The Crucifer of Blood (play 1978-1979)
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The Crucifer of Blood is an American play written and directed by Paul Giovanni, performed at the Helen Hayes Theatre (New York, USA) from 28 september 1978 to 22 april 1979, starring Paxton Whitehead as Sherlock Holmes and Timothy Landfield as Dr. Watson.
Paxton Whitehead and Timothy Landfield previously played The Crucifer of Blood with a different cast at the Studio Arena Theatre (Buffalo, NY) from 6 january to 4 february 1978.
The play is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel : The Sign of Four (1890).
Original Script
« Original script from the Broadway production of The Crucifer of Blood. There were many cuts and revisions before and during rehearsals. Paul Giovanni felt he could never quite get the epilogue right. That continued until almost the first preview. Paul was a very close friend of Peter Shaffer and one day he said Peter had fixed the epilogue as a gift. That is the page on the left and the version we used. Peter would accept no credit for his small but lovely contribution. » — Martin LaPlatney [1]
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Script cover.
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Annotated script pages.
© Photo Credits : Martin LaPlatney.
Photos
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Dr. Watson (Timothy Landfield), Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close) and Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead)
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Dr. Watson (Timothy Landfield), Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close) and Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead)
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Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close) and Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead)
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Dr. Watson (Timothy Landfield), Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close) and Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead)
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Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead), Dr. Watson (Timothy Landfield) and Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close)
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Irene St. Claire (Glenn Close), Dr. Watson (Timothy Landfield) and Sherlock Holmes (Paxton Whitehead)
Playbill
Cast
- Sherlock Holmes : Paxton Whitehead
- Dr. Watson : Timothy Landfield
- Inspector Lestrade : Edward Zang
- Irene St. Claire : Glenn Close
- Major Alistair Ross : Dwight Schultz
- Captain Neville St. Claire : Nicolas Surovy
- Mordecai Smith : Andrew Davis
- Durga Dass (a Hindu) : Edward Zang
- Wali Dad (an Afghan) : Tuck Milligan
- Mohammed Singh (a Mohammedan) : Andrew Davis
- Birdy Johnson : Tuck Milligan
- Jonathan Small : Christopher Curry
- Tonga : Roumel Reaux
- Fung Tching (a Chinaman) : Melvin Lum
- Hopkins : Martin LaPlatney
Crew
- Director : Paul Giovanni
- Playwright : Paul Giovanni
- Presented by : Lester Osterman, Richard Horner, Terry Allen Kramer, John Wulp
- Scenery Design : John Wulp
- Costumes Design : Ann Roth
- Lighting Design : Roger Morgan
- Scenery Supervisor : Lynn Pecktal
- Makeup Design : Joseph Cranzano
- Wigs and Hairstyles : Paul Huntley
- ↑ Source: correspondence by email with Martin Laplatney (3 february 2025).