Interview: JAMES TAYLOR ODOM of A SHERLOCK CAROL at Westport Country Playhouse

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time to dive straight into the Christmas season. What better way to do that than with A Sherlock Carol, back for its third production at the Westport County Playhouse.

James Taylor Odom stars as Sherlock Holmes in A Sherlock Carol. He will be working again with Mark Shanahan, the Westport Country Playhouse’s artistic director and writer and director of the show. Odom, who grew up in the South, met Shanahan when he was in Arkansas and working on a show. They immediately hit it off, as both are “Holmesophiles,” kindred spirits, and “long lost brothers,” he says. Shanahan emailed him with the script just after he finished writing it. Both also love Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock.

Odom seeks every opportunity to play Holmes. He starred in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure at the West Virginia Public Theatre and played Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Theatresquared in Arkansas. He appeared in Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery at the Cider Mill Playhouse (now called Cider Mill Stage). He was destined to star in A Sherlock Carol. Several years ago, Odom visited the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Waterford and discovered Gillette Castle in East Haddam. How perfect is that for someone who loves Sherlock Holmes to see the home of William Gillette, who was best known for playing Sherlock Holmes a century ago?

He was drawn to acting when he was about five or six years old and saw the movie, Clue. He was blown away by Tim Curry’s portrayal of Wadsworth the Butler. Odom later toured as the understudy for Wadsworth in Clue. He also played D’ysquith Family members in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and George Banks in Mary Poppins. He previously worked with Shanahan in The 39 Steps at the Virginia Stage Company, playing Richard Hannay and appeared in the U.S. premiere of Grumpy Old Men and the world premiere of It Came from Outer Space. Those are just some highlights of his stage work. He also wrote and starred in the one-man shows, The Maltese Falcon (as Sam Spade, Archer, Miss Wonderly, Cairo, and many other characters and in The Mystery Bookshop Musical as a young Arthur Doyle.

A native of Lawrenceville, Georgia, Odom earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia) and his Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Arkansas. Although he plans to venture into television and films, he jumps at every chance to perform in theater.

Odom is at home performing plays that take place during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. “I’ve done a lot of comedies, for sure,” he says. “I love making people laugh as an actor. It’s a thrilling experience – a line, a gesture, a set up in a play. It’s a singular experience…as an actor but part of a connected experience.”

A Sherlock Carol is a respectful combination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle and Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. It’s a mystery for all ages which features all the familiar characters of both literary masterpieces. Set in 1894 London on Christmas Eve, a now grown-up Tiny Tim asks Sherlock Holmes to investigate the death of Ebenezer Scrooge. The cast of six plays multiple characters including Joe Delafield as Dr. Watson, Dan Domingues as Cratchit, Anissa Felix as Emma Wiggins, Alexandra Kopko as the Countess, while Byron St. Cyr only plays Ebeneezer Scrooge and Odom only plays Sherlock Holmes. The award-winning show will be produced on more than 30 stages in North America, the U.K., and Australia this year.

“For anyone who has seen A Sherlock Carol before, I encourage them to see it again,” says Odom. “It’s the same show, but it will have some newer actors and newer elements in the show.”

A Sherlock Carol will have just eight performances at the Westport Country Playhouse. Showtimes are Saturday, December 13 at 7:00PM, Sunday, December 14 at 3:00PM, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday December 17, 18, and 19 at 7:00PM, Saturday, December 20 at 3:00PM and 8:00PM, and December 21 at 3:00PM.

The Westport Country Playhouse has a variety of accessible ticket pricing options, including pay-what-you-will performances, discounts for first responders, free tickets for Indigenous peoples, and more.

The Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court. For more information, visit  https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/a-sherlock-carol-2025/.