Rockville Little Theatre delivers a lively take on Ken Ludwig’s ‘The Game’s Afoot’
Rockville Little Theatre is staging Ken Ludwig’s murder mystery The Game’s Afoot, directed by Laura W. Andruski. The plot follows William Gillette and a theater troupe gathered at his Connecticut castle on Christmas Eve as killings unfold around them. Chas Roades leads the eight-person cast, and Jess Asjes designed the set for the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre.
Rockville Little Theatre’s staging of Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot is directed by Laura W. Andruski and features eight performers, with Chas Roades portraying William Gillette. Jess Asjes designed the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre set, evoking the Connecticut stone castle that inspired the mystery.
The real Gillette, born in Hartford in 1853, met Arthur Conan Doyle in London, wrote and starred in Sherlock Holmes about 1,300 times through 1932, and built a 24-room castle now within a state park. The production runs through October 4, 2026, lasting two hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
This community theater production may offer local audiences an accessible, affordable cultural outing and a chance to engage with a classic whodunit. It could strengthen ties among Rockville performers, designers, and volunteers, while drawing visitors to the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. By presenting a work rooted in theater history, it may also spark curiosity about Sherlock Holmes adaptations and historic preservation, though its broader societal impact is likely modest and localized.