The world premiere of Mysterious Circumstances begins June 12 at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse. Based on a true story, Michael Mitnick's new play is an ode to Sherlock Holmes, and a meditation on the line between love and obsession.
Mysterious Circumstances is directed by the Geffen's artistic director Matt Shakman. Emmy nominee Alan Tudyk (Spamalot, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) stars as Richard Lancelyn Green and Sherlock Holmes, alongside a cast that also includes Hugo Armstrong (God of Carnage, Bleed Rail) as The American and others, Austin Durant (War Horse, You Can’t Take It With You) as Conan Doyle and others, Leo Marks (Hamlet, The Hothouse) as Smith and others, Ramiz Monsef (Guards at the Taj, Archduke) as Watson and others, and Helen Sadler (Photograph 51, One Man, Two Guv’nors) as Touie and others.
Inspired by The New Yorker article “Mysterious Circumstances: The Strange Death of a Sherlock Holmes Fanatic” by David Grann, the play tells the story of Richard Lancelyn Green, the world's foremost scholar on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. When he is found dead in his London apartment, with multiple suspects and competing motives at play, Green's death raises questions that may be answered only by Holmes himself.
The play was commissioned by the Geffen and is a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Performances are scheduled through July 14.
