On a startlingly (and record setting) hot day for this time of year, I made my way to the Orpheum Theatre for an evening sure to be equally full of intrigue and silliness with the touring production of Clue finishing their weekend run in Minneapolis. Yes, a play based on the beloved 1985 film that itself was adapted from a Parker Brothers (now Hasbro) board game. It’s a pretty ridiculous path, but the movie, starring the late Tim Curry (RIP to one of the greats), Madeline Kahn and others, is such a cult classic and full of many memorably hilarious moments. There’s also some key features that let a play actually make sense: a constrained set, fairly small cast, and a lot of word play to let actors shine.

If you are somehow unfamiliar with the movie, Clue is a comedic closed room murder mystery with six strangers being blackmailed. But underneath that, it holds to the board game, which as the “classic detective game” requires players to figure out which of six characters has committed murder with one of six weapons in one of nine rooms. As the show began, it was nice to see that they hadn’t tried to cast look alikes to the 80’s film. Instead, the actors had focused on the personalities of the parts. And while each of the actors is important to various scenes and moments, the role of Wadsworth the butler is critical to the overall flow and Adam Brett understood the role and consistently hit the jokes and set up other actors well to cash in. And the rest of the cast played their parts with a mix of high and low brow humor. It is also worth highlighting the very impressive and effective set design from Lee Savage. It was a good mix of lighting misdirects (well done, Ryan O’Gara), but mostly great use of side “rooms” and back screens that made the transitions between the scenes work well. This kind of play requires a bit of suspension of disbelief and while the audience was game, it helped a lot to have the cast also winking a little bit to the audience as they “ran” from room to room (Nate Curlott’s Colonel Mustard having a particularly well delivered bit on that front at one point). The cast hit their marks regularly, with Sarah McKenzie Baron a delight as Mrs. White and TJ Lamando’s goofy Mr. Green often providing the “straight” man humor.

Holding to the movie, there’s a variety of murders, intrigue, confusion and double cross. Taking place during the 1950’s HUAC culture, there were some fairly brutal hits on current day politics, with jokes at sedition and the Republican party eliciting some large and extended laughs. As the bodies stacked up, the remaining cast amped up their energy to carry things foreword. A great montage of sorts for searching the rooms was well done, with several faux dance sequences in that mix. No intermission was the correct choice here, as it allowed the rapid fire pace of jokes mixed with just enough narrative to build on itself and the audience was well primed for some of the best known bits, including the brief appearance of the Singing Telegram Girl and Mrs. White’s “flames” monologue. The stacked endings built upon the film’s gimmick of the time and suddenly the cast of Clue was on stage for the curtain call. A good cast, effective set, and solid dialogue make the touring show of Clue one to seek out.

Photos courtesy of Evan Zimmerman from the tour’s materials , with the exception of the curtain call.