My Dear Watson (NYMF) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Part of the New York Musical Festival: Told from the perspective of Dr. Watson, this dramatic musical reanalyzes and redefines love and friendship for a man who is seemingly incapable of both.
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See it if a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories & don't mind an inchoate, rough, disappointing production reducing beloved tales.
Don't see it if you're expecting something intelligent, masterful, and clever; if it breaks your heart to see favorite literary figures reduced to flatness. Read more
See it if you are a die-hard Holmesian who must experience everything possible concerning him. Children might benefit from this kind of introduction.
Don't see it if you want to experience Holmes on a higher level. The music is dirge-like when it's not sounding like chant. NYMF usually chooses better.
See it if You love anything Holmes and Watson, even though it is not a very good story and the acting and singing are poor.
Don't see it if You are not in the mood to see a community theater quality musical production of beloved fictional characters with bland songs & dialog.
See it if You want to experience anything and everything Holmes.
Don't see it if You hold recent tv adaptations of Sherlock as a yardstick. Read more
See it if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan interested in a small-scale musical of the detective.
Don't see it if you want a more creative, ambitious musical.
See it if You want to see the most amateurish show NYMF has actually staged, are a big enough Sherlock fan to see anything and everything based on it
Don't see it if U dont want to suffer through a dull story, insipid lyrics, a Sherlock who can't sing surrounded by a cast speak-singing, can see other show
See it if don't see it!!! Period!!! No ifs!!!
Don't see it if you don't want to leave embarrassed and ashamed. It's not a musical but a tasteless text declamation with occasional failed song attempts. Read more
See it if Only if you absolutely love any and all stories dealing with Sherlock Holmes, don't mind an overall amateurishness, unimaginative lyrics.
Don't see it if You expect a taut script, good songs, dislike uneven acting (some better than others), prefer faster-paced imaginative shows w/o cliches.
Critic Reviews (9)
"Manages to cover surprisingly little dramatic territory...The plot, such as it is, doesn't begin in earnest until post-intermission...The show's principal pair don't prove to be up to the task of buoying this sinking musical. Of the two, Kyle Stone as Dr. John Watson is the more proficient, both vocally and dramatically, and he's at the forefront for most of 'My Dear Watson's' most watchable moments. But unfortunately those moments occur all too rarely over the show's two hours."
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"Bartschi's dialogue is prosaic and heavily expository...Her lyrics are similarly dispassionate and information-packed...A score that meanders up and down minor-key scales; it's nearly all minor-key...It gets compelling on rare occasion...'My Dear Watson,' then, isn't much good, but...It accomplishes what previous Holmes musicals failed to do: It gives Holmes and Watson something to sing about. If only they had better stuff to sing."
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“A clever tale of mystery…The melodic score, orchestrated with a piano and violin, gracefully moves up and down the scale…The creative team has done a lot right to establish the world of the play…It’s magical and moving in the way that musical theater should be. John DiDonna is dashing as Holmes. His performance is steely, sharp, and clear. His voice, although a bit raspy, carries…Soothing melodies are pleasant and memorable.”
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"Didonna is not an especially charismatic or vocally strong Holmes...His direction tends to be rather clunky...In fairness to all the performers, this is clearly a case of a company working with a limited budget and most importantly, that Bartschi has not given them an especially impressive score or lyrics...'My Dear Watson' has been a work in progress for nine years. For it to have a life beyond its current brief run in New York, it still needs a lot more work."
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"Kyle Stone's John Watson is the heart of this production...The back and forth between Holmes and Watson is clever and delightful...Fans of Sherlock Holmes will doubtless enjoy 'My Dear Watson.' It's a fun little musical that banks on the ever-enduring popularity of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as a duo. It's not exactly chock-full of showstoppers (though the music is nice) and it may leave a little something to be desired in parts; but it's Sherlock Holmes."
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"The book, music, and lyrics are at best unremarkable and the performances range from barely adequate to completely inadequate. DiDonna’s direction is haphazard and the staging is sophomoric. It is difficult to discern what precisely contributes to the lack of success of this musical. The characters are not believable and their conflicts are not interesting...'My Dear Watson' has the distinct flavor of community theater and needs considerable work to move forward."
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"So the question is: do we need another Sherlock Holmes show? And does the new one add something new and unusual to the tradition? The answer to both, my dear Watson, is elementary: no! Even Holmes might be baffled by this structurally flimsy, inexpertly performed, two-hour, musical corpse…so lamely acted, sung, and staged…it's almost a parody of bad theatre…'My Dear Watson' may be a mystery play but the big mystery is why, after nine years of work, it's not any better."
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"I made the mistake of choosing to see ‘My Dear Watson’...What should be elementary about crafting a musical hasn’t been made clear to Bartschi. She appears not even to have mastered the rudiments...There’s little in the production worth recommending other than a few earnest performances from Didonna as Holmes, Stone as Watson, and Blackwater as Moriarty. Those three do most of the singing—not terribly well."
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