“Let the game begin!” declares the butler Wadsworth in the opening moments of "Clue: Live on Stage!”
It was a dark and stormy night in 1954 and six enormous characters have been invited to dinner at the grand old mansion belonging to Mr. Boddy, who may or may not be the person blackmailing all of them. They use pseudonyms and don’t know each other outright, but they discover some connections and the threat of the House Un-American Activities Committee looms large. They each receive a gift: a rope, a wrench, a revolver, a lead pipe, a candlestick. Then someone turns up dead. Then another. And another. And another.
Whodunnit?
This delightful farce written by Sandy Rustin with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price is based on Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay of the marvelous 1985 star-studded, campy, cult comedy film based on the Hasbro board game in which players deduce the murderer, the crime scene, and the weapon, using clues that emerge while playing. Based on the cards drawn, there could be 216 possible endings in any given game, and while the play offers far fewer solves to the murders at hand, it’s the way in which the murders, the cover-ups, and the solves are revealed that makes this particular game so incredibly fun.
The current tour of this show, directed by Casey Hushion, as part of Broadway Grand Rapids’ season, brings a wickedly funny, fast-paced, 90-minute period romp to the DeVos stage. Chock full of wonderful physical comedy and other inspired performances, the action unfolds on a brilliant, beautiful set (designed by Lee Savage) complete with flickering sconces, deadly chandeliers, slamming doors, rooms that drop in from the ceiling and swing out from the walls, effectively creating the sense of an ornate, creepy, labyrinthine chateau with secret passages—an ideal location for murder.
Though it’s the clever writing and standout performances that make the action so thrilling and hilarious. The entire cast clustered center stage running in place to show their fear navigating the madness is but one example of how the humorous action is translated through their bodies.
Mariah Burks as the cook wields a cleaver and a gong; Jennifer Allen’s Mrs. Peacock unforgettably slurps soup in a silly fashion, David Hess’s Colonel Mustard mishears everything, Christina Anthony beautifully underplays Miss Scarlet, Elisabeth Yancey’s French maid Yvette flounces around, Jeff Skowron, with his countless voices and ability to keep everything moving at break-neck speed, is utterly in command as Wadsworth, the true orchestrator of the entire evening.
And amid all that delight (and more), John Shartzer steals the show with his tremendous slapstick as the anxious, gay Republican Mr. Green. He’s nearly a contortionist and certainly a skilled dancer as he tumbles, stumbles, and in slow motion back bends to the floor—from standing—beneath a falling chandelier, and creates an unexpected little tantrum with a hilarious pas de deux.
Countless clever choices abound in this utterly entertaining, rollicking fun night at the theatre. This “Clue” is a very satisfying and playful game sprung to life: a murder mystery to lift the spirits.
Clue: Live On Stage!
Broadway Grand Rapids
DeVos Performance Hall
March 4-9
https://grandrapids.broadway.com/shows/clue/
