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STAGES’ “Clue” is More About the Laughs Than Finding Out Whodunit
by Pat Lindsey
The STAGES production of “Clue” in the Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center is one crazy murder mystery dinner party. Based on the Clue board game, you will be reintroduced to Miss Scarlet, Col. Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green and Professor Plum. (The dinner guests are all using aliases for the evening.) You’ll also be familiar with the murder weapons–a candlestick, rope, lead pipe, knife, wrench, and revolver. Even the nine rooms in the mansion are the same. As Wadsworth the butler says, “Let the game begin…”
The stage is first set with an enormous framed picture of a spooky mansion, complete with falling rain and thunder. Then, the set changes to the interior of the Boddy Manor, where the staff is getting ready to receive the six guests who have been invited to Mr. Boddy’s dinner party. None of the guests seem to know each other or have a clue why they have been invited. But they soon discover that they all have a connection to Washington, D.C. Paranoia sets in immediately and for the next 90 minutes it’s a twisted farce of mayhem, murder and mystery.
All of the actors are perfectly cast. When the dinner guests are introduced to one another, we learn that sexy Miss Scarlet (Diana DeGarmo) is a D.C. madame. Professor Plum (Graham Stevens) is a touchy-feely psychiatrist. Mr. Green (Charlie Franklin) is a gay Republican who didn’t vote for Eisenhower in the last election. Mrs. White (Tari Kelly) has had five husbands. Mrs. Peacock (Zoe Vonder Haar) is a senator’s wife who often sips from a flask. And dimwitted Col. Mustard (David Hess) adds to the comedy. They are all served by the house staff: Wadworth, the butler (Mark Price); Yvette, the maid (Lari White); and the cook (Leah Berry). Mr. Boddy (Jeff Cummings) is the owner of the mansion. And the cop is Cameron Jamarr Davis. These fabulous characters are pieces of the puzzle that gets solved in several alternative ways at the end of the show.
Most of the action in “Clue” occurs at breakneck speed and the quip-laden dialogue is delivered so rapidly that the audience has to marvel at the actors’ ability to remember their lines or know what room they’re supposed to be in at any given time. The synchronization of roles and physical comedy within this show is absolutely amazing. The first of six murders occurs within minutes of the guests slurping their soup and soon they are running from room to room, through hidden passages and behind locked doors to gather evidence to expose the murderer. While they’re running around the mansion, lights go out, a chandelier falls, and more murders occur.
The laughs come often throughout this play, but nothing is funnier than Wadsworth (Mark Price) recapping how the murders occurred and who committed them. After his exhausting re-enactment, he announces, “The Boddy family has reached a dead end,” and begins a long, slow death scene. Dead or alive, Price steals the show.
“Clue” is a comedic delight. It’s a fun night out and a wonderful way to spend a summer evening. See it at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center now through Aug. 20. Performance times vary. For more information, go to StagesStlouis.org or call the box office at 314-821-2407.
Photography Credit Phillip Hamer
CLUE cast members: Colonel Mustard: David Hess, Mr. Green: Charlie Franklin Miss Scarlet: Diana DeGarmo, The Cook: Leah Berry, Wadsworth: Mark Price,
Mr. Boddy: Jeff Cummings, Yvette: Lari White, Professor Plum: Graham Stevens, Mrs. White: Tari Kell, Mrs. Peacock: Zoe Vonder Haar, The Cop: Cameron Jamaar Davis
