Shady Side Academy Middle School will present the fall play Young Sherlock for parents and guests on Friday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. The performance will be held in the cafetorium on the school's campus at 500 Squaw Run Road East, Fox Chapel. Admission to the play is free. Performances also will be held during the school day on Nov. 8 and 9 for Junior, Middle and Country Day School students.

Take a trip back in time to when young Sherlock Holmes was a student at Butterworth Academy. Two girls are kidnapped from the school, and John Watson hopes his friend and classmate will be able to solve his first crime. Despite a psychic, Madame Lulu, appearing on the scene and guaranteeing to find the students, the bumbling, inept Constable Bing begins his own investigation. When the psychic suddenly finds the girls after the parents have paid the large fee demanded in the mysterious ransom note, Sherlock is suspicious. He sets a trap to snare the criminal, launching his career as a great detective who can solve crimes even before the police can.

The cast includes 23 students in grades 6-8 and stars sixth grader Jeffrey Brunner as Sherlock Holmes. Other cast members include eighth graders seventh graders Grant Cummings, Carson Curley, David Glass, Elaine Gombos, Elizabeth Kamin, Monica Singh, Miyu Yamane and Jillian Zana; seventh graders Maisie Johnston, Deven Nahata, Elliott Scheri, Madeira Semins and Kayla Zhu; and sixth graders Anna Apetrei-Pandrea, Navya Arora, Ellis Bekman, Sophia Gombos, Maanya Goulatia, Ava Jankowski, Juliet Krokosky, Rachel Poltinnikov and Ava Terezis.

The play is directed by English teacher Camille MacRae, and produced by music teacher Randy Broker and art teacher Stefanie Vorrasi. Choreography is by eighth grader Elizabeth Kamin, and properties and technical direction are by seventh grader Leo Rickard and eighth grader Zach Kamenov.

Good luck to the entire cast and crew!