Sam Dunaway | News Editor

Clever, complex and filled to the brim with emotion: prepare for a journey through time in Western’s newest production, “The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence.”

The play, written by playwright Madeleine George, centers around four different characters named Watson: the supercomputer that became a “Jeopardy!” champion, Sherlock Holmes’s faithful sidekick, Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant who helped build the first telephone and a modern-day computer repairman on the search for companionship.

Senior and Bachelor of Fine Arts student Stephen Nielson portrays all four Watsons throughout the show. When asked what his favorite thing about this show is, Nielson commented, “This show is really cool to me because it’s this story about wanting to be helpful … It’s very fun to be able to use me as a starting point for a character like Watson, who is so weird and varied.”

Modern-day Josh Watson is hired by a local politician Frank Merrick, played by sophomore Bill Evans, to spy on Merrick’s ex-wife Eliza, portrayed by sophomore Selena Moreno. The stalking quickly turns into an emotional love affair between Eliza and Watson.

The play consistently jumps from 2011 modern America to 1889 Victorian England where another Eliza meets Sherlock Holmes’s trusty sidekick, John Watson. A third timeline in 1931 involves a radio interview between a third Eliza and Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, Thomas Watson, on the invention of the telephone. The complex storyline ties three centuries together and makes the audience consider the underlying characteristics that make us all human.

“This show is about the people behind the people who change the world,” Director and senior Western student Matthew Miller explained.

Working toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts in technical theatre, Miller is passionate about directing. “Directing is a weird art. It’s different from painting where you just do the thing by itself and people see it. With this, you are taking other peoples art and making sure it all fits together in the best possible way. It’s kind of like a giant puzzle.”

Miller described his favorite thing about this show: the hidden heros. “We look at Thomas Watson, who assisted Alexander Graham Bell in the invention of the telephone. And John Watson who is Sherlock Holmes’s fictional assistant. Everyone knows who Graham Bell is, not everyone knows how important Watson was to that. As someone who usually works behind the scenes and doesn’t get seen the same way actors do, this show speaks to me on that level.”

“The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence” will be performed at Rice Auditorium on Feb. 8, 9, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10. An interpreted performance is on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The show runs about two and a half hours long and is $8 for students, $14 for general admission and $10 for seniors, faculty and staff.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Photo by: Paul F. Davis