The Engeman Theater in Northport ushers in all the tricks and treats of this Halloween season with the hilarious murder mystery, Clue. Hilarious murder mystery may seem like an oxymoron, but in the case of Clue, you get side-splitting laughter immersed in murder most fowl.
The play, Clue, was adapted from the 1985 cult film of the same name, based on the popular Hasbro board game conceived in 1949. The movie featured a stellar cast starring Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Leslie Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Eileen Brennan and Michael McKean.
Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay was adapted for the stage by Sandy Rustin with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. Clue premiered in 2017 at Bucks County Playhouse starring Sally Struthers as Mrs. Peacock.
Of special note, Clue is set in 1954, the height of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, a time when citizens were asked to turn in their friends and neighbors on the suspicion of communism. Here, each guest is asked to turn on the other to figure out who is the murderer.
It’s a stormy night, of course, and the butler, Wadsworth (Michael Keyloun), the French maid, Yvette (Arianne Davidow), and the eccentric cook (Suzanne Mason), are scurrying about preparing for the dinner party guests to arrive. The doorbell rings prompting Wadsworth to deliver the foreshadowing line, “Let the game begin!” And we’re off!
The entrance of each guest is met with a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning. In fact, these effects happen at the most opportune moments throughout the play, adding comedic touches in the midst of all the murder.
A long dinner table glides into place in the middle of the Engeman Theatre stage. The guests take their seats as Wadsworth declares, “The game will be afoot.” Enter the host for the evening, Mr. Boddy (Cody Gerszewski). It is soon revealed that all the guests have a secret in their past for which they are being extorted. Boddy presents each with a lethal weapon (familiar to players of the board game). The guests take off to the kitchen where they discover the cook with a knife in her back, then dash back to the dining room to find Mr. Boddy has been murdered.
Who could have done this? Where? With what?
Suddenly, this casual dinner party turns into a crime scene with the six guests as suspects leaving us to sift through all the clues and red herrings to solve the murder. Is it army officer, Colonel Mustard (Danny Rothman), or the widow, Mrs. White (Christina DeCicco), or the wife of a U.S. senator, Mrs. Peacock (Thursday Farrar), or the State Department employee, Mr. Green (Patrick Harvey), or the former doctor, Professor Plum (Ken King), or the seductive Washington madam, Miss Scarlet (Lauren Weinberg)?
If the names of these guests sound familiar, you’re right, they are characters from the original board game. To investigate all the evidence, the Unexpected Cop (Jeremy McClelland) appears on the scene.
This entire ensemble at The Engeman Theatre is enormously talented. Their sense of comedic timing and the joy they seem to be having in portraying these zany characters is delightful. Each navigates through the demands of high physical comedy with aplomb.
Keyloun shines as Wadsworth. His tall, thin stature lends itself well to the poise of a gentleman’s butler and he dances through some pivotal scenes with the grace of a young Fred Astaire. Weinberg as Miss Scarlet is a delicious seductress. Davidow’s Yvette is the quintessential French maid replete with accent. Harvey’s Mr. Green is a marvel as he leads us into his tangled web.
Director, Marc Tumminelli, gives The Engeman Theatre’s production of Clue the flavor of an Agatha Christie melodrama punctuated with non-stop slapstick producing a dramady of hysterical proportions.
Kyle Dixon’s intricate Boddy Mansion with its heavy mahogany panels against green satin walls is Gothic artwork combined with functionality. The imposing latticework French doors, center, make for dramatic entrances and exits while secret compartments glide on and offstage providing glances into gasp-worthy scenarios. Lighting design by John Burkland and sound design by Laura Shubert compliments the action with edgy effects.
Dustin Cross’ mid-century costumes add vivid color especially with Miss Scarlet’s red velvet slinky dress, Yvette’s black and white French Maid confection and Mrs. Peacock’s green and blue feathered plume perched on her head.
Clue runs 90 minutes without intermission which affords non-stop frenetic twists and turns, crashing chandeliers, tripping over corpses, some rewinds of action thrown in for good measure until it reaches an astonishing crescendo. You might want to take notes as you assemble the evidence and try to solve the crime.
So, whodunit? The Engeman Theatre! Clue is a hoot of hilarious proportions that you don’t want to miss! Catch it playing now through October 27th.
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