Mrs. Hudson and the Return of Sherlock Holmes

At the Baker Street Irregulars weekend in New York,  one of the highlights is the Gillette Memorial Luncheon on the Friday. The luncheon has a long history (https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/10/the-gillette-luncheon-has-new-home.html) and is now organized each year by Shana Carter.

Due to an over-booked table, I was moved at short notice to a table at the far end of the room, and found myself sitting at the 'grown ups' table of highly accomplished people, with Shana, Ray Betzner, Curtis Armstrong, Ken Ludwig, Ashley Polasek, and Ira Matetsky. It quickly became clear to me that something was afoot. This year there were two short dramatic performances during the luncheon, and many at my table were reviewing scripts and Ken Ludwig was practicing the art of placing a black dot on his forehead. What was going on?? 

Well, it turns out they were preparing to perform the world premiere of a short play written by Ray Betzner, titled 'Mrs. Hudson and the Return of Sherlock Holmes'. What really happened when Holmes returned from The Great Hiatus and greeted Mrs. Hudson at 221B? Ray's play answers that question. 

The cast was Curtis Armstrong as Sherlock Holmes, Ashley Polasek as Mrs Hudson, and Ken Ludwig as 'The Bust' (or Dummy) in the window. Ray Betzner also played an off-stage role as Sebastian Moran firing a prop gun.

What does this have to do with me? Well when the performers were preparing, it turns out I was sitting in a good position to record it, and with the permission of the performers I did so. My good mate Kyle Brimacombe subsequently helped turn an iPhone video into one with a title screen and credits, and with agreement from all Alan Rettig posted this performance on the Red Circle (https://www.redcircledc.org) Youtube page for all to enjoy:

At lunch, I asked Ray about the inspiration for the play and he shared this backstory: 

"The day after the Sons of the Copper Beeches meeting in April (2023), a small gang of us went out to breakfast. Curtis and Ashley were entertaining us, as usual, and Ashley started with her masterful Scottish accent. I tucked that away. A few weeks later I was thinking of a toast for Mrs. Hudson, and recalled doing a toast many years ago as a very angry Mrs. Hudson muttering as she crawled across the floor in EMPT. Those were the sparks."