A couple years ago, I saw Sean Coffey of Red Monkey Theater Group perform a one-man version of A Christmas Carol at Van Cortlandt House Museum in the Bronx.
The adaptation takes some liberties with the original story by Arthur Conan Doyle, but in some fun and amusing ways. As in the story, the coronet ends up in the home of the banker Alexander Holder to secure a loan for "one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England" as Doyle writes. Presumably, this is the Prince of Wales, but in Aviezer's adaptation it is Queen Victoria herself, played by Ariel Francoeur.
Derek Tarson is wonderfully obtuse as Holder, who when three beryls of the coronet go missing, immediately zeros in on his son Arthur (played by Collin Orton) as the prime suspect. Holmes is more clever and decides he needs to question Holder's niece Mary (Grace Maddox in this production). There are later a few twists and turns in the script that keep the play interesting even for those who already know the outcome of the story.
Red Monkey will be bringing the play to Harrison Public Library on Sunday, April 19th. If you miss it, you can catch another Red Monkey show this summer when they perform William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Bartow-Pell Mansion May 30th through June 7th.
