BREAKING: Stage Play Based on Iconic Board Game CLUE to Bow in 2017; Hunter Foster to Direct

BWW has learned that leading Broadway producing company The Araca Group and Hasbro Inc. today announced plans to bring the classic Hasbro game CLUE to the stage. The play marks the second live entertainment project announced between Araca and Hasbro, after the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Monopoly announced earlier this year.

The stage version of CLUE will be adapted from the iconic 1985 Paramount Pictures film by its writer/director Jonathan Lynn and produced in partnership with Work Light Productions and Aged in Wood, under license from Hasbro, Inc. and Paramount Pictures. Bucks County Playhouse will present the premiere production which is slated for May 2017, followed by a U.S. National Tour. The Road Company (Wicked, Kinky Boots) will be planning the North American tour. Plans for a U.K. Tour are also underway.

"We are thrilled to be announcing CLUE as the next stage adaptation developed by our Media & Entertainment division," said Michael Barra, President, Media & Entertainment at The Araca Group. "CLUE is an iconic film with a passionate fan base, and Jonathan Lynn is the ideal collaborator to bring these beloved characters and story to the stage."

"CLUE is one of Hasbro's most popular games and the 1985 film has rightfully earned its place as one of the most iconic murder mystery films of all time," said Simon Waters, Hasbro General Manager & SVP Entertainment & Consumer Products "We are excited to work with The Araca Group on this unique new live production, which will capture what fans love about the original film, while offering some new and exciting surprises along the way."

"CLUE is one of those rare titles that transcends genre," adds Stephen Gabriel, president of Work Light Productions. "The movie's unique blend of witty dialogue, physical comedy and surprise twists created a film event that will thrive on the live stage."

Watch a clip from the 1985 film adaptation of CLUE below:

Jonathan Lynn has directed 10 feature films including the cult classic CLUE (he also wrote the screenplay), Nuns on the Run (also written by Mr. Lynn), My Cousin Vinny, The Distinguished Gentleman, Sgt. Bilko, Greedy, Trial And Error, The Whole Nine Yards, The Fighting Temptations and most recently, Wild Target.

For television, Jonathan's writing credits include dozens of episodes of various British comedy series but he is best known for the phenomenally successful, multi-award-winning BBC series "Yes Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister," co- written and created with AnTony Jay.

Jonathan's London directing credits include: The Glass Menagerie; Songbook (Best Musical, Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award); Anna Christie (RSC, Stratford and the Donmar); Joe Orton's Loot; Pass The Butler by Eric Idle, Shaw's Arms And The Man and The Gingerbread Man (Old Vic). At the National Theatre, he directed A Little Hotel on the Side by Georges Feydeau and George Abbott's Three Men on A Horse (Olivier Award, Best Comedy). As Artistic Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company, he directed 20 productions, producing 20 others, nine of which transferred to the West End.

His numerous awards include the BAFTA Writers Award, Writers Guild (twice), Broadcasting Press Guild (twice), NAACP Image Award, Environmental Media Award, Ace Award (Best Comedy Series on US cable), and a Special award from the Campaign For Freedom of Information.

Hunter Foster is an Artistic Associate at the Bucks County Playhouse where he has directed, Company, Ain't Misbehavin', National Pastime, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Summer of '42, The Buddy Holly Story and It's a Wonderful Life. Other directing credits include: Grease (North Carolina Theatre), Million Dollar Quartet (Ogunquit Playhouse), Spamalot (Casa Manana), My Fair Lady and Cabaret (Cape Playhouse). As a book writer he has written the books to the musicals, Jasper in Deadland, which played at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in Spring 2015 following its world premiere at Prospect Theater Company in NYC. Hunter also wrote the book to the Off-Broadway musical, Summer of '42 which opened at the Variety Arts Theatre in New York City and was nominated for an Outer Critic Award for best new Off-Broadway musical. Other recent book writing credits include The Circus in Winter (Goodspeed Musicals), Clyde and Bonnie: A Folktale (New York Musical Theatre Festival, Aurora Theatre), and The Hollow (Signature Theatre). As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County, Hands on a Hardbody, Million Dollar Quartet, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors (Tony nomination), Urinetown, Les Miserables, Footloose, Grease, King David. Hunter is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BFA in theatre, 1992).

Anna Louizos is a set designer currently represented on Broadway by SCHOOL OF ROCK (sets and costumes). Tony Award nominations: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, In the Heights, and High Fidelity. Other original Broadway designs: Dames at Sea; Honeymoon in Vegas; It Shoulda Been You; Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella; Avenue Q; The Performers; Irving Berlin's White Christmas; Curtains; Baby It's You; All About Me; To Be Or Not To Be; Steel Magnolias; Golda's Balcony. Off-Broadway/Regional: The School for SCANDAL (Red Bull Theatre); Just Jim Dale, Sons of the Prophet, The Foreigner, Speech and Debate; Crimes of the Heart (Roundabout); New York City Center ENCORES! (2015-16 Seasons); world premieres of Altar Boyz (NWS) and Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM! (Jane Street). Goodspeed Musicals; 2nd Stage; MTC, Dallas Theater Center, Primary Stages, 5th Avenue Theatre. Founder of BROADWAY DESIGN EXCHANGE, an online market for theatrical treasures, www.broadwaydesignexchange.com