Review: CLUE - LIVE ON STAGE! at Curran Theatre

Not in the mood for more election drama or Mideast War horror? Then this current  production of Clue - Live on Stage! might  be the remedy. With lightning flashes and an ominous score, a mysterious dinner party at Boddy Manor begins with the arrival of an assortment of guests familiar to anyone who ever played the Parker Brothers board game Clue. Based on the popular game and the 1985 cult film, this delightful production helmed by director Casey Hushion and her talented cast and crew is a visual treat chock full of word puns, slapstick shtick and broad comic caricatures.

The black comedy has quite a complicated backstory, each character being blackmailed for past crimes by the mysterious host including murder, homosexuality, bribery, running an escort service and sexual misconduct. Each has received an invitation to dinner and the ensuing farce-murder mystery turns into great fun, executed beautifully.

From screen to stage, Clue has become an audience favorite with its brisk running 90-minute running time and non-serious murder mayhem. Anchored by a stelar comic cast and a lovely gothic set by Lee Savage, this current production has a few recent updates (e.g., a cute reference to Les Miz), and its Agatha Christie murder mystery gone looney style is a winner. The cornball dialogue and finger pointing to potential murderers is enhanced with some ridiculously cute staging by director Hushion (Mean Girls, The Prom) along with Dance Captain Mary McNulty’s choreography. Costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Ryan O'Gara and sound design by Jeff Human all add to the 1950’s Red Scare gothic horror ambiance.

Standout performances are Jeff Skowron as Wadsworth the butler who controls the evening’s shenanigans and John Shartzer as Mr. Green, the meek homosexual and physical comedy king, and Joanna Glushak as the imperious Mrs. Peacock. The rest of the ensemble all play their over-the-top caricatures well as seem to be having a ball in this show which spills out to the audience. This is the third consecutive year Clue has appeared in the Bay Area and I can see its popular appeal.                                                                

Clue - Live on Stage! is presented October 22–27, 2024 at San Francisco’s Curran Theater (445 Geary St.,) presented by BroadwaySF (broadwaysf.com), and October 29–November 3, 2024 at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts (255 S. Almaden Blvd.), presented by Broadway San Jose (broadwaysanjose.com).

Photo credits: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade