(Photo Provided) From left, Rod Newhart and Caleb Bland in a scene from “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” that opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre in Marietta. The play is based on the book by Douglas Adams.

From staff reports

Science fiction, comedy and mystery are on the stage at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre where “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” opens for a five-show run at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The play, based on the Douglas Adams novel of the same name, is about a detective who believes in the connectedness of all things and asks how a missing cat, time travel, an abacus, a ghost and hypnosis connect to the murder of Gordon Way.

Director Nicholas Rake chose the show after admiring Adams’ work, which includes “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

“I am also a fan of other British comedians who focus on the surreal, absurd and needlessly pedantic like Monty Python and Terry Pratchett,” Rake said. “It’s been a lot of fun portraying him, particularly since I find him a strangely relatable character. I too tend to strike people as a bit odd and have a fascination with quantum theory, linguistic games and a touch of ‘applied woo.’ I may have also convinced people I was a vampire in high school.”

(Photo Provided) “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mid-at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre with, from left, Nicholas Rake as Dirk Gently and Rod Newhart as Urban “Reg” Chronotis. Tickets are $13.

Debuting on the Players’ stage is Adam Wallace as Michael Wenton-Weakes, a fired magazine editor filled with animosity.

“This is my first time acting since high school. It’s a little intimidating, but it’s been really fun,” he said. “Everyone has been really great. I enjoy the three different voices I do with the character, and there are some interesting things that go on with it.”

A member of the Mid-Ohio Valley Players for 50 years, but absent for 25, Rod Newhart plays Professor Urban “Reg” Chronotis, regius professor of chronology.

“I had the winter off and decided I wanted to get back into the theater group,” Newhart said. “I think people will enjoy this play because it’s a very different type of show. People will enjoy the humor and the time travel aspect.”

Something for everyone is in the show, Assistant Director Tia Jan Brookover said.

(Photo Provided) From left, Rod Newhart and Caleb Bland in a scene from “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” that opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre in Marietta. The play is based on the book by Douglas Adams.

“It has the murder mystery that will pique your interest by trying to figure out how all these seemingly unrelated things connect,” she said. “But those unrelated things are sometimes so bizarre that they will make you laugh.”

The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with additional shows scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, as well as March 13 and 14, and at 3 p.m. March 15. The theater is at 229 Putnam St.

Tickets are $13 and are available at midohiovalleyplayers.com or at the box office starting two hours before each show.

The show, sponsored by WesBanco, is presented with permission by Samuel French LTD., a Concord Theatricals title.

Members of the cast are: Rake as Dirk Gently; Rachel Gaston as Janice Pearce, Sarah Androyd and Piano Pigeon; Newhart as Urban “Reg” Chronotis; Caleb Bland as Richard MacDuff; Matthew Dair as Gordon Way and Marvin Androyd; Ella Wells as Susan Way and Pigeon; Adam Wallace as Michael Wenton-Weakes; Mark Abicht as Sergeant Gilks; Aaron Paige as Perkins; Sara Matuszak as Alberta Ross, Gordon’s Housekeeper, Don 1 and Pigeon; Sylvia Vasquez as Waiter; Carim Wagner as Don 2 and Pigeon; and Brookover as Pigeon.

(Photo Provided) Matthew Dair portrays Gordon Way and Marvin Androyd in the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre production of “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.” The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

(Photo Provided) From left, Nicholas Rake as Dirk Gently and Rachel Gaston in several roles in “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday for five performances.

(Photo Provided) Ella Wells as Susan Way and Pigeon rehearses a scene in the Mid-Ohio Valley Players production of “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” that opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a five-show run.

(Photo Provided) Nicholas Rake as Dirk Gently and Adam Wallace as Michael Wenton-Weakes in “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.” The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mid-at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre in Marietta.