The Western Michigan University Theatre recently opened its production of the mystery-comedy “Clue.” WMUK’s Gordon Bolar has this review:
If you’ve ever played the Parker Brothers board game Clue, you might think you have a leg up on the deductive reasoning apparently needed to solve the mysterious puzzle currently playing out in W-M-U’s Shaw Theatre. You’d be wrong.
That doesn’t mean you won’t want to come along for this 90-minute-plus wild, comedic ride. It’s just that logical and pat explanations aren’t as useful as you’d expect for understanding the crimes and motives in the stage version of “Clue.
What is useful is a willingness to embrace a host of eccentric, vivacious characters in a delicious spoof of melodramatic conventions associated with murder mysteries. These include flashes of lightning, gunshots during blackouts, dead bodies falling out of closets, and a list of suspects longer than the coattails worn by the creepy butler who inhabits Mr. Boddy’s darkened manor house.
The familiar trappings of the board game are present, including Colonel Mustard, the candlestick, and the familiar rooms - The Kitchen, Library, and the Study.
But it’s the way all these elements are brought to life on stage by a clever and energetic troupe of a dozen actors that sets this show apart.
After being invited into the manor’s spooky surroundings, six guests are herded around the manor house. They pantomime walking or running while standing in place as the appealing set units created by scenic designer Will Hayes roll silently by, suggesting the groups’ movement from room to room.
Broad comic bits, pratfalls, and sight gags abound as weapons are brandished with careless abandon. Lifeless corpses are clumsily dragged about, only to disappear, reanimate, or become props used to fool policemen hot on the trail of murder.
Occasionally the clarity and focus of the action, as well as the intelligibility of key lines, are marred by the ubiquitous shouting, screaming, and scrambling of those confronted by these events.
Standouts in the cast include Brooklyn Herbert, who brings a slow sizzle to her Miss Scarlet, and a welcome down-tempo counterpoint to the fortissimo delivery, frenetic mannerisms, and wild gesticulations of those around her.
Frankie Braker, as Mr. Green, finds room for surprises in his character, as well as quiet growth and development within the arc of his role.
A-J Christian as Mr. Boddy, a motorist, and the Chief of Police, delivers three different roles in different rhythms and appropriate physical postures.
After an hour and 20 minutes of hysterical histrionics by several characters, and frequent false leads, one wonders if this vehicle for mystery and mayhem has any gas left in the tank for an interesting and entertaining resolution. Thankfully, it does.
The production’s piece-de-resistance is aptly rendered by Donovan Boursiquot Wade as Wadsworth, the butler. Wade’s animated, rapid-fire review of the evening’s activities, murders, and suspects, provides a humorous Cliff’s Notes recap of the absurd chain of events that brings the guests together to learn the murderer’s identity.
The ensuing inquisition along with the multiple accusations leveled against nearly all of those present seems in keeping with the tone of the era in which the play is set: the McCarthy hearings of the early 1950’s.
The withering barrage of charges and revelations is capped by a drawn-out, and appropriately over-the-top, hilarious dance of death throes, in which Wade’s character mercifully crosses over into the next world.
The production I saw on Sunday, November 12th, was wonderfully supported by shadow performers, who provided both American Sign Language interpretation and creative reinforcement for the action on stage, through crisp movement and gesture.
Although the show’s gyrating plot is sometimes silly and frequently makes audience members feel like they’re drinking from a fire hose of information, let it never be said that this cast and crew don’t have a clue how to entertain you and make you laugh. They do.
