Sherlock Holmes: The Musical: History and Key Facts

Sherlock Holmes: The Musical is a musical based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with music, lyrics, and book by Leslie Bricusse. The story concerns a 1901 confrontation between Holmes and his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty; Moriarty's brilliant daughter Bella proves to be an even more determined (and beautiful) foe than her father.

The musical opened 22 October 1988 at the Northcott Theatre, in Exeter, England, and ran for a limited season of five weeks. It then played at the Cambridge Theatre on Seven Dials in London's Covent Garden area from 24 April to 8 July 1989. During this time there were public transit strikes that Ron Moody worked into the script through ad-libs.

A revival tour (in a slightly revised version) opened at the Bristol Old Vic on 16 March 1993 with Robert Powell in the title role, Roy Barraclough as Watson, and Louise English as Bella Spellgrove.

In April 2013 Leslie Bricusse worked with the Morphic Graffiti theatre company to revise and revamp the show within a Victorian Music Hall setting at Hoxton Hall in London, which itself is a 145-year-old grade II listed Music Hall Theatre. Now called The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes, the revised version included new never previously performed material, and opened to critical acclaim.

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