(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Aligning with Cape May MAC's Sherlock Holmes Weekend, East Lynne Theater Company will present a full weekend of radio-style performances with "Sherlock Holmes: Scandals" from October 23-25, 2025 at Cape May Presbyterian Church.
The world premiere of “Sherlock Holmes: Scandals” combines two stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — "A Scandal in Bohemia” and “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box” — that were adapted by East Lynne veteran Mark Edward Lang.
The former is the first short story that Doyle wrote that included his famed detective Sherlock Holmes. The story involves the King of Bohemia who, years ago, had an affair with an opera singer, Irene Adler, who is in possession of an indiscreet photograph of the king as evidence of their relationship. The king hires Holmes to retrieve the photo so he may marry a young princess, whose family would refuse the marriage if this embarrassing photo was revealed.
From an historical perspective, it is believed that the plotline of “A Scandal in Bohemia” and character of Irene (with whom Holmes becomes infatuated) were inspired by two real-life stories. Lola Montez was an Irish-born Spanish dancer who had an affair with King Ludwig I of Bavaria, and British actress Lily Langtry was known to be the lover of wealthy and powerful men including Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
The latter story, which was highly controversial in its time due to the graphic subject matter, revolves around a mysterious cardboard box, sent anonymously to a maiden spinster. Inside the box are two recently severed ears — seemingly from different people. This story explores themes of love, deception and sibling rivalry.
“I have been working with East Lynne Theater Company as an actor and director for over 20 years, and have produced the radio-style Sherlock Holmes performances for three seasons now,” said Lang. “Following the success of the 2023-2024 original production ‘The Death of Sherlock Holmes,’ we’re excited to premiere ‘Sherlock Holmes: Scandals,’ featuring a top-notch cast of professional actors, many playing multiple roles, presented as if we were doing a live radio broadcast from New York in 1938.”
Returning to the role of Sherlock Holmes is New York-based actor Ezra Barnes (who was also in East Lynne’s “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Dial M for Murder”). New to the company is Rik Walter in the role of Dr. Watson. East Lynne alum Shelley McPherson (“The Poe Mysteries,” “Why Marry?”) plays Irene Adler and other roles. Director Lang (“Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” among others) performs as the evening’s Announcer, Inspector Lestrade and additional roles. Ken Hornbeck (“The Death of Sherlock Holmes?” and “Jersey Lawman”) is the Stage Manager, and will play supporting roles, as well.
Performances are 7:00pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 23-25, 2025. Tickets are $30; students and military are $25. Cape May Presbyterian Church is located at 500 Hughes St., Cape May. More information can be found at EastLynneTheater.org.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859. He entered the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1881. One of his professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, became the model for Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes character based on his powers of observation to help him deduce the nature of a patient’s affliction. Doyle began writing in school, to earn extra money, and his first story was published in 1879. When his father fell ill, Doyle became the breadwinner for the family, working for a time as a ship’s doctor, then opened his own medical practice near Portsmouth. In his spare time, he did more writing. His third attempt at a novel was “A Study in Scarlet,” the story that introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world, published in 1887. Encouraged by publishers to keep writing, Doyle wrote his second Holmes mystery, “The Sign of the Four,” in 1890. So successful were these novels, and the stories that followed, Conan Doyle could afford to give up his medical practice and devote himself to writing full time.
The first Sherlock Holmes short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” appeared in The Strand Magazine in 1891, to be followed by two dozen more stories over the next several years. The stories proved enormously successful, but Doyle tired of his own creation, and in 1894 he killed Holmes off in “The Final Problem.” He underestimated the popularity of his creation. So great was the hold that the character of Sherlock Holmes had taken on the public imagination that Doyle found himself at the center of a storm of controversy. Inundated with letters of protest, he eventually gave in and revived the character of Holmes, who appeared in numerous additional short stories over the next 23 years.
Doyle did not confine himself to Sherlock Holmes and wrote several popular works of historic fiction. He also served as a doctor in the Boer War, and on his return, he wrote two books defending England’s participation in the conflict. It was for these books that he received his knighthood in 1902. After the death of his son in World War I, Doyle became interested in spiritualism, and was convinced that it was possible to communicate with the dead, leading to a certain amount of ridicule from more mainstream society.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930. He can rightly be credited with helping create the literary genre of the detective story. Though Edgar Allen Poe’s Dupin (featured in East Lynne’s past production of “The Poe Mysteries”) pre-dates Sherlock Holmes, it was the Holmes’ stories that solidified in the public mind on what a good detective should be.
Founded in 1980, East Lynne Theater Company (ELTC) was the first theater in the country with the unique mission of presenting and preserving America's theatrical heritage. The New York Times listed ELTC as one of the 75 top summer theaters in North America. In 2018, the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly passed a joint legislative resolution recognizing ELTC as “one of the state’s most important cultural treasures.”
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