by Kate Hamill
November 14-17, 2024
MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT. 2B by Kate Hamill is a darkly comic, modern take on the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this bold and highly theatrical romp, oddball female roommates Sherlock (yes, a girl named Sherlock) Holmes and Joan Watson join forces to emerge from pandemic fog as a madcap-dynamic duo, ready to solve all the mysteries and kick butts of all villains! A fast-paced, whip-smart feminist fable.
Performance Times and Location
November 14-15 @ 7:30 p.m.
November 16 @ 2:00 p.m.
November 17 @ 7:30 p.m.
Welsbacher Theatre
WSU Metropolitan Complex
Door F (northeast side of building)
What to Expect
“Witty & relevant. Hamill pays homage to Doyle’s mysteries while using a feminist lens to tackle contemporary issues of gender, revenge porn, the dark web economy, and the pandemic’s toll – and she does so with incredible care and wit. Sharp, playful, and moves at a rapid-fire pace…hilarious.”
Portland Monthly
“MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B simultaneously pays homage to and flips on its head the detective story tropes to show what happens when women are in charge… Delightful and entertaining”
BroadwayWorld
“Witty dialogue, brisk physical comedy, and a female-centered spin on time-honored characters… Hamill’s work reflects an interest in creating varied theatrical roles for femme characters beyond what the “classics” have afforded us, and injecting a modern sensibility that helps us notice points of view that haven’t been given space to breathe…delightful.”
ArtsWatch
Cast
Baylee Braswell
Irene Adler, Mrs. Hudson & Others
Jackson Dorris
Inspector Lestrade, Elliot Monk & Others
Charlene Grinsell
Ms. Sherlock Holmes
Tessa Seybert
Ms. Joan Watson
Creatives
Sydney Alder
Intimacy Director
Kate Hamill
Playwright
Dr. Julie Longhofer
Producing Director
Kirk Longhofer
Sound Design
Stan Longhofer
Lighting & Scenic Design, Technical Direction
Emily Redfield
Fight Choreographer
Renee Tanner
Backstage Manager
Program
About Playwright Kate Hamill
Originally from the farms and fields of upstate New York, Kate is an award-winning NYC-based actor/playwright. She is deeply passionate about creating new feminist, female-centered classics, both in new plays and in adaptation: stories that center around complicated women. Her work as a playwright celebrates theatricality, often features absurdity, and closely examines social and gender issues – as well as the timeless struggle to reconcile conscience / identity with social pressures. As an actor, she tends to play truth-tellers, oddballs, and misfits.
Kate was named 2017’s Playwright of the Year by the Wall Street Journal. She has been one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the country, 3 seasons running (2017-2020); in both 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, she wrote two of the top 10 most produced plays in the U.S.; many of her plays have been produced internationally. Future productions, including 4 world premieres in 2019/2020: Dracula at Classic Stage Company, Emma at the Guthrie, Prostitute Play at Cygnet Theater, and Scarlet Letter at South Coast Rep. Her previously-produced plays include Sense and Sensibility (Bedlam; in which she originated the role of Marianne) – Winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Nominee, Drama League Award; 265+ performances off-Broadway; “Top Ten Theater of 2014” – Ben Brantley; “the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history” – Huffington Post. Other plays include Vanity Fair (The Pearl; in which she originated the role of Becky Sharp; Nominee, Off Broadway Alliance Award; WSJ Critic’s Pick), Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages / HVSF; in which she originated the role of Lizzy Bennet; Nominee, Off Broadway Alliance Award; “Best Theater of 2017”, Huffington Post; WSJ Critic’s Pick), Little Women, Mansfield Park (originated role of Mary Crawford), and Dracula (Classic Stage Company; originated role of Renfield; WSJ Critic’s Pick.)
Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, PlayMaker’s Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre (8 Helen Hayes Award nominations; Winner, best production) & more. Kate’s Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Vanity Fair, and Little Women are published by DPS. She is currently working on an adaptation of The Odyssey (commissioned by A.R.T.) as well as several new original plays – including Love Poem, In The Mines (Sundance Semi-Finalist; now collaborating with The Bengsons on this piece), Em (Red Bull New Play finalist), the Prostitute Play (O’Neill Semi-Finalist), and The Piper (O’Neill Finalist, PlayPenn Haas Fellow play).
Additional acting credits include: Talley’s Folly (Syracuse Stage; WSJ Critic’s Pick; TheaterMania best productions of 2020) The Seagull (Bedlam; “best classical productions of 2014” – WSJ) Noises Off (Syracuse Stage), The General from America (HVSF), Cyrano (“Outstanding Performance by an Actress”- DFW Critics Awards, Amphibian Stage), Internet Famous (Youngblood), Dreams of A West Texas Marsupial Girl (PearlDamour), All That Fall (Cherry Lane), and more. Numerous independent films that she has performed in have gone on to festival success, including: Clermont Ferrand Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Festival del Film Locarno, Brooklyn Film Festival, Boston Int’l Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival (Jury Award Finalist), Honolulu Film Festival, Black Maria Film Festival (Stellar Award), etc. Kate has a BFA in Acting, Ithaca College.
MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – Apt. 2B
by Kate Hamill
Cheerfully desecrating the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B was commissioned by and received its World Premiere produced by Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Stuart Carden, Artistic Director; Angela Gieras, Executive Director
Developed in the JAW: New Works Festival at Portland Center Stage; Marisa Wolf; Artistic Director; Cynthia Furhman, Managing Director