Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Written by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Deena Conley
Cortland Repertory Theatre
The Pavilion
June 17th - June 26th, 2026
Production Team:
Scenic Design: Shelley Barish
Costume Design: Emily Liberatore
Lighting Design: Matt Webb
Sound Design & Original Music: Brandon Reed
About The Play
Sherlock Holmes is on the case. The male heirs of the Baskerville line are being dispatched one by one. To find their ingenious killer, Holmes and Watson must brave the desolate moors before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Watch as our intrepid investigators try to escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises and deceit as five actors deftly portray more than forty characters. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can our heroes discover the truth in time?
Searching Moors
Later in the second act, both Sir Henry and Watson decide to explore the moors in search of Dr. Mortimer. The scene is depicted to have large howling gusts of wind that keeps them from progressing slowly. To highlight the comedic aspect of this scene, I composed a jaunty classical piece that keeps the mood, while we hear the wind blowing heavily in the background. A large gust of wind takes us into the scene.
After the reveal of the Mystery Man being Sherlock, we hear a man screaming offstage. We suspect this to be Sir Henry. A low frequency drone fades in to convey a sense of dread and unease. We hear a howling in the distance as atonal higher pitch strings play giving a sense of horror. Is he being attacked by the Hound? They run off as we hear a second howl with the scene change and we fade in the sound of the moors. As the scenery finishes moving onstage we see a crew member throw a “dead body” onstage accompanied by a thick thump sound. Taking out all the music.
Musical Transitions
The Climax
By the end of the play, Sherlock and Watson have devised a plan to capture Stapleton and at the same time put an end to the Hound causing terror. Energetic and fast pace classical music get us into the scene as we hear the sound of the moor late at night. Crickets, followed by distant frogs and eerie moaning wind. As they wait in the distance, we hear Sir Henry leave the manor accompanied by jaunty and comedic music, but as they watch him walk across the moors, the music begins to shift to a more darker tone as we hear the Hound begin to approach. The hound leaps on Sir Henry as he stumbles onto the stage (comically covered in a blanket that is the Hound), the detectives shoot the Hound dead. Then to make sure it’s really dead, they continue to unload their guns into the beast.
Body Drop
Photos taken courtesy of Benjamin Wells
Our director Deena wanted us to truly embrace not only the comedy of the play, but also the darker and more sinister parts of it. We were going to play this production straight as written, but really put emphasis on the story telling aspect being done by the characters and creating illusions of things that aren’t really there, such as The Hound or other events in the story told through flashback or recollections.
For the sound design to accomplish this, I made use of composed music and sound to really create an immersive production, with a cinematic and movie quality feel, but being unafraid to really exaggerate comedic moments. Often I made use of classical music to underscore plot points, as well as environmental soundscapes to make the moors and various locations feel alive. However, if a revelation was told in a comedic fashion, I would often interrupt myself using stock comedic sound effects or musical stings to really emphasize the jokes.
The sounds of the beast itself were so specific in the script, that I felt I couldn’t use pre-recorded beast sounds. Instead, Deena and myself coached one of the actors and had a list of what we needed to record. With the recordings I processed them to create our own original Hound of Baskerville, which helped make the sound feel more tied to the piece and really featured our performer’s strengths.
The entire production was a labor of love and featured some storytelling that I felt was pushing the story forward. The sound design and music was almost an additional character and was pivotal in guiding the tone and comedy of the play.
Prologue
In the opening of the play, we get our premise. The heirs of the Baskerville blood line are being killed off, suspected by a large beast that hunts the moors. We open with dramatic orchestral music to really set the emotional tone, which as it ends, takes us into the soundscape of the Moors late at night. We hear crickets, moaning spooky wind, and distant frogs. As Charles comes outside to meet someone in the distance he hears a twig snap as we hear the Beast’s faint breathing. The beast starts to run towards him, picking up in intensity with atonal frantic strings. As the beast approaches, a piano wire snaps taking out the music and beast. As our heir falls to the ground in a comedic fashion. We go right into a musical transition that keeps the tension as we meet Sherlock and Watson and they describe the plot.
The Sound Design
In Pursuit
Watson and Sherlock agree to aid in protecting the current heir to the Baskerville fortune. As they begin their investigation they decide to follow behind him after he leaves to see if he is being tracked. In the pouring rain they find a man cloaked in black following him. Realizing he is spotted, the hooded man runs away (in a comedic fashion using a bench with wheels and scooting around the space) as Watson and Sherlock give chase with climatic orchestral music. After they lose him, they decide to go into the nearby shop to seek aid from a man who owes them a favor. A shopkeeper bell is heard as the rain fades to sounding like it’s outside before slowly fading out. The last thing we hear is a short introduction musical cue that introduces Cartwright and Milker.
Victor Confrontation
Much later in the play, Watson and the current heir, Sir Henry have arrived at the Baskerville manor on the moors. They spot a man in the distance that may potentially be the one planning to murder Sir Henry. They decide to confront him, but it turns out to be Victor, the abandon sibling of Mrs. Barrymore, the home’s attendant. What ensues is an epic battle where all three enter into a slow-motion combat accompanied by a whoosh. We go right into epic climatic music that emphasizes the silliness of the situation. As Victor punches Sir Henry, a slow motion whoosh accompanies and then as Victor slams a rock on Watson’s head, another one is played. A whoosh returns us to reality as we hear a violin keeping the tension. Is Watson dead? Before we can find out a climatic orchestral transition takes us into Intermission on a cliffhanger.
The Mystery Man
Throughout the play, Watson and Sir Henry are following and being followed by a man in a black hood. They finally get a lead that he may be hiding out in a section of the moors called, “The Black Tor.” They decide to visit and confront the man. As they enter his domain, we hear a double bass playing a rhythm that gives off tension in a pizzicato style. Eventually we hear a twig snap offstage that brings in a cello playing the same rhythm and melody, but a few octaves higher. As the Mystery Man approaches we hear more twig snaps. He reveals himself to be Sherlock Holmes as the music fades away, removing all tension from the scene.
Family Portraits
Towards the end of the play, both Sherlock and Watson are exploring Baskerville Hall looking for clues. They find several portraits of ancestors of the family’s bloodline. A quistive and mysterious musical underscore from a pizzicato violin plays as Sherlock examines them. He has the reveleation that Stapleton has a striking resemblance to the previous heirs. He turns out to be the long lost son and in line for the fortune, which triggers a stock dramatic sound effect for comedic effect. The music picks back up as they continue to elevate what their next steps are.
Here are a couple other musical pieces I composed for either transitions or underscoring. They are out of context, but worth hearing and I think are noteworthy tracks. Inspector Introduction played for every time we met Inspector Lestrade (we chose Scottish music for comedic effect). Watson’s underscore played every time we had a direct address to the audience.