When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sat down to write The Hound of Baskervilles more than a century ago, he reunited with a character he had killed off eight years earlier when he sent the beloved Sherlock Holmes plunging to his death. But as Holmes fans know well, there is something undeniable about the great detective. So in seeking a hero for his 1901 story about a bloodthirsty beast haunting a family on the Devonshire moors, Conan Doyle looked again to his most famous creation. The result was an enduringly popular novel, enjoyed by generations of mystery and classic literature lovers worldwide.

How, then, do we dare turn such a revered work into a roaring comedy? Actually, it’s a rather straightforward transformation. One must simply be clever enough to tease out of Conan Doyle’s work his own sly sense of humor. The novel showcases Sherlock Holmes’ wit and eccentricity, with Dr. Watson serving as his everyday trusty foil. In this adaptation, playwrights Steven Canny and John Nicholson have boiled that legendary relationship down to its essence. Their freewheeling take on the duo, and on the mysterious case in which the colleagues find themselves ensnared, is a wild new ride through a familiar adventure.