I think my love of true crime television started in my childhood, while playing the game Clue. The winner of the board game becomes the ultimate detective by identifying the “murder, weapon and in what room.” Clue Live on Stage has the zany antics of our favorite characters, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Ms. Scarlett, the butler, cook, and others. It’s a comedic ride as bodies drop and the audience joins the quest for “Who dun it?”
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| Clue Live on Stage has the zany antics of our favorite characters |
Reflection
The cast of characters all receive identical mysterious
invitations to Mr. Boddy’s Manor. He is blackmailing
each of them for prior acts of bad behavior- the motive. The grandiose mansion looks like something straight out of
Disney’s “Haunted Mansion Ride.” As each
invitee enters, there is a crash of lightning, reminding me of an epic
cartoon-like emphasis.
The players of this murder mystery entertain with vivid
personalities: the Colonel is as dumb as nails; Mr. Green is the bumbling
idiot; the Professor is the defunked intellectual; Ms. White is the deadpan pessimist; Ms. Peacock is eccentric; Ms. Scarlett
is the sultry tease, and the cook is just plain strange.
This comedy combusts with wit and action. Doors crash, lights flicker, parties appear and disappear. During all the commotion caused by the numerous dead victims, someone asks, “Whose idea was this meeting anyway?” The butler replies, “Parker Brothers” (ta da).
A highlight is the slow-motion replay scenarios of each
character as the killer. Adam Bretta, the butler Wadsworth, has a noteworthy
physical and speedy dialogue near the conclusion which produced a burst of
applause.
Clue, the show, is funny without being too punchy or silly.
It will bring back the joys of playing the beloved game for some of us and surely
make you a fan of the “who dun it?”
(For tickets to Clue and more on the PNC Pittsburgh Broadway series,
go to Trustarts.org. Next up is Wicked.)
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