Clue at West Valley Arts

My very favorite show at the Utah Shakespeare Festival last summer was definitely Clue because it is such an incredibly funny slapstick comedy! I was, therefore, really excited when I found out that West Valley Arts was opening the 2023 season with it (and really curious about how they would stage it in the round). I had the chance to see it last night and it was so much fun! Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (Tyson Baker), Mrs. Peacock (Jayne Luke), Professor Plum (Anthony Lovato), Mrs. White (Sarah Shippobotham), Mr. Green (Colton Hattabaugh), and Miss Scarlet (Daysha Lassiter), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Joseph Kyle Rohan) to his manor on a dark and stormy night. Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he tells them he will return the evidence he has against them...if they kill his butler Mr. Wadsworth (Benjamin "BJ" Whimpey). Murder and mayhem ensue! The staging is extremely clever because there are a series of moving doors that lead the characters to the lounge, the study, the billiards room, and the kitchen located on the main stage while stairs lead to the hall, the library, and the conservatory located in the areas above the wings. There is elaborate (and highly amusing) choreography as the characters move from room to room (which are seamlessly reconfigured by the ensemble). I loved the parquet floors and the mahogany wainscoting on the walls all around the theater as well as the velvet covered chaise lounges, the drinks cabinets (I loved the attention to detail), and the chandeliers. This show is filled with witty dialogue (the references to Republicans had my audience laughing out loud), funny sight gags (I loved it when the board game is used as a map of the manor), and hilarious physical comedy. My favorite scenes are when Mr. Wadsworth reenacts every single murder in detail and when he accuses a character of committing the murder and then the action rewinds in slow-motion as each character accuses someone else. The entire cast is wonderful and they all have great comedic timing but I especially enjoyed Hattabaugh's physicality in scenes where he is trapped under two different dead bodies and when a chandelier falls on him in slow-motion. The lighting is very dramatic and used to great effect to highlight the different areas of the manor and the costumes are completely over the top (especially Miss Scarlet's gown). I laughed and laughed at this production and I highly recommend it for a really fun night out (go here for tickets).