It's December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette has built a career portraying the beloved detective Sherlock Holmes on stage and in silent films. To many, he is Sherlock Homes, and his deerstalker cap and curved pipe are now iconic symbols of the detective's life off the page.  

Hot off the success of one of his shows, Gillette invites his fellow cast members to his castle in Connecticut for a holiday party, and mayhem ensues when one of the guests is murdered. Determined to uncover the killer, Gillette must assume the role of Sherlock Holmes in a way he never has, before the next murder happens.  

Or so goes the plot of the renowned play “The Game's Afoot," which will be performed at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts this month by the Bigfork Community Players. 

Director Blaine Wilder said this Holmes-inspired play is a fast-paced murder mystery comedy, blending the two genres in a way that is hilarious and entertaining for the audience.  

"It has a lot of great satire and innuendos. It's very farcical in nature," he said. "It's a play within the play, and the actors are very over-the-top and melodramatic in their acting, and then they carry that over to their real lives. So, they're just very eccentric characters, and they're all pointing fingers at each other because everyone has a reason, and you have to suspect everyone in the show."

"The Game's Afoot" is the Bigfork Community Players' first production without longtime president David Vale at the helm, after Vale moved away from Bigfork to be nearer to family. But Wilder said that everyone involved with the Players has stepped up to fill in the gaps, and Eric Meyers was elected to lead the troupe into this new era.

There are 10 local actors who have been working since August to bring this show to life, Wilder said. Since the Players is not a professional theater company, the show provides an opportunity to see community members and neighbors tapping into their theatrical sides.  

"We're just people who love theater and want to make art together," he said. "We all have run-of-the-mill jobs and you wouldn't assume we're actors. Like Eric [Meyers] works at Harvest Foods and he's very quiet and he doesn't talk much, but when you get him on stage, he's a whole different person." 

Bigfork has a thriving theater scene, with the Summer Playhouse and the Children's Theater, but Wilder said the Players gives actors of all stripes the chance to get on stage and perform in front of their neighbors. 

"It's honestly about the audience that comes to see it because they make our show," Wilder concluded. "We do this for them. We don't get paid for this. It's all just volunteer work. It's people coming together to see live theater and people who like live theater making it happen. It's the community building something together is what I love to see. Like, despite our differences as individuals, we're coming together and making art." 

“The Game's Afoot” will run six shows at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Evening performances are Oct. 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. Matinee shows are Oct. 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and at Bigfork Drug. For more information, visit bigforkcommunityplayers.com or call (406) 407-4571. 

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.