by Scottish physician and mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

"Some people think Sherlock just roamed around London wearing his deerstalker hat with his famous meerschaum pipe and discovered a few clues that solved heinous crimes," says Harris. "But that's not true; if you read Arthur Conan Doyle's first Holmes novel, 'A Study in Scarlet' (1887), you learn he was an accomplished boxer and fencer."

The enthusiastic actor will portray Holmes in the play "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure," opening Thursday as the summer production of the Footlight Players.

Written by playwright Steven Dietz, the mystery first was staged in 2006 in Arizona and went on to win the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery Play.

A 2008 graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in history, Harris spent 18 months in Colonial Williamsburg portraying famous historical figures at various sites. He returned to Charleston in August and is employed by Charleston Rickshaw, which, he says, "keeps me in great physical shape."

"What also is fascinating is that Conan Doyle himself was an amateur detective who actually used deductive reasoning and forensic evidence in court to free several wrongly convicted prisoners in London," says Harris, an avid Holmes fan.

Harris, who appeared in "Philadelphia, Here I Come" at the college, was selected for the Holmes role by Robbie Thomas, a theater major at the college who has directed multiple local plays. Thomas says the fact that the popular film "Sherlock Holmes" starring Robert Downey Jr. was in theaters this year had no bearing on the selection of the play.

"I saw the movie and enjoyed it, but that's not why we decided to do this play," explains Thomas. "It just happened to work out that way because Jocelyn Jenkins, Footlight's executive director, asked me to direct a summer production. I was fiddling around on the Internet and spotted the play's title; when I sent off for the script, I found it fascinating, as it enables you to watch Holmes attempt to solve a mystery with his new allies, such as the King of Bohemia. In watching rehearsals, I found this new story to absolutely explode off the stage."

Noting the influence of Holmes, he adds, "Holmes was the precursor to such figures as James Bond, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and some childhood favorites such as the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. He was also the first (fictional character) to utilize forensic science, using fingerprints, footprints and chemical compounds to detect blood to solve cases."

Dietz combined Doyle's final two short stories, "The Final Problem" and "Scandal in Bohemia," in creating the play.

"After writing 56 short stories about Sherlock, which were published in London's Strand Magazine, Conan Doyle was getting tired of writing about the detective and decided to kill him off," says Thomas.

"The Final Problem" has Holmes locked in battle with the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, Holmes' nemesis. After a fight, both Holmes and Moriarty are swept over the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, where Holmes has chased Moriarty, and both supposedly are killed.

"However, his fans were furious," Thomas says, "and so Doyle brought Holmes back in 'Scandal in Bohemia,' and had him claim to have faked his death and to have been in hiding out for four years."

Thomas explains that in "Scandal in Bohemia" that Holmes is contacted by the King of Bohemia, who needs his help because he is planning to get married in a lavish royal wedding. However, the king is being threatened with blackmail by one of his ex-mistresses who has a photograph showing herself and the king in a compromising position, and she plans to send it to the king's fiancee.

The ex-mistress is the opera singer Irene Adler, for whom Holmes falls head over heels in love.

Will Holmes have to sacrifice himself to save his most trusted friend, Dr. Watson, and the woman who is the love of his life from his most formidable adversary?

Neither Thomas nor Harris will give away the play's ending, but, as Harris hints: "The title is 'The Final Adventure.' So come see for yourself."

Taking the role of Dr. Watson is Christian Self, with Noah Smith as Moriarty and Jessica McClellan as Adler, along with a supporting cast.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and July 1 and 2, and 3 p.m. June 26, 27 and July 3 at 20 Queen St. Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 senior citizens, students and $10 for children 10 and younger, and may be purchased by calling 722-448, going to www.etix.com, or at the door.

Reach Dottie Ashley at dottieashley@gmail.com.