Clue at HCTO

The hilarious slapstick comedy Clue was my favorite show at the Utah Shakespeare Festival last year (my sister, who is very reserved, laughed out loud multiple times) so I was really excited to see it again at HCTO last night. I wondered how they would be able to manage all of the complicated hi-jinks in the their small and intimate space but what they did is so clever it just might be my favorite staging of this show!  Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (David Knight), Mrs. Peacock (Lizzy Bean), Professor Plum (Spencer Bean), Mrs. White (Bonnie Wilson Whitlock), Mr. Green (Bryson Smellie), and Miss Scarlet (Laurel Asay Lowe), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Langi Tuifua) to his manor on a dark and stormy night under unusual circumstances.  Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he informs them that he will return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Mr. Wadsworth (Blake Barlow).  Murder and mayhem ensue!  As I mentioned, the staging of this show is so clever!  The entire space has been transformed into Boddy Manor with parquet floors, mahogany wainscoting, and gold leaf wallpaper all around and a large chandelier in the center.  The actors use elaborate (and highly amusing) choreography to move from room to room as minimal set pieces are seamlessly configured on stage to become the hall, the lounge, the dining room, the study, the kitchen, the billiards room, and the conservatory.  I particularly enjoyed the use of a set of moving doors as the characters search the manor and a revolving bookcase.  This show is so funny because it is filled with witty dialogue (although the joke about Republicans didn't get the same response in Utah county as it has in other productions I've seen), sight gags, and physical comedy and it all happens at lightning speed!  The entire cast is outstanding with brilliant comedic timing but the standouts for me are Whitlock (one of my favorites at HCT and HCTO), because her facial expressions are priceless, Smellie, because his physicality throughout the entire show is commendable (particularly when he is trapped under two different bodies), and Barlow, because his high energy performance (especially when Wadsworth reenacts every murder in detail) is definitely the highlight of the show.  The costumes are a lot of fun (I liked that each character's costume features just a bit of their signature color) and the lighting is very effective at creating a mood.  I loved this production so much and, if you are looking for some laughs, I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).  It runs at HCTO through September 23 but tickets are going fast!