About the Play:

If Sherlock Holmes Were a Woman is a full-length comedy by Tim Kelly. Shirley Holmes, a college student with a vivid imagination, lives her life in imitation of the master detective. When the housemother in her dorm is found dead under odd circumstances, Shirley promptly locks all the suspects in a study and attempts to solve the "murder" as Holmes might have done. Shirley's sleuthing is hilarious and causes something of a scandal as she unravels the laugh-provoking "heinous crime."

If Sherlock Holmes Were a Woman features a heroine who is named after the famous sleuth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fame. This might be enough for any girl to bear, but in Shirley Holmes's case the name is ideal. She's a fanatic on the subject of mystery and crime. Her big chance comes when the threatening housemother in her dorm is found dead under peculiar circumstances. Was the victim's tea brewed with cyanide? Was the sweetener tinged with arsenic? Or was the instrument of death a poisonous blow dart? The correct procedure would be to call the police, but Shirley is determined to solve the crime herself and promptly locks all the girls in the communal study. The "suspects" include Melanie, the professional "Southern belle"; Sniffles, the hypocondriac; Theda, the world's "greatest undiscovered talent"; and Fifi, an exchange student whose biggest battle is understanding the English language. And, of course, Shirley has a noble assistant in "Dotty" Watson who is delighted to write everything down in her "memoirs." A peculiar twist solves the crime in spite of Shirley's deduction, but her faith in Holmes remains unshaken.

If Sherlock Holmes Were a Woman is a popular choice for school and community theatre productions. The acting roles give excellent opportunity for characterization.

Cast: 7 female

About the Playwright:

Tim Kelly (1931-1998) is often regarded as the most-published playwright in America, with over 300 titles to his credit under both his real name and at least four pseudonyms (Vera Morris, J. Moriarty, Robert Swift, Keith Jackson). Many of his plays, like Les Miserables, M*A*S*H and The Uninvited, are adaptations of novels, films. or television series, although he also wrote a host of parodies a well as original scripts and musical libretti. While his plays have been performed off-Broadway and by such companies as the Royal Court Rep, the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Seattle Rep, he is best known for writing for university, community and school theatre.