Review: CLUE at The Kennedy Center

It’s Clue, live on stage at The Kennedy Center Opera House, with a murderously sharp take on the 1985 film version of the Hasbro game. The decades-long path from board game to play might have been as long and circuitous as a classic whodunit, but the ultimate proposition is as straightforward as the tidiest of solutions: a light and breezy murder farce. 

The plot should already be very familiar to most. Six guests, each carrying a shameful secret (and not just that they’re all from Washington DC), have been invited to dinner at a secluded mansion by the mysterious Mr. Boddy. After they are greeted and shepherded around by the sharp-tongued butler, Wadsworth, dead bodies start appearing left, right, and center. Locked in with the murderer, or murderers, it is up to Wadsworth and the six guests to get to the bottom of what exactly is going on at Boddy Mansion. 

If a board game adaption making it all the way to the Kennedy Center feels like too far-fetched of a twist, it really oughtn’t to. Clue feels right at home as theater — it’s possibly the most play-like of board games, with the players casting themselves in one of six roles and then acting out whatever narrative is scripted by the cards. 

If anything, the true twist is just how comfortably Clue fits itself on the operatic proportions of the Center’s Opera House — such a grand venue that the voices of the cast boom and echo up its three levels. As a bonus, Clue just happens to be so chock-full of jokes at DC’s expense that it’s hard to imagine a production feeling this at home anywhere else. 

But who are the masterminds behind this theatrical thriller? The script actually sticks surprisingly faithfully to the Jonathan Lynn-penned screenplay. The movie’s long been a cult hit; still, there must be some sense of satisfaction for Lynn in seeing his work’s continued success and the current roaring reception for its latest incarnation after what was an initially poor reception.

Clue’s been well-adapted by Sandy Rustin, who—thankfully—relishes in its vintage escapism; letting the timelessness of its satire speak for itself rather than chasing topicality. Additional material is credited to Erik Price and Hunter Foster, who originally adapted and directed its 2017 premier, and who’ll be familiar to the finest theater-sleuths for under-the-radar gems like Jasper in Deadland. 

This national tour production is directed by Casey Hushion, who lovingly basks in all the source material’s silly cheesiness and camp. Lee Savage lovingly brings Boddy Manor to life with a delightfully detailed and witty puzzle box of a set, in which entire rooms swing in and out from the wings in seconds. Ryan O’Gara’s lights pitch-perfectedly hit the moody notes of a dark and stormy night. 

The production is actually quite minimal, with the spotlight shining where it should: on its stars. Clue is largely carried by its cast, most of whom are on-stage and in some constant state of running, skipping, dancing, shrieking, or killing for pretty much most of its intermission-less runtime. 

Mariah Burks steals plenty of small moments as the Cook and then later as the singing telegram, while Elisabeth Yancey absolutely hams it up as Yvette, the maid with the increasingly preposterous French accent. Tari Kelly’s Mrs. White runs the colorful gamut from menacingly cold to even more menacingly unhinged, and John Tracy Egan’s bumbling Colonel Mustard is a great foil to Christina Anthony’s quick-witted Miss Scarlet.

Taking the cake, however, are Mark Price as Wadsworth and John Shartzer as Mr. Green, the two of whom spend the night as if interlocked in some unspoken contest of who can out-slapstick the other, climaxing in their final showdown in the play’s final ending. As for who wins — no spoilers here. 

What can be spoiled is that, clocking in at under 90 minutes, this theatrical adaption of the classic film is a whole lot of fun in what feels like barely any time. Maybe modern movies could learn a thing or two from Clue.

Clue: Live on Stage! plays at The Kennedy Center Opera House through October 6, 2024. It features suggestive humor and simulated alcohol consumption and is recommended for ages 12 and up. Performances are 90 minutes with no intermission.