Theater News

Sherlock Holmes Plans for a 2017 Broadway Run

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective returns to Broadway in a new epic play.

Basil Rathbone as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective Sherlock Holmes.
Basil Rathbone as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective Sherlock Holmes.

Producers Antonio R. Marion and Kimberly Much have announced that Sherlock Holmes, a new epic play by British writing team Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, is slated for a Broadway run in 2017. Staged as a mystery within a mystery, the original story explores the mind of the famous detective while remaining faithful to the world originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887.

"The character of Sherlock Holmes has inspired storytellers of all mediums to weave thrilling tales for more than a century," says Marion. "What we are most excited about is the opportunity to draw on such rich source material, and present it in a totally fresh way by using the kind of magic you can only find in live theater. Our version of Sherlock Holmes will have all the elements that fans want and expect, but with new twists and turns and plenty of surprises, which will take these amazingly complex and beloved characters to places they’ve never been."

The iconic character has been seen on Broadway several times over the past century. He made his first appearance in the 1899 drama Sherlock Holmes, coauthored by Doyle and William Gillette, which went on to receive seven revival productions. Holmes has held a prominent place in recent pop culture as well, featured in Guy Ritchie films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law; the Emmy Award-winning BBC series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman; the hit CBS transfer Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu; and the upcoming 2015 feature film Mr. Holmes, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Laura Linney.

Further casting and creative team details will be announced in the near future.