Holiday time nears, but that’s not delicious sugar plums you’re sniffing on the wind. Why, it’s the stench of a pipe puffed on by the great detective himself – Sherlock Holmes! From Austin Playhouse comes a mysterious and merry production of Mark Shanahan’s crossover Christmas play under Lara Toner Haddock’s direction. In a post-Moriarty slump, Holmes gets roused from his haunted depression by the death of one Ebenezer Scrooge – heard of him? – and hops on the case despite a lingering suspicion his detecting days are dwindling. A must-see for Dickens devotees and Holmes-heads, or anyone who likes holiday-related whodunits. (Guilty!) – James Scott
