Clue at the Eccles

By now I have seen Clue many times (my favorite version was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and my least favorite was at HCT) so I was really interested in how the staging for the Broadway touring production would compare. I went to the matinee yesterday and it was so much fun! Six guests using aliases arrive at an isolated manor on a dark and stormy night, including the blustering Colonel Mustard (Nate Curlott), the flustered Mrs. Peacock (Madeline Raube), the womanizing Professor Plum (Kyle Yampiro), the dramatic Mrs. White (Sarah Mackenzie Baron), the accident-prone Mr. Green (TJ Lamando), and the glamorous Miss Scarlet (Camille Capers), at the invitation of the mysterious Mr. Boddy (Joseph Dalfonso). It is soon revealed that he has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he offers to return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Wadsworth (Adam Brett). However, Mr. Boddy, the Cook (AT Sanders), a Motorist (Kebron Woodfin), a Cop (Kebron Woodfin), Yvette the Maid (Zoie Tannous), and a Singing Telegram Girl (AT Sanders) are murdered instead and mayhem ensues as the guests try to determine the killer, the weapon, and the location of each murder. The set is one of the best I've seen for this show and includes a mahogany paneled main entry with backdrops for a hallway and dining room that come down from the rafters and doors that open from the wings to reveal the lounge, the study, the library, the kitchen, the conservatory, and the billiards room which rotate on stage when the doors are opened. The elaborate choreography as the characters move from room to room while the set is configured and reconfigured is both extremely clever and hilarious to watch, especially when the characters dance as they separate into pairs to search the entire manor. The lighting and sound cues also add to the hi-jinks. The dialogue is incredibly witty and delivered at lightning speed (the joke about the Republican party got lots of laughs and applause), the sight gags are amusing (my favorite was the use of the board game as a map to the manor), and the physical comedy is the highlight of the show (everyone in the cast has brilliant comedic timing). Mr. Green is my favorite character because he is always so hilariously overwrought and I loved Lamando's physicality as he is trapped under two different bodies and a chandelier but Brett steals the show as Mr. Boddy because he is completely over the top in the scene where he reenacts all of the murders (his imitations of all of the other characters are so spot-on that the audience was hooting with laughter). I had decided not to get a ticket for this show because I have seen it so many times but I am glad that I changed my mind because I really enjoyed it. I recommend attending one of the two remaining performances (go here for tickets) if you are in need of a laugh.

Note: I still prefer the production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival but this is a close second!