Stage Write

A mysterious murder presented in the round is the latest offering from the EclecticPond Theatre Company. Sherlock Holmes is back in The Speckled Band in Irvington. With a limited set and six-person cast, the show builds suspense quickly with a locked-room murder and a dangerous villain. Kelly Gualdoni is particularly good as Enid Stonor, a strong young woman willing to stand her ground even after her twin sister is murdered. She plays Enid as intelligent even in the midst of her fear. Her menacing uncle, played by Dan Flahive, controls her every move and most days he can barely keep his temper in check. Bradford Reilly plays the infamous Sherlock Holmes. He struggled with his lines at times, but he’s well suited for the role. He embraced the presumptive air of the brilliant detective and never slowed down to let his well-meaning sidekick catch up with his thought process. Ryan Maloney makes a very young Dr. Watson, but was a calm balance to Holmes’ impatience. ...

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”   So imagine you’re an actor and a director approaches you with a proposition. “How would you like to play a dozen different roles, male and female, young and old, in eight different shows? By the way, you’ll be performing these shows on the same day.” You’d question their sanity, right? Thankfully eight Indiana performers decided to embrace the challenge instead of calling the men in the white coats. The fact that this idea, born more than a year ago, became a reality is incredible.    The eight plays, listed below, have each been condensed into a single hour, a huge feat accomplished by Maria Souza. The result is a whirlwind of action; the fat is trimmed away and audience members are left with the core of each plot in a relatively easy to follow format. Catherine Cardwell, Polly Heinkel, and Thomas Cardwell each tackle the direction of a couple shows. Their styles work well together and there’s no drastic shift betw...

  In a city that rarely sees a production of Shakespeare without an easily recognizable name, the EclecticPond Theatre Company (ETC) has become a welcome respite. The group, which was founded in 2010, has embraced some of the Bard’s lesser-known works, with productions like “The Comedy of Errors” and “Shakespeare Wrote What? and “10x10.” Now, about to close its third season, ETC decided to tackle something big.   Their latest endeavor is the most ambitious to date, “The War of the Roses” covers eight of Shakespeare’s histories using on eight actors. The shows will be spaced over the course of four weekends with different batches shown on different days. Audience members will have the opportunity to see the shows all in one day, two at a time or four at a time. This unique experience, which has been in the works for more than a year, begins in June. The cast and crew are excited to see how this new challenge unfolds. There are three directors sharing the responsibilit...