'Clue,' the board game turned play, offers night of silly fun at Milwaukee's Marcus Center
"Clue" is silly fun. It's about 90 minutes of Scooby-Doo meets Agatha Christie, a deliberately ramshackle mystery machine with everything but the dog.
Milwaukeeans can enjoy this diversion through March 17 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center.
Yes, this comedy-mystery is derived from the popular board game by way of the 1985 movie adaptation, also called "Clue." Sandy Rustin adapted Jonathan Lynn's movie script for the stage version, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. Casey Hushion has directed the North American tour company that's performing in Milwaukee this week.
Snarky butler Wadsworth (Mark Price) welcomes six pseudonymous guests to Boddy Manor: Dimwitted Colonel Mustard (John Treacy Egan), determined to prove that "military intelligence" is an oxymoron; sultry black widow Mrs. White (Madison East High School alum Tari Kelly); ditzy Mrs. Peacock (Joanna Glushak); neurotic Mr. Green (John Shartzer); keepin'-it-real bordello madam Mrs. Scarlet (Michelle Elaine); and pompous Professor Plum (Jonathan Spivey).
Courtesy of Mr. Boddy (Alex Syiek), who has been blackmailing them, they're given the game's famous murder weapons: candlestick, rope, lead pipe, wrench, revolver and dagger. But after the lights go out and come back on, Mr. Boddy is the body on the floor. Mayhem ensues for the rest of the evening as the bodies pile up.
"Clue" doesn't match the deconstructive power and visceral slapstick of "The Play That Goes Wrong" and doesn't aim for the mental gymnastics of "Knives Out." It's lighter and simpler in spirit, a playful parody of a Christie mystery. It's set in 1954 with the McCarthy Red Scare in the background, but that's only used to establish that the characters fear exposure of their secrets.
Price is a deft and hard-working emcee who keeps things moving. Glushak's Peacock makes me think of Andrea Martin characters; there's something about this cast on this stage that puts me in mind of the broad silliness of "SCTV." Shartzer's Green has a spectacular moment of scooting backwards on his knees.
True to these multiverse times, this "Clue" generously provides multiple endings.
If you go
"Clue" continues through March 17 at Marcus Performing Arts Center's Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, visit marcuscenter.org or call (414) 273-7206. A talkback follows the March 14 performance. The producers recommend this show for people 12 years and older.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: At the Marcus Center, playful 'Clue' a diverting night of mystery
