A NEW COMEDY brings fun to the Emerson Colonial Theater

Since its introduction in the 1940s, the murder mystery board game Clue has spawned everything from a movie and a television series to spin-off games and more than one stage adaptation – including the hilariously funny “Clue: A New Comedy,” currently in production. from Broadway in Boston at the Emerson Colonial Theater through May 5.

In the play, not to be confused with the 1997 musical, six high-brow individuals, each with a lot at stake, gather for a chic and private dinner party on an ominously stormy evening in 1954, and soon become entangled in a game . of a cat and mouse game.

The comedy, written by Sandy Rustin – whose bedroom farce “The Cottage” enlivened Broadway last summer – with additional material from Hunter Foster and Eric Price, is based on Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay for the 1985 film. It was one of the most produced plays from 2022-2023, broke box office records with its regional premieres and was produced locally by the Greater Boston Stage Company and the Cape Playhouse.

The essential elements of the farce, including humorous gags and an abundance of door slamming, are deliciously served up under the smart, fast-paced direction of Casey Fushion, with skillful assists from fight director Robert Westley and a brilliantly perfect eleven-member cast, making for a laughable mystery where the dinner party host is dead and his butler, Wadsworth, and guests – Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs White, Mr Green, Mrs Peacock and Colonel Mustard – are high on the list of suspects. they all try to identify the killer as the body count increases.

Standouts from the star-studded cast include Mark Price as the fleet-footed Wadsworth, Michelle Elaine as the beautiful sorceress Miss Scarlet, John Shartzer as dashing double agent Mr. Green, John Treacy Egan as the dim-witted Colonel Mustard, Joanna Glushak as the elderly, grumpy Mrs. Peacock, and, in the smaller roles of cook and singing telegram deliverer, the wonderful Mariah Burks.

The wood-paneled walls and sometimes in-the-action chandeliers of Boddy Manor, a remote New England estate, are beautifully executed by scenic designer Lee Savage, while costume designer Jen Caprio telegraphs the characters to great effect – Miss Scarlet in vibrant color . red, Colonel Mustard in something other than a tan military uniform, Mrs. Peacock with a bird’s feather on her head, and Professor Plum in the requisite worn tweed.

Farce is not to everyone’s taste, but when it is done, as in this production, it is a meal not to be missed.

Photo Caption: Company of the North American tour of “Clue.” Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

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