Evan Zimmerman
Murder mystery board game Clue has been with us for decades. First launched in the UK in 1949 — known as Cluedo — the game came to US shores courtesy of Parker Brothers — now Hasbro — and has been a hit with many different editions and variations on the game play ever since as the players try to solve a murder with various characters of colorful epithets and various weapons as the suspects. In 1985 the game was developed into a feature film from Paramount Pictures with the novelty of having three different endings depending on where you saw it (the home video release included all three endings stitched together in a string of ‘it really happened like this’ sequences). The film was a flop, but over the years it has developed a large cult following thanks mainly to its inspired all-star cast headed by Tim Curry as the butler Wadsworth. (Side note: Sony Pictures has just acquired the rights to a movie remake/TV series adaptation.) Now the classic game — and movie — comes to vivid life on stage.
The plot — which is based on Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay for the film, with a Book by Sandy Rustin and Additional Materials by Hunter Foster and Eric Price — should be familiar. A group of six ‘strangers’ are summoned to Boddy Manor for reasons unknown. They are to address each other by the host’s given names — Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Professor Plum — so as to keep their identities secret … except they all pretty much know of each other as they all have had quite public lives. And all of them are being blackmailed by the host, Mr. Boddy. Wadsworth, the butler, reveals all of their dirty laundry and Mr. Boddy turns up to release them from the blackmail if they perform one task: murder Wadsworth because he knows all their secrets. If they can’t, the blackmail triples. He gives them each a weapon — candlestick, rope, lead pipe, wrench, revolver, dagger — but no one wants to do the deed. Boddy turns off the lights, a shot rings out, and when the lights are back on … Boddy is the body on the floor. In addition to the six suspects and Wadsworth, there is also a maid and a cook to consider, plus a singing telegram girl and a police officer who show up unexpectedly … and they all end up dead, the killer(s) using each of the various weapons handed out earlier. So whodunit?
Clue: On Stage made its premiere in 2017 at the Bucks County Playhouse. A revised version premiered in 2020 at the Cleveland Play House, moved to the West Coast in 2021 at the La Mirada Playhouse, and had another production at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2022. Retitled simply Clue, the 2024 tour based on the Paper Mill production launched in Minneapolis and has taken up residence for a week at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.
This production follows the basic premise of the movie but does simplify the characters a bit. In the film, many of them have relationships with each other, the staff of the manor or Mr. Boddy himself. Here they all know of each other but no one seems to have any personal relationship with the others except … Mrs. White does seem to know the maid, and Mrs. Peacock seems to know the cook. The women quickly deny any knowledge of the help, but when both turn up dead the women are the main suspects as their weapons were used in the murders. Only during the initial revelations of the guests’ pasts do we get to learn anything about them, but it’s enough to keep the story rolling.
The show is a bit of campy fun but it’s hard not to think about the movie, and its cast, if you’re a fan. One must really divorce themselves from the movie and enjoy the performances of the cast on their own merits because comparisons to the film cast would do the stage cast a disservice. Mark Price as Wadsworth is the ringmaster of this circus, almost always on stage, almost always with a ton of dialogue and a lot of physical humor and attending to the set’s many moving pieces. He certainly earns his bow at the curtain call (though he is the only actor to get a solo bow). Matching his performance is John Shartzer as Mr. Green, a real scene stealer with his frenetic behavior and amazing physical comedy including one amazing moment where everything goes in slow motion that earned a round of applause from the audience. Shartzer is fabulous and gives Price a run for his money.
Evan Zimmerman
John Treacy Egan is a hoot as the daft Colonel Mustard, Michelle Elaine as Miss Scarlet swaggers around the stage and makes the most of every line she has, Joanna Glushak is delightful as the dotty Mrs. Peacock, Jonathan Spivey is fine as Professor Plum but is almost overshadowed by everyone else, and Tari Kelly really brings some class to Mrs. White and really commands the stage with her presence … but it might have been better had they omitted Madeline Kahn’s famous ‘flames’ monologue (which was apparently ad-libbed in the film) because it just doesn’t have the punch of Kahn’s delivery (yes, we’re not supposed to compare the two but in this instance it can’t be overlooked because that moment has become so iconic). Other than that, Kelly really stood out.
Alex Syiek gives several great performances from the mob goon Mr. Boddy to the Chief of Police (with a different clever name in every ‘this is how it happened’ ending) and Mariah Burks as the cook slays with her facial expressions, getting major laughs without saying a word. Teddy Trice makes the most of his one short scene as The Cop (and as several other cops during the endings), and Elisabeth Yancey fits the image of the sexy French maid. The only issue is her accent is so thick sometimes, it’s difficult to understand what she’s saying (that could also be blamed on the sound, which had a weird sort of reverb throughout the show on its opening night performance making a lot of the dialogue hard to understand).
Lee Savage’s set design is outstanding with its hidden rooms built into the sides of the set, as well as an entire room that rolls forward on stage, and other nifty tricks to prevent things from becoming static. Director Casey Hushion also keeps the cast moving back and forth across the stage as the scenery changes to give the appearance they are moving about the manor, and Ryan O’Gara’s lighting design keeps the stage well-lit when needed, using darkness as a tool as well, and really getting creative along with the sound design by Jeff Human for the ‘it happened like this’ scenes as things keep rewinding and resetting. This all comes into play earlier in the show as well during that slo-mo moment that has to be seen to be appreciated. Jan Caprio’s costumes are perfection, reminiscent of the movie’s but still making them her own, and the hair, wigs and make-up by J. Jared Janas totally transforms the actors into their characters (look at their head shots on the website and compare them to their characters — total transformations).
So, is Clue the best live show you’ll see this year? Probably not, but … it is 90-minutes of pure entertainment, a campy good time filled with wonderful performances, a great technical production, and with a script that delivers some laughs and a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
Clue runs about 1 hour 30 minutes, no intermission. Recommended for ages 13 and up. Includes smoke, haze, and thunder and gunshot sound effects.
Clue runs through May 12 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre. Other cities on the schedule include Tampa, Orlando, Seattle, Los Angeles, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta and more. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
Clue National Tour
Hasbro
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
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