Clue at HCT

Yesterday afternoon I went to see a matinee of Clue on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage at HCT. At this point I have seen several productions of this play based on a movie based on a board game and, while I did enjoy some of the elements, this is probably my least favorite (the best one I've seen was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival). Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (Sanford Porter), Mrs. Peacock (Jayne Luke), Professor Plum (Taylor Seth Hall), Mrs. White (Stephanie Breinholt), Mr. Green (Jeffrey Whitlock), and Miss Scarlet (Kristi Curtis), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Jacob Thomason) to his manor under unusual circumstances on a dark and stormy evening. Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he tells them that he will return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Wadsworth (Bryan Dayley). Murder and mayhem ensue! This show is one of the funniest that I have ever seen but this production felt really flat to me and I rarely heard the audience laughing. Dayley, who is one of my favorite comedic actors at HCT, gives an incredibly physical performance (which I loved) as Wadsworth that is completely over the top and at a fever pitch but all of the other actors play it straight as if they are appearing in a traditional murder mystery and I thought this sometimes caused some pacing issues (this performance featured a mix of actors from both the MWF and THS casts who are not used to performing together so that may have added to the low energy). In one particular scene, for example, Dayley reenacts every murder in great detail (so much so that he is completely out of breath at the end of it) while the rest of the cast stands inert around him (there are quite a few scenes where the cast just stands in a straight line). In most productions that I have seen, the guests use elaborate, and often hilarious, choreography to move from room to room but in this show Dayley is the only one who does this while the others just follow him around. Mr. Green is usually one of my favorite characters because he is so flamboyant but in this production Whitlock plays him as more of a nerd (so his final line really falls flat). Speaking of dialogue, it is incredibly witty and is usually performed at a rapid-fire speed. The delivery from this cast was almost sluggish (it involved a lot of empty silences) and many of the jokes didn't seem to land. I am not sure if these choices were made consciously by the production team to distinguish it from other versions but I found it a bit disappointing in comparison. I did not, however, find the elaborate two-story set to be disappointing! There are two doors on either side of the stage used by the actors to travel from room to room and a turntable that rotates to reveal the entry hall, the lounge, the study, the kitchen, and the billiards room at various times with set pieces for the library coming down from above and projections for the conservatory (located on the upper level). I also really enjoyed the dramatic lighting, especially the spotlight on each guest as he or she arrives at the manor, and the costumes which feature just a bit of each character's signature color are a lot of fun. Finally, an organist (Kevin Self) located on the upper level plays melodramatic music throughout the proceedings and this really adds to the murder-mystery atmosphere. Maybe I am being too hard on this production (or maybe I have seen this show too many times) but the tickets are really expensive so I can't in good conscience recommend this simply because the production design is good. Go see Fiddler on the Roof instead!  It is fantastic and runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through March 30 (go here for tickets).