With memorable farces, physical comedy, and clever wordplay, Clue: High School Edition is a delight as a board game brought to life. With the leading poster depicts a butler’s hand serving a tray of colorful game pieces to choose and feast upon, temptation is presented for all to revel in the backstories, motives, and actions behind each persona. Everyone watching gets to choose which token looks the most engrossing while trying not to get too close, for this game within a game is afoot.
Adapted from Clue, the 1985 film based on, and named after, the beloved board game, Clue: High School Edition is written by Sandy Rustin, with “additional mate
rial by Hunter Foster, Eric Price, and Sandy Rustin.” The play also features “original music composed by Michael Holland,” and with a crash of thunder and some whimsical music, a revolving set is revealed, including lavish decor, secret passageways, and many moving doors. Wadsworth (Janica Belen) the butler, Yvette (Frannie Hittle) the maid, and the Cook (Alex Stawinski) are setting up for the arrival of some guests, but this is not just any dinner party. No, this is the setup of the real-life board game inside the appropriately namedBoddy Manor. Already there is foreshadowing as to what will soon fill the house, as well as hilarious juxtaposition of bloody events occurring within such an extravagant setting.
First, Colonel Mustard (Eleanor Korte) enters, who is not the brightest character despite being dressed in yellow. Following him is Mrs. White (Julia Tchikine), a socialite dressed with a cold demeanor and in funeral attire, alluding to the death of one of her many husbands. Her past seems to intertwine with Yvette’s, as indicated by a jarring sting of music. The swanky, if frenzied, Mrs. Peacock (Olivia Tallamy) arrives after her, and though her past has crossed with the Cook, she remains u
ndeterred and also advances into the manor. Mr. Green (Charle Gaughan) arrives next, whose nerves always seem to get the better of him, and his skittish persona immediately draws suspicion, while presenting a good reminder that the audience should be keeping track of what sets each character on edge. Lastly, a bold duo appears, as the smug Professor Plum (Addison Webb) and the suave Miss Scarlet (Gabriella Loudermilk) arrive together, though they were apparently unacquainted before tonight.
In fact, all six are strangers, but Wadsworth certainly is a smooth talker, distracting them from the whereabouts of their host through cocktails and dinner. Though their pseudonyms hide their true identities, no one can keep from revealing information about each other even as they all have secrets they do not want revealed.
These secrets begin to spill as they eat, and it is soon revealed that they all have one in common: all six are being blackmailed for, as Wadsworth puts it, “not exactly adhering to an all-American standard of behavior.” Their blackmailer is none other than Mr. Boddy (Zoia Mitova) who gives a confident performance as their host; he certainly needs the assertiveness when he reveals the motive behind this evening: to ask his guests to murder Wadsworth in exchange for him to end their blackmail.
Suddenly the lights go off, a gunshot rings out, and when the lights turn back on, it is Mr. Boddy who is dead
! A good thing to note is that the audience, and the characters, seem to be in the dark about the murder of Mr. Boddy as well as every murder that will later occur. Joined by Yvette, though not for long since she will join the Cook with the other dead bodies, Wadsworth and the guests venture throughout the house, which only elevates the interactive experience as they tango (Loudermilk does a delightful job with the choreography) in and out of doorways with their distrust for one another. Murder weapons, alibis, dead bodies, and motives are all mixed up, and the evidence is hard to locate as the rooms in the manor spin around.
Comedy shines through the wrong turns that these characters make, and it is refreshing to hear how the script lands through the actors’ delivery. These performances highlight how much passion is put into each role, as the cast members are well engaged with each other, making lines of dialogue, personal actions, and shocking reveals draw out gasps and laughter, even managing to make a dying man funny. The game of Clue is one that morphs into many scenarios, so multiple endings are revealed to give matches to everybody, and yet the play raises the stakes even further with the final finale: Mr. Green is, in fact, an FBI agent, who is here to save the day, and Gaughan exuberantly reveals this secret with a lively shift in character. Even more shocking, Wadsworth turns out to be Mr. Boddy and vice versa, but Belen is so charming that her performance when Wadsworth summarizes the evening and her delivery of his final lines reels you in for more.
Just as Wadsworth, or should I say the real Mr. Boddy, makes quite clear at the beginning of the play, “nobody is being addressed by their real 
name.” Even with all of the wit and evidence sprinkled through, some more apparent than others, there are no other clues pointing to the set-in-stone ending. There is an answer to each scenario that the guests rashly discuss, as they throw accusations left and right at the end of the play, driven by the fear of more blackmail, death, and returning back to their lives before this night. They may have entered the mansion wearing a persona for this night only, but now they will have to carry the weight of this evening for a long time, which Prof. Plum makes note of, saying “I can’t forget all this!” Well, neither can the audience because this was quite an enjoyable night at the theater for Stone Ridge.
Running Time: Around 1 hour and 30 minutes
Located: Roberts Theater in the Mater Center