MURDEROUS LAUGHTER
In 1945, “Cluedo” first came on the scene in the United Kingdom to the delight of board game lovers. Created by game designer Anthony E. Pratt, this beloved family friend board game, better known as “Clue” in the United States, has been a staple in the American zeitgeist for over half a century. The first board game turned into cinema, the film version by Jonathan Lynn premiered in 1985. Released with three different endings, the picture got middling reviews, but has become something of a cult classic, with all three endings on home media.
The Company
Based on the Hasbro game and Lynn’s screenplay, writer Sandy Rustin returns us to the scene of the crime with Clue, a hilarious play currently stopping at Segerstrom through Sunday as part of a national tour. With additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price when the show premiered in 2017 at Bucks County Playhouse, it’s a nonstop feast of double-entendre, wordplay, and slapstick comedy. aided by an 11-member ensemble as remarkable as the design elements.
The Company
The play is set in 1954. With the opening sequence of the very French maid Yvette (Elisabeth Yancey reminded me of Fifi the Feather Duster from Beauty and the Beast) listening to a broadcast about McCarthy and the Red Scare, I was immediately transported into the time period reminiscent of HBO’s hit mini series Fellow Travelers. Colorful characters, or, rather, caricatures, immediately make a dazzling entrance with precisely timed thunderclaps and dramatic light cues. The butler, Wadsworth, played by the very adroit Mark Price, reveals that the six guests are victims of blackmail by the dinner party’s host, Mr. Boddy (Alex Syiek). The guests receive prepared presents: murder weapons of various effectiveness (you know, the rope, the candlestick, et al.).
Then, how lucky is it that the lights cut out? We have our first victim!
The Company
It is so refreshing to see a good old-fashioned comedy that relies on tropes as its core narrative driver. In this whodunit, our ensemble dishes out shade, jabs, and dance moves at the snap of the finger. Rustin’s material, is, in fact, very, very good. This is one of those plays that just a reading would be worth attending. However, director Casey Hushion ensures that the madcap members of this macabre crew rarely stand park-and-bark style for the 80-minute one-act.
The Company
Two particular gentlemen really steal the show with their adroit physical comedy. Attempting to retrace the steps of the night to locate the real killer, Price, as Wadsworth, goes into a one-man recapitulation of the entire play. This campy and showy feat has the crowd roaring as he repeatedly collapses on stage retelling the various murders that took place. The other show stopper John Shartzer, pure magic as Mr. Green. Through various slow-mo movements he not only demonstrates nimbleness that defies expectation, but the motor control of his entire body nearly stops time as he slowly falls to the ground. I’m eager to see him again in anything.
Elisabeth Yancey and John Shartzer
Matching up with the stellar cast is the fantastic design team. This is one production wherein just the stage transitions are worth watching. Lee Savage‘s design is absolutely delightful as we move from room to room with cleverly revealed, rotating entryways and even silly suspense as the quick changes are married with Scooby Doo-like tippy toes (fight direction by Robert Westley). From Miss Scarlet’s luscious dress to Mrs. Peacock’s layered frock, Jen Caprio‘s on-point costumes are showy and a perfect fit for these archetypes. Ryan O’Gara‘s gold standard of light design not only lights the characters individually, but the cues are perfectly timed. Jeff Human‘s sound design offers both clarity in dialogue and the incidental music by Michael Holland. This is genuinely theater at its best.
Mark Price and The Company
I can not recommend this show enough to everyone. Even while it is filled with numerous sexual innuendos, it’s family-friendly and the exact type of pick-me-up that is so needed right now. While it is not Shakespeare or [insert high-brow entertainment here], Clue is terribly clever that offers a guarantee: you leave the theater in a better mood than the one you entered with. And you better hurry, as the play only runs through Sunday at SCFTA (next stop is The Ahmanson Theatre in L.A.).
Tari Kelly and Mark Price
The cast also includes Mariah Burks as the Cook, John Treacy Egan as Colonel Mustard, Michelle Elaine as Miss Scarlet, Joanna Glushak as Mrs. Peacock, Tari Kelly as Mrs. White, Jonathan Spivey as Professor Plum and Teddy Trice as the Cop.
Tari Kelly and John Shartzer
photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Clue
National Tour
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa
reviewed July 23, 2024; ends on July 28, 2024, in Orange County
for tickets, call 714.556.2787 or visit SCFTA
NEXT STOP: Ahmanson Theater in L.A. July 30 through August 25, 2024
for tickets, visit Center Theatre Group
tour continues well into 2025
for dates and cities, visit Clue
