This Saturday, March 9, the internationally known detectives Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson return to Cloak and Dagger On the Air with brand-new adaptations of two fan-favorite stories: “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” and “The Adventures of the Yellow Face” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Beginning at 3:30 p.m. with R.J. Gaudio, Troubadour, providing a warm-up acoustic set, Cloak and Dagger On the Air: Holmes and Watson in “Cardboard Boxes & Yellow Faces” will start at 4 p.m. at Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, located at 3539 Main Street in Weirton (across from Ferguson Tire Pros).
“Our audiences love Conan Doyle’s Holmes and Watson stories, and they especially love the two actors who play Holmes and Watson: John E. Reilly and Robert J. Gaudio,” Pete Fernbaugh, artistic director and head writer for The Ohio Valley Cloak and Dagger Company, said. “There are so many iterations of these characters, but none of them beat the pleasure one gets from revisiting the original stories by the original creator himself.”
When adapting the stories, Fernbaugh said he exerts very little influence over Conan Doyle’s text.
“My goal is to preserve as much of Conan Doyle’s expert prose as I can, with as few of my own flourishes on the material as possible,” he explained. “By refusing to make the stories more action-oriented or more cerebral and by being faithful to the way in which they were first received by audiences, I think our adaptations are the next best thing to reading the stories for yourself.”
Cloak and Dagger On the Air: Holmes and Watson in “Cardboard Boxes & Yellow Faces” will also feature an original sketch by Fernbaugh starring one of his own creations, Daphne Doolittle, The Dame with the Private Eye, in “The Case of the Whacked-Out Racers.”
“Bethany Fernbaugh plays Daphne and has since the show’s first season,” Fernbaugh said. “We all love this character, whose alliterative adventures always sound like the animated shorts I see them as being. They’re crazy, offbeat, and surreal. In this month’s sketch, I indulged in my love of Hanna-Barbera cartoons and basically wrote my own episode of Wacky Races. It involves a delinquent leprechaun and a race to see who can be the first to claim the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s fun, funny, and funky.”
Cloak and Dagger On the Air: Holmes and Watson in “Cardboard Boxes and Yellow Faces” stars The Wayward Saints: Rob DeSantis, Bethany Fernbaugh, David Gaudio, Robert J. Gaudio, Noah Hilton, Karissa Martin, Malachi McClendon, Clare McDonald, Ralph Parissi, John E. Reilly, and George Spelvin, with Roberta Fedoush providing the score and The Holy Foley Molies creating the sound effects.
Admission to Cloak and Dagger On the Air is free, although donations to help cover production costs are always appreciated. Light refreshments and water will be available.
As mentioned, doors open at 3:30 p.m. with live music by R.J. Gaudio, Troubadour, who will perform pop, rock, and folk music favorites. The program will also livestream from The Ohio Valley Cloak & Dagger Company Facebook page starting at 3:30 p.m. The livestream video will then be archived on the page for post-performance viewings.
Individuals with mobility impairments may more easily enter through the building’s front entrance. Members of the troupe are happy to assist these individuals.