‘Clue’ an entertaining, frenetic farce
Alley Theatre production a masterpiece of timing, physical comedy
It’s been a long, strange trip for “Clue,” the murder mystery board game that saw its first action in the U.K. in 1949. From there it has enjoyed a healthy run in the U.S., where it was adapted into a cult movie comedy in 1985. Now it’s a play, written by Sandy Rustin and currently in production at Alley Theatre.
You might not know it from the inspired silliness and kinetic energy, but the premise of “Clue” is actually rooted in seriousness: the six guests invited to a mysterious mansion are being blackmailed for their alleged lack of patriotism. It’s the height of the ’50s Communist witch hunt, as a bulky television tells us when the curtain rises, and the House Un-American Activities Committee is out for blood. HUAC was, of course, a farce, which makes it the perfect backdrop for another farce.
A churning mechanism of puns, pratfalls and what we now like to call dad jokes, this “Clue” never lets up; it’s a speedy 90 minutes without intermission, which, for the energized actors, must seem like an endurance test. Its ancestors include screwball comedy and vaudeville, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers. At the dinner table, one character asks the thick-headed Colonel Mustard (David Rainey) if he likes Kipling. “Sure, I’ll eat anything,” he replies. Murder victims become cloth dummies, who are lugged and thrown about like they were in “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
The Alley Resident Acting Company throws itself into the broad humor, executing with the precision of a Swiss watch. Susan Koozin’s Mrs.
Peacock, Todd White’s Professor Plum, Rainey’s Colonel Mustard, Michelle Elaine’s Miss Scarlet, Christopher Salazar’s Mr. Green and Elizabeth Bunch’s Mrs. White bounce off each other, literally and figuratively, with unwavering timing. Leading the way is Dylan Godwin, who was also outstanding as William Shakespeare in “Born with Teeth” earlier this season. His Wadsworth, the high-strung butler, is master of these frenetic ceremonies; in a production packed with physical comedy, he takes the most risks and gets the biggest laughs.
The set is deceptively simple, with the front door at the back of a rotating stage; the actors move furniture and walk in place with exaggerated care. The motion is constant. Director Brandon Weinbrenner doesn’t let anything stand still; this can get tiring, but it’s also a must for this play. It’s a murder mystery that doesn’t have time for deep contemplation when there’s always another gag around the corner.
These guests, whose numbers include a madame, a corrupt senator’s wife, a compromised military klutz and a World Health Organization shrink, all hail from Washington, D.C., where their behavior has put them in hot water with their government. This subtext certainly isn’t necessary to enjoy “Clue,” but it does add spice. These are emissaries from the nation’s capital, and they are essentially idiots. “Clue,” absurd and madcap to its core, revels in their foolishness, elevating it to a level of proudly goofy art.
Whodunnit? The answer has never mattered less.