Arts & Entertainment
Review: Sure-Fire Fun and Nonstop Laughs Take the Stage
Reviewed by Suzanne Angeo, American Theatre Critics Association and Greg Angeo, Member Emeritus, SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
“Clue On Stage” at Meadow Brook Theater, Oakland University Campus, Rochester Hills MI
If laughter is the best medicine, everyone who sees “Clue on Stage” at Meadow Brook is guaranteed at least 90 minutes of glowing health. Based on Clue, the celebrated board game that spawned a 1985 cult-favorite film of the same name, “Clue on Stage” by award-winning playwright Sandy Rustin had its premiere in 2018. It has since been performed hundreds of times all over the country and is a real crowd-pleaser.
It’s sure to be hugely popular with Meadow Brook audiences too, and for good reason. This giddy slapstick farce posing as a murder mystery has fast-paced, clever dialogue, engaging characters and brilliant direction by Travis Walter guiding the talented cast. “Clue on Stage” is one of the best productions at MBT in recent memory, and that’s saying a lot.
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For the uninitiated, the setting is Eisenhower-era America, and six shady characters from Washington DC (who knew?) are invited to a sumptuous party at a remote mansion owned by a wealthy man of mystery known only as “Mr Boddy”, a rumored McCarthy supporter. Upon their arrival, each guest is given a color-coded alias that happens to match their clothing. They are also each given a weapon: a wrench, a lead pipe, a noose, a revolver, a knife and a heavy candlestick. Soon there are dead bodies and red herrings everywhere, but where’s the killer? Who’s next?
Of course, this being a farce, there’s much frenzied scampering about and slamming of doors, but there’s also the really dazzling stuff, too. The crazy choreographed group huddles. The gorgeous vintage costumes by Leslie Littell. The superb keyboard underscoring by Stacy White. But the set…it’s truly a marvel of ingenuity by Kristen Gribbin. Rooms slide out of the wings from right and left, back and forth, like gigantic drawers full of guests, furniture, artwork, dead bodies.
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Comic performances are top-notch by all, but Gregory James deserves a special shout-out for his superb rendering of the not-so-stuffy butler Wadsworth. His acrobatic re-enactment of events near the end of the show drew a much-deserved round of applause. The rest of the ensemble all give delightfully notable performances: Lynnae Lehfeldt as Mrs Peacock, Chris Stinson as Mr Green, Timothy Goodwin as Professor Plum, Phil Powers as Colonel Mustard, Jennifer Byrne as Miss Scarlet, Amy Griffin as Mrs White and Stephen Blackwell as Mr Boddy.
Dare we say “well-executed”, pun intended?
When: Now through November 7, 2021
Tickets $37 to $46
Where: Meadow Brook Theatre at Wilson Hall
Oakland University
378 Meadow Brook Rd
Rochester Hills, MI 48309
(248) 377-3300
A special note: As Covid-19 is a constantly changing situation, MBT will be monitoring and adhering to the guidance given by the CDC, the State of Michigan, the Actor’s Equity Association, and Oakland University. Check the Meadow Brook Theatre website at www.mbtheatre.com for the latest information on efforts to keep everyone safe.
Meadow Brook Theatre is a nonprofit, cultural institution serving southeast Michigan for 55 years, supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kresge Foundation, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, the Shubert Foundation and the Meadow Brook Theatre Guild.
