Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...But if you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and you didn't waste all your shillings on the vastly inferior touring show that was here at Thanksgiving, you should check this one out. It's a lot of fun to see Chicago artists of this caliber wrestle with a hugely promising new musical about an old favorite who seems unlikely ever to go out of style."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Rarely has a new musical ("Broadway-bound" or otherwise) arrived on a local stage with the sort of superb, highly polished gloss that marks every aspect of "The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes," now in a verbally bristling, stunningly sung, ideally realized world premiere at Mercury Theater Chicago."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...In this new musical by John Reeger, Julie Shannon, and Michael Mahler, Doyle investigates the case with the assistance of Holmes, who has managed to escape the bounds of fiction and is pissed off about Doyle's recent effort to kill him off. The show entertains as a buddy comedy and a whodunnit, thanks largely to the top-flight cast assembled by director Warner Crocker. But since Edalji remains a cipher in Reeger's book, the important and still resonant issue of racial prejudice is merely glanced at."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Propelled by a score of galloping-tempo, Gilbert-and-Sullivan-style patter songs boasting clever rhymes and intricate phrasing ( along with a few marital-romance ballads ), creator and creation solve the mystery-which turns out to be rooted in prejudice, though not the kind we anticipated-while acknowledging each other's importance in an often-inexplicable universe. Chicago theater alumnus Warner Crocker directs an ensemble led by Michael Aaron Lindner and Nick Sandys, featuring a company of veteran song-and-dance artists and musicians, who together forge this welcome addition to the venerable genre whose occupants include Sweeney Todd and My Fair Lady. So what are you waiting for-can't you see the game's afoot?"
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...That the material works well is due in large measure to the bright and snappy direction by Warner Crocker and an absolutely first-rate cast led by two most watchable actors. Conan Doyle is played by the estimable Michael Aaron Lindner, a character actor with a gorgeously booming voice who has nailed roles ranging from Sweeney Todd to Edna Turnblad. He gives Conan Doyle a nuanced mixture of impatience, humanity, and wit along with powerhouse vocals on the Shannon-Mahler score, a very tasty mix of music hall pastiche with lovely ballads that suggest the 1890s British setting while remaining pleasing to a present-day musical theatre audience. Lindner's co-star Nick Sandys is a complete delight as Holmes, delivering the witty words by Reeger, Shannon and Mahler with the driest of wit and perfect timing."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...And thus Doyle (Michael Aaron Lindner) finds himself in a Sherlockian mystery of his own, accompanied by a Sherlock (Nick Sandys) only he can see and hear. It's a clever notion, and one that comes with a pleasant score by Shannon and Mahler (it isn't indicated which songs belong to which writer) and a good number of solid gags. Director Warner Crocker's production sports a strong cast and keeps the action moving along at a decent clip, though it's visually rather drab, as if scenic designer Scott Davis and costume designer Robert S. Kuhn were instructed to stick as closely as possible to a palette of browns."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Though not as sharp a satire as the similarly-set Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, as "penny dreadful" as Jekyll and Hyde, or as, well, Dickensian as The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes is nonetheless a cunning homage and a delightful tour-de-sleuth. Case closed."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes' world premiere is a major triumph as a chamber musical, a creative Holmes mystery and a charming enjoyable theatrical experience. It so refreshing to see such a stage worthy production featuring one of the strongest books in many years and such a fine music and smart lyrics penned by the late Julie Shannon with additions by the talented Michael Mahler. I can't remember as finer world premiere musical mystery. Broadway producers and major regional theatre producers need to get to the Mercury Theatre to see The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes. This show would be a Broadway hit and a national touring smash. Don't miss this delightful show!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...A World Premiere Musical has opened at the Mercury Theater Chicago, that lovely gem of a theater on Southport. The newest of musicals to hit Chicago, is one that has taken a great deal of time and energy and patience on those involved to get to this place. It has also taken a great deal of love and heart. The book is by local actor John Reeger, who along with the late Julie Shannon created the holiday favorite “A Christmas Schooner” which now calls The Mercury its winter home."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This is a show for audiences looking for a brand new musical/dramatic entertainment and an entertaining and engaging piece that will keep them on the edge of their seats. In addition to being a potboiler of a story, it offers some lovely songs, interesting characters and a fascinating look at the man behind Sherlock Holmes. He was an author, of course, but also a learned Victorian man with a respected medical background, a sound sporting career, and an avid advocate for justice. In this two-hour musical melodrama we discover the real Doyle."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes" has box office hit written all over it, entertaining the casual playgoer as well as the Sherlock Holmes zealot. I could do without the mushy love song Doyle sings to his wife at the end (more sentimental viewers will disagree), but that's the smallest of quibbles. Mercury Theater visitors entertained by past productions like "The Addams Family," "Avenue Q," and "Ring of Fire" have another bull's-eye to enjoy. And the Mercury has announced that a revival of "The Producers" will be next! Our cup runneth over."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...A two-decade languishment may prove to have ensured that this musical debuts at just the right time to capture the conscious of audiences looking for a warm and familiar treat in the depths of winter with a companion experiencing an ongoing renaissance. Though it's nothing revolutionary, it's yet a gratifying time spent in the company of some fantastic characters."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...All in all though, one can’t help leaving the theater feeling a bit charmed by the heart of the piece, which definitely has a presence on the stage and within the sweet melodies brought forth by Shannon and Mahler. However, a hundred years from now, this show may still be warmly regarded as a nostalgia piece but less so in the same stick-to-the-bones nature of Sherlock Holmes himself."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...So, ubiquitous as Sherlock Holmes may be in other media, it would be a shame for his ever-loyal fans or musical premiere-catchers and enthusiasts to miss this production. It's smartly assembled, of course. It ably preserves Doyle's wit and Shannon's craft. And it serves as a reminder that intelligence and justice need not - cannot - tumble off a cliffside: A Gordian knot may not be solvable, but a three-pipe problem, with patience and diligence, can. (Genius apparitions may vary.)"
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Nick Sandys is an impeccable singing Holmes, his every "elementary" aglow with arch self-certainty. Michael Aaron Lindner captures the ambivalence of the Watson-like Doyle, alternately glowering and insecure as the detective story writer playing detective."
