Many a murder mystery in book, play, or TV form has baffled me pleasurably up to the point where the guilty party is finally exposed. But Clue: The Musical baffled me in quite another way. It left me feeling clueless about why anyone would relish such a trivial pursuit of theatrical enjoyment based on cardboard characters pictured on playing cards from "Clue," the Parker Brothers board game invented in 1944 and said to be the world's best-selling game after Monopoly. File this as a minority report, since most of those in attendance at Derby Dinner Playhouse's frenetic presentation appeared to love the show. Maybe they were devotees of the board game, which had escaped my notice these many years except for its unmemorable spinoff as a 1984 film that offered three separate endings (compared with the 216 possible endings the musical could have with its six suspects, six weapons, and six rooms.) Seeing so many people stand at play's end to claim they had figured out whodunit from the clues tossed out by Mr. Boddy (Cary Wiger), the play's murder victim and master of ceremonies both before and after he croaked, was a surprise. Come on, people, could you really follow what was going on? I admit that I couldn't.
Despite my distaste for interactive theatre for adults, I was prepared to be docile and mark the handouts designed to aid audience sleuths in solving the murder. But these provided scant help, and I soon gave up and tried to find solace in the musical numbers. Alas, these were as one-dimensional and wearisome as the rest of the play. But I raise a toast (brandy, perhaps, in the library of Boddy Mansion) to Derby Dinner's game cast, troupers all, as they traverse Lee Buckholz's clever Clue board set in Butch Sager's color-correct costumes for the playing cards come to life -- Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. White, and Professor Plum. Knife, rope, monkey wrench, lead pipe, revolver, and candlestick are the six possible murder weapons. The six possible murder rooms are kitchen, conservatory, ballroom, library, billiard room, and lounge. Mix and match are supposed to whet our interest and involvement.
As Mrs. White, the sulky smart-mouthed housekeeper, Kerry Crainston is a scene stealer par excellence, especially in her "Life is a Bowl of Pits" number. Kiersten Vorheis as the man-eating much married matron lights up the stage with her "Once a Widow" song and dance. J. R. Stuart's Professor Plum is hilarious in his "Seduction Deduction" dance with Janet Essenpreis as the Detective. She makes a dashing entrance in her short trenchcoat and hat reminiscent of Judy Garland's "Get Happy" costume from the "Summer Stock" film. Barbara F. Cullen's amusing choreography is an asset in all three turns.
But these bright moments fall well short of making me like this desperate-to-be-liked show.
Opened:
October 1, 2002
Ended:
November 10, 2002
Country:
USA
State:
Indiana
City:
Clarksville
Company/Producers:
Derby Dinner Playhouse; Producer: Bekki Jo Schneider
Theater Type:
Regional; Dinner Theater
Theater:
Derby Dinner Playhouse
Theater Address:
525 Marriott Drive
Phone:
(812) 288-8281
Running Time:
2 hrs
Genre:
Musical Mystery
Director:
Bekki Jo Schneider
Review:
Cast:
Janet Essenpreis (Detective), Cary Wiger (Mr. Boddy), David Myers (Colonel Mustard), Kiersten Voorheis (Mrs. Peacock), Bonnie Estes (Miss Scarlet), Kerry Crainston (Mrs. White), Brian Bowman (Mr. Green), J. R. Stuart (Professor Plum)
Technical:
Lighting: Theresa Bagan; Stage Manager: Michelle Seiffertt; Properties: Jean Mosier; Sound Engineer: Joan Foret; Set: Lee Buckholz; Costume: Butch Sager
Critic:
Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
October 2002
