Review: CLUE at The 5th Avenue Theatre

Dear Readers, chances are you played that classic board game “Clue” as a kid.  That game of weapons and rooms and attempting to decipher who the killer is.  And if so, then you also may have seen the classic 80’s comedy movie based on that game with a litany of comedy heavy hitters playing those iconic suspects.  And if you’re like me, and love both of those things, when you heard a stage version of “Clue” was coming to the 5thAvenue Theatre you may have thought, “oh no, this could be dreadful”.  Luckily, Dear Readers, it’s actually a lot of fun.  In fact, I laughed out loud multiple times, and not just at the jokes I remembered from the movie.

The story has not changed.  Six relative strangers are invited to Boddy Manor by Mr. Boddy (Alex Syiek) to discuss the blackmail he’s had over them for years.  But they’ve been instructed not to use their real names for the evening.  So, there’s the dimwitted Col. Mustard (John Treacy Egan), the stoic Mrs. White (Tari Kelly), the proper Mrs. Peacock (Joanna Glushak), the bumbling Mr. Green (John Shartzer), the studious Prof. Plum (Jonathan Spivey), and the sultry Miss Scarlett (Michelle Elaine).  And of course, there’s the sexy maid Yvette (Elisabeth Yancey) and the butler Wadsworth (Mark Price) who’s driving this whole evening of mayhem.  There will be a murder, or two, or six, but whodunnit and where and with what weapon?  That’s the game.

Now, if you remember the movie from when it was in the theaters, the screenwriter, Jonathan Lynn, ended the mystery three different ways.  And you could see each of those outcomes by going to see the movie multiple times.  A ploy to get people to pay multiple times that did not pay off.  I’ve recently rewatched it and I attribute that to the fact that the beginning of the movie is a little slow with all the setups.  But when the movie came out on home video, all three endings were there in one video tape (remember video tapes?).  Well, I’m happy to report that this new adaptation from Sandy Rustin, Hunter Foster, and Eric Price have tightened up the pace and this script clips along at a breakneck speed.  And it’s not just the jokes from the movie.  I mean, there are a lot of them, naturally, but plenty of newer stuff as well.

And tons, and I do mean tons, of physical comedy.  The staging from director Casey Hushion is delightful.  From her intriguing way of getting the group from one locale to another in this sprawling mansion (remember there are a lot of rooms) to some delightfully insane deaths and near deaths, she never lets up with the fun.  And the conceit of the various endings was superb.  There were a few moments I felt were overdone and overlong, but for the most part they keep the whole show nice and tight and the whole thing comes in under 90 minutes.

This cast of crazies are all just plain fabulous.  Each one of them taking those iconic roles and still finding moments to make them their own.  I especially need to call out Egan, Glushak, and Shartzer for keeping me giggling all night long.  Egan is just an incredible presence, and each little nuanced move was fantastic.  Speaking of nuanced moments, keep your eyes on Glushak as she takes little moments for herself and her flask.  And then there was Shartzer who apparently has no bones, just a body made of rubber.  Seriously some of the best physical comedy I’ve seen.  That chandelier moment is worth the price of admission.

So, the show was not brilliant, but it was certainly a whole lot of fun.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give the National Tour of “Clue” at the 5th Avenue Theatre a killer YAY-.  Honestly it doesn’t really matter whodunnit, because they all “dunnit” when it comes to bringing the laughs.

“Clue” performs at The 5th Avenue Theatre through July 21st.  For tickets or information visit them online at www.5thAvenue.org.

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