By Marilyn Jozwik
Who doesn’t remember the whodunit board game Clue with its colorful characters, eclectic murder weapons and multi-roomed mansion?
Sunset Playhouse brings the intriguing murder mystery to the stage with all of the game’s elements cleverly employed in “Clue on Stage,” based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn and written by Sandy Rustin. Dustin Martin directs.
The eight doors to different rooms, fast-paced humor and hijinks and a high-speed retelling of the day’s events by the butler Wadsworth (Mark Neufang) is reminiscent of Ray Cooney’s “Lend Me a Tenor.”
The ingenious set design by Matt Carr is one of the stars of the show. As each of the doors on the sides of the grand foyer at Boddy Manor opens, a nicely appointed room pulls out as characters enter — and retracts as characters leave the room — revealing all places on the board game (library, lounge, billiard room, etc.).
The characters arrive one-by-one to a grand dinner party, not knowing why they were invited. Each has a pseudonym to hide past secrets. The show is set in 1954 near Washington D.C. in the midst of the anti-Communist “Red Scare.” There are some political overtones, but mostly it’s just high-speed fun with an outstanding cast of characters that find themselves whirling through the mansion to discover the killer.
The cast of Sunset Playhouse’s “Clue on Stage”: from left, Dustin Martin, Michael Fantry, Allison Chicorel, Stephanie Demyun Smith, Nicholas Callan Haubner, Ruth Arnell, Phil Stepanski, Brittany Haut, Brandon Haut, Mark Neufang, Katie Krueger and Jim Mallmann.
These are wonderful characters, each with their own stories and motives to kill. After dinner, each guest is given a wrapped gift. Curiously, each contains a potential murder weapon – knife, gun, wrench … As the bodies pile up, blackmail is revealed, suspicions grow deeper and the hilarity mounts.
Listen carefully because there is lots of witty wordplay that the cast handles wonderfully.
Though the show seems a little sluggish early, it picks up steam soon enough, once the characters are established and the killing starts. Murder never looked so hilarious.
Neufang heads this outstanding cast with his pitch-perfect portrayal of the butler Wadsworth, who guides the manor’s guests through the madcap mystery with his proper accent and attitude that unravels into hysteria as the plot thickens. Neufang got a huge ovation after re-enacting the day’s liquidations with breakneck speed and impeccable comic timing.
Miss Scarlet (Ruth Arnell), from left, Professor Plum (Nicholas Callan Haubner), Colonel Mustard (Phil Stepanski), Mr. Green (Brandon Haut) and Mrs. White (Brittany Haut) examine the curious gifts they received at Bodde Manor in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Clue on Stage.”
I loved all the portrayals here: Ruth Arnell’s cynical femme fatale, Miss Scarlet; Stephanie Demyun Smith’s tightly wound and tipsy wife of a senator; Brittany Haut’s gloomy Mrs. White, who has left five husbands in her wake; Phil Stepanski’s clueless Colonel Mustard, who admits that he “struggles with (language) nuance”; Nicholas Callan Haubner’s effete academic, the pompous Professor Plum; Brandon Haut’s timid and clumsy Mr. Green; and Allison Chicorel’s Yvette, the sexy French maid with a faux accent and secret past. All bring more than a little something extra to their roles as they maneuver the many doors and rooms of Boddy Manor.
This cast also does a great job with the physicality that has characters dashing through doors, crawling through secret panels and synchronizing door openings. Dead bodies fall on characters, are propped up on a couch and chair, moved about and sometimes end up in amorous positions!
The three ensemble members – Katie Lynn Krueger, Jim Mallmann and Michael Fantry — add so much to the show with their small roles. I especially enjoyed Krueger’s character, who delivers a brief singing and dancing telegram. I’m still laughing just thinking about it!
This fast-paced comedy — which comes in at under 100 minutes, including intermission – will keep you guessing until the very end with its mystery and intrigue.
If you go
Who: Sunset Playhouse
What: “Clue on Stage”
When: Through Nov. 6
Where: 700 Wall Street, Elm Grove
Tickets/Info: 262-782-4430