With 'Clue,' Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre will keep audiences guessing — and laughing
The evidence seems to be piling up; all the cards point one direction.
Amateur sleuths trying to crack the case on a delightful time at the theater can look to the usual suspects: A Lyceum Theatre cast. In the grand Arrow Rock venue. With a wealth of tricks and techniques up their sleeves.
The Lyceum presents "Clue" next week, a relatively new stage play bearing layers of influence and history. Playwright Sandy Rustin's show, with music by Michael Holland, draws inspiration from the cult 1985 big-screen classic — which, of course, is based on the board game which invited shady characters like Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum into countless households.
Rustin's show, directed for the Lyceum by John Treacy Egan, has gained serious steam in a short amount of time, acquiring a deep, wide production history.
The show "seems like it’s been around for awhile because almost everyone grew up with the board game and many of us grew up with the film," Lyceum Producing Artistic Director Quin Gresham said in an email.
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On stage, "Clue" certainly resembles writer-director Jonathan Lynn's film, which starred the likes of Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn and Eileen Brennan. While not quite making back its budget during an initial box-office run, the movie gained in popular estimation during decades on home media.
"It's got a life of its own now, this movie," Curry told BuzzFeed several years ago. "It's a bit of deja vu for me, really, after Rocky Horror. There are really rabid fans."
"All of the great moments from the film are present in the stage adaptation," Gresham said, but the medium inherently reshapes the presentation. Characters who "seem to run, realistically from one room to another" on the big screen demand "more theatricality from the actors and a fair amount of wizardry from our design team" on stage, he said.
"Ultimately, seeing something play out live, and in person, is a totally different experience that I believe will leave fans of the film freshly satisfied," Gresham added. "And for folks who haven’t seen the film, they are certain to enjoy a satisfying evening of hilarious mayhem."
Also required of the cast: a game desire to step into the shoes of well-drawn characters, all of whom are "distinct types," Gresham said.
"The real fun is in fashioning those types to the skills of the various actors and toying around with how far one’s behavior can go when faced with ridiculous circumstances," he said.
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Designing a diverse season each year, Gresham and Co. often plot in mysteries, including adaptations of beloved Agatha Christie whodunits. "Clue" is a cousin to such plays but, like any good mystery, offers its own distinct twist, Gresham said.
"The film clearly took a comedically Christie approach to pulling the story of the murder of Mr. Boddy off the game board," he said. "Without looking too deeply, you can see the influence of Christie’s And Then There Were None and The Unexpected Guest.
"But, unlike Christie’s work, the film and this play also have a distinct layer of door-slamming farce which will keep even the most dedicated gumshoe distracted by its hilarity."
Viewers may find themselves inching toward the edges of their seats, attempting to keep all the details straight. Mysteries naturally become a sort of race-against-the-curtain, as we "try to beat the characters onstage to the magical crime-solving moment," Gresham said, typically an impossible task.
"But stories like this do engage us at a different level, inviting our problem solving skills without any real danger," he said.
"Clue" runs Aug. 12-21. The Lyceum's season continues with "Sherwood, the Adventures of Robin Hood" and "A Grand Night for Singing" both opening in September, and the annual staging of "A Christmas Carol" opening Dec. 14. Find more information, including showtimes and ticket prices, at https://lyceumtheatre.org/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: With 'Clue,' Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre will keep audiences guessing
