A stormy night, a magnificent mansion, and a colorful cast of criminals locked inside
First it was a game, then it was a movie, and now it’s a stage production with OpenStage Theatre and Company. Clue was (and maybe still is) my favorite board game. I loved gathering clues as I moved from room to room to determine who did it where and with what.
Transfer that excitement times 10 to a stage with a cast full of zany, quirky characters all with a motive to kill (blackmail anyone?), and you’ve got Clue: On Stage. Directed by Judith Allen and packed with laughs, this closed room murder mystery will keep you guessing the whole way through.
The play is 90 minutes of fast-paced action and murder with no intermission. There are doorways to enter and lock and furniture to be placed. In fact, the stagehands are part of the play as well, woven into the action in the most clever of ways. There’s no time for a break when you’re trying to solve (how many murders?) before the police are meant to arrive.
Having each received a letter requesting their presence at a mansion, six guests begin to arrive one by one. The butler (or their host?) Wadsworth (Adam Verner) greets them at the door. It soon becomes clear that, along with the staff of the house, everyone knows someone — and no one is happy to see the other there.
With a colorful cast of characters you are probably familiar with from the board game, Clue: On Stage leaves you wondering just where your attention should be. With all characters on stage together most of the time, it’s possible to miss some of the lovable and laughable high jinks, so keep your eyes and ears open.
There’s sexy Miss Scarlet (Molly McGuire) who is proud of her status as a famous madam in Washington; Professor Plum (Dan Tschirhart), who is, not surprisingly, no longer a practicing professor; Mrs. White (Jessica MacMaster) who may or may not have killed (how many husbands?) and may or may not be proud of this fact; Mr. Green (James Burns), whose only deviance may be that he’s a Republican; and Mrs. Peacock who is the wife of … shhhh.
But it was Colonel Mustard (Andrew Cole) who was my favorite character in this play for his utter inability to read nuance and his penchant for puns. His blackmail-worthy offense? Keeping the company of whores for their “conversational skills.”
After their arrival, Wadsworth keeps his guests sequestered in the mansion with drinks and dinner before revealing the real reason they have all been summoned to the mansion. Nearly as soon as this is revealed and weapons are distributed, murders begin to take place all over the mansion.
It’s up to the guests now to work together to solve the murders (as they keep literally piling up) and end the blackmail all before the police arrive. As the storm outside intensifies and knocks on the door increase, the group decides to split into pairs to search the house for the murderer.
I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed this hard at a play before. On the opening night, the actors were experts at pausing for this lengthy, rolling laughter throughout the audience. This was the type of cast that made you wish you were part of it simply because it was so clear how much fun they were having together on stage.
There are a few content warnings for this play including adult themes, language, fake guns/weapons, and gunshot sound effects, so this may be one to leave the littles at home for. If you have a chance to get to this play before it ends on April 22, do it! And maybe, get your hands on the game beforehand to brush up on your detective skills.
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