TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY "A Sherlock Carol" November 26 through December 30, 2025 Review
A SHERLOCK CAROL
By Mark Shanahan
Directed by Bretteney Beverly
Taproot Theatre Company
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 11/29/25 - 7:30pm Performance
Well, dear readers, here we are again. Another year (2025 in this case) is almost over and the holiday season is in full swing. As they have done every year that I’ve been reviewing their shows, the Taproot Theatre Company has a mainstage holiday show. This year they also have a second stage holiday show as well.
The Jewell Mainstage show is the whimsical, “A Sherlock Carol”. A mix of the two fabled worlds of Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas Carol, the show is sure to delight audiences with that statement alone.
The first act establishes the case at hand which revolves around the death of Ebenezer Scrooge. Sherlock Holmes is then brought on to solve the case. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination until you see a performance.
What I can say is that the first act is very reminiscent of the storyline of A Christmas Carol with Sherlock Holmes in the Scrooge role.
What I’ll say about the second act is that the story really comes together and the “easter eggs” in the play were really well done. Again, once you see a performance you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The cast, as always at any Taproot Theatre production, was exceptional. Aaron Lamb in particular as Sherlock Holmes really stood out to me. His monologue explaining how he solved the case was sheer brilliance in delivery. How he memorized all of that dialogue was absolutely mind blowing.
Andrew Litzky was the perfect Ebenezer Scrooge. He embodied the character right from the end of the Dickens classic tale.
The multiple roles that the actors one through four had to take on was also highly impressive. I’ve seen at least two of the actors in other productions, both at Taproot Theatre and other local companies.
I’ll also add that Arika Matoba, if she isn’t already, should be booking every commercial and animation gig there is available. Her voice is so distinctive (I remember her as Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas at Taproot Theatre in 2018) that any time I’ve seen her, the voice is what I recognize first. As a former audio engineer that recorded tons of voiceovers for the above type of projects, I would hire Arika in a heartbeat.
The performance I attended was packed and they just extended the show so that means other performances are also selling quickly. I know there are many quality local holiday shows to choose from but for my money, “A Sherlock Carol” is one of the shows where your hard earned holiday dollars would be best spent.
Recommended!
”A Sherlock Carol” has been extended through December 30th. Tickets are available: HERE!
Happy Holidays,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
By Mark Shanahan
Directed by Bretteney Beverly
Taproot Theatre Company
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 11/29/25 - 7:30pm Performance
(Andrew Litzky as Ebenezer Scrooge and Aaron Lamb as Sherlock Holmes in A Sherlock Carol at Taproot Theatre (November 2025). Photo by Robert Wade.)
Well, dear readers, here we are again. Another year (2025 in this case) is almost over and the holiday season is in full swing. As they have done every year that I’ve been reviewing their shows, the Taproot Theatre Company has a mainstage holiday show. This year they also have a second stage holiday show as well.
The Jewell Mainstage show is the whimsical, “A Sherlock Carol”. A mix of the two fabled worlds of Sherlock Holmes and A Christmas Carol, the show is sure to delight audiences with that statement alone.
The first act establishes the case at hand which revolves around the death of Ebenezer Scrooge. Sherlock Holmes is then brought on to solve the case. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination until you see a performance.
What I can say is that the first act is very reminiscent of the storyline of A Christmas Carol with Sherlock Holmes in the Scrooge role.
What I’ll say about the second act is that the story really comes together and the “easter eggs” in the play were really well done. Again, once you see a performance you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The cast, as always at any Taproot Theatre production, was exceptional. Aaron Lamb in particular as Sherlock Holmes really stood out to me. His monologue explaining how he solved the case was sheer brilliance in delivery. How he memorized all of that dialogue was absolutely mind blowing.
Andrew Litzky was the perfect Ebenezer Scrooge. He embodied the character right from the end of the Dickens classic tale.
The multiple roles that the actors one through four had to take on was also highly impressive. I’ve seen at least two of the actors in other productions, both at Taproot Theatre and other local companies.
I’ll also add that Arika Matoba, if she isn’t already, should be booking every commercial and animation gig there is available. Her voice is so distinctive (I remember her as Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas at Taproot Theatre in 2018) that any time I’ve seen her, the voice is what I recognize first. As a former audio engineer that recorded tons of voiceovers for the above type of projects, I would hire Arika in a heartbeat.
The performance I attended was packed and they just extended the show so that means other performances are also selling quickly. I know there are many quality local holiday shows to choose from but for my money, “A Sherlock Carol” is one of the shows where your hard earned holiday dollars would be best spent.
Recommended!
”A Sherlock Carol” has been extended through December 30th. Tickets are available: HERE!
Happy Holidays,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
(Tyler Campbell as Actor Three in A Sherlock Carol at Taproot Theatre (November 2025). Photo by Robert Wade.)
(Aaron Lamb as Sherlock Holmes and Arika Matoba as Actor Two in A Sherlock Carol at Taproot Theatre (November 2025). Photo by Robert Wade.)
(Helen Harvester as Actor Four and Aaron Lamb as Sherlock Holmes in A Sherlock Carol at Taproot Theatre (November 2025). Photo by Robert Wade.)
(William Eames as Actor One in A Sherlock Carol at Taproot Theatre (November 2025). Photo by Robert Wade.)
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