Yardley Players' Clue: The Musical is fun for the family

Theater: Yardley Players Theatre Company

Show Title: Clue the Musical

Opened: October 19, 2007

Seen: October 19, 2007

Reviewer: Ryan Bunch

Submitted: October 20, 2007

 

Clue: The Musical sounds like a great idea, especially to fans of the game and the cult movie of 1985. When I told friends and family members I was going to see Yardley Players’ enjoyable production of this musical mystery whodunit, their eyes lit up. “There’s a Clue musical?! Why haven’t I heard of that before?”

 

Actually there’s a good reason few people are aware of this show. Based on the board game, not the movie, Clue: The Musical was an off-Broadway venture that first hit the stage in 1997. Reviews were uncharitable and it closed after a total of 29 performances. Refusing to die, however—and no doubt assisted by the popularity of the film and other variants of the cultural product that is Clue—it has gone on to eke out a respectable career in our schools and community theaters.

 

The action takes place in the mansion of Mr. Boddy (played with suitable formality by choreographer Del Howard), who narrates and serves as master of ceremonies for his own murder. The fun part is that the audience gets to play along as detective and figure out who killed him, in what room, and with what weapon, just as in the board game. At the beginning of the show, three audience members are invited to pick from an oversized deck of cards. In addition to determining the details of the crime (which remain secret to all but Mr. Howard), the cards also determine what lines Mr. Boddy will speak at various times in the show to give us clues to the solution of his murder. Audience members check off items on their score sheets as the various possibilities are eliminated throughout the evening.

 

All the familiar suspects turn up immediately in the opening number: Miss White the cook, Mr. Green the smarmy businessman, Mrs. Peacock the well preserved veteran of widowhood, and the whole gang. The rest of the show unfolds mostly in a series of bland musical numbers and vignettes with little plot or character development. Halfway through the show, Mr. Boddy is finally murdered in an extended ballet sequence, at which point the Detective appears for “round two” of the game to interview the suspects and reveal the true perpetrator.

 

Working with some weak material, the actors, under the direction of Howard Matter and musical director Pat Masterson, execute their parts valiantly. There are some good performances, especially from Rob Gougher (Mr. Green) and Laurie Gougher (Miss Scarlet) both of whom are strong actors with solid singing voices. Mr. Gougher is positively slimy as Mr. Green, exhibiting a suspicious eye twitch and singing into the candlestick like a microphone with all the charm of a seedy lounge singer.

 

MaryAnn Wylie’s portrayal of Miss White is a bit of a departure from tradition—the role is often played by a man in drag—but she brings a more authentic comedic element to the character than would have been possible otherwise. Her physical comedy bit in the kitchen and rendition of the song “Life is a Bowl of Bits” are highlights of the show. So are Samille Ganges’ vocal performances as Mrs. Peacock. Ganges has a powerful voice, which she uses to good effect in “Once a Widow,” completely filling the theater with her sound in the song’s climax.

The singing generally is well executed and on pitch, though there is some unevenness of power and range among the cast in the ensembles. Howard’s choreography is spare and efficient, befitting both the size of the show and abilities of the cast. While some of the movements were nicely executed, at other times the dancing suffered from a lack of sharpness. The ballet sequence in which the suspects attempt to kill Mr. Boddy contains a number of physical jokes that might have been stronger if the performers could have hit their marks with more defined movements and a higher level of energy. A similar flabbiness of timing is present in some of the acting as well, especially in comedic moments (in fairness, it should be noted that the jokes in the script are weak to begin with).

The set and costume designs by Mike Almstedt and Ruth Rittman are nicely done, incorporating the color scheme suggested by the characters’ names. Stage elements are often coordinated with the monochromatic costumes appearing in each scene, lending a much needed sense of unity to the episodic structure of the show. When Miss White is in the kitchen, the white tablecloth matches her white dress. Mister Green’s green and brown suit matches the décor of the billiard room where he first appears, Mr. Plum stands in front of plum colored books in the library, and so forth.

 

Notwithstanding some minor drawbacks, Clue: The Musical drew a nice crowd and the audience seemed to have a good time. The play-along element of the game added to the fun. Just before Mr. Boddy revealed the solution at the end, eager participants could be heard announcing their conclusions excitedly to their neighbors. All in all it was good family oriented fun from a company whose mission is to provide just that. With 216 possible endings to the show, the solution to the murder is sure to be different each time. So bring the kids along, put on your thinking caps and head to the show—pencils are provided.

 

 

Ryan Bunch

 

Ryan Bunch is a vocal instructor, writer and composer specializing in musical theater and theater for young audiences. He has provided voice training, musical direction, songwriting, script development and educational services for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Mainstage Center for the Arts, Center Stage Productions, Chichester School District, West Chester Summer Stage, Renaissance Artist Puppet Company, and the Players Board of Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School. For additional information visit www.ryanbunch.com.