Critical Review at Hennepin Arts

  Clue - A New Comedy Review by Lilly Grommes On a fittingly bitter evening, Clue opened at the Orpheum. The tour launched out of Minneapolis on the 27th of February and will continue to 17 stops. The play by Sandy Rustin is making its touring debut since its 2022 production at the Papermill Playhouse. Following the movie based on the game, Clue pulled together a creative rendering of a cult classic. The story of Clue follows the movie fairly closely: 6 guests arrive at their blackmailer’s mansion for a dinner party, and what ensues is an evening of chaos and murder. The appeal of the original was the campiness of the whole thing. Luckily the stage adaptation still brings the camp, along with a fresh take on the script. Part of what made this performance of Clue spectacular was the production design. The set itself drew direct inspiration from the 1949 board game, complete with the signature square tiled floor. The set consisted of a variety of stage looks in addition to pop-...

  Clue: The Board Game on Tour Clue: A New Comedy transforms the classic Hasbro board game into a witty, charming 90-minute whodunit tale, filled with a bold cast of memorably diverse characters and clever situational comedy to construct a genius murder mystery that encapsulates the game’s infamous social elements. Written by Sandy Rustin, the play leans on a masterfully written murder plot that blindsides the audience through to its conclusion, leaving them as puzzled and panicked as the cast on stage. Its practical and cartoonish comedy doesn’t obstruct the severity of the frivolous plot but establishes its distinct attitude over the situation. Among many impressive set and lighting aspects, Clue has absolutely lived up to its namesake. Even though the story’s progression was often quickly-paced and sporadic, its pacing kept the audience captivated and committed to the conflict at hand and never left them in the dark. For example, full cast moments in the mansion were speedy and...

  Clue National Tour Launches with a Bang! Makenzie Bounds Clue , a hilarious new play, is adapted from the 1985 movie which draws inspiration from the classic Hasbro game. Translated wonderfully onto the stage, Clue follows six uproarious blackmail victims as they journey through an epic manor in an attempt to conclude who the murderer among them is before the night is up. Filled with mystery, suspense, drama, and most importantly, comedy, the tour brings something for a variety of audiences to enjoy to the stage.  While I have played the board game, I have never seen the 1985 movie. As I took my seat, I wondered if this would make me feel behind on the many iconic lines since I was surrounded by avid fans of the cult classic in the balcony. However, at the play’s conclusion, I felt as though this was to my advantage. The show left me constantly guessing, and each new twist filled me with astonishment and laughter.  Clue is astounding from a technical standpoint. Lightin...

Minneapolis - Where the Game Begins! (CLUE) Left (top to bottom): Sarah Hollis as Miss Scarlet, John Treacy Egan as Colonel Mustard, Kathy Fitzgerald as Mrs. Peacock, Donna English as Mrs. White, Isabelle McCalla as Yvette, Michael Kostroff as Professor Plum, Alex Mandell as Mr. Green; right: Mark Price as Wadsworth. Courtesy of Paper Mill Playhouse; photo by Evan Zimmerman/MurphyMade My family grew up playing the Clue board game, and I had always insisted on playing Ms.Scarlett! I love mysteries that keep you questioning until the last minute, and Clue was the perfect addition to our family game nights. The 90 minute comedy is making its debut in Minneapolis from February 27th- March 3rd, and I've been eagerly anticipating it all month! I was unsure what to expect when attending opening night at the Orpheum Theater, but it brought back so many memories I had forgotten! CLUE is inspired by the Paramount Pictures comedy film, an addition to the ‘Cluedo’ board game franchise begin...

  The Funniest Murder You Ever Did See Clue National Broadway Tour Review Cast of Clue National Tour Photo by Evan Zimmerman Fake identities, vicious blackmail, a little communism, and some good-ole-fashioned homicide, the national Broadway tour of Clue , directed by Casey Hushion, brought all these delights and more to the Twin Cities in its February 27 premiere. Inspired by the beloved board game and 1985 movie, Clue brilliantly blends slapstick humour with eerie suspense. Our favorite colorful characters take the stage as they search for the murderer (and their various weapons). Was it Colonel Mustard, with the rope, in the billiard room? Or perhaps Miss Peacock, with the revolver, in the ballroom? Nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. But you can trust me when I say solving this mystery is more than worth a trip to the Orpheum. Every detail of the production was reminiscent of the family game, from the tile floors that looked suspiciously like a game board to cl...

Colonel Must-See Thunder crashes. The Orpheum’s chandelier flickers. The curtain rises, and the game begins. Based on a 1985 Paramount Pictures film based on a 1949 Hasbro board game, Clue recounts a mysterious dinner party gone murderous.  The play follows the 1985 movie very closely. Six guests are invited to Boddy Manor under colorful pseudonyms and discover that they are being blackmailed and threatened to be reported to the House of Un-American Affairs Committee. The course of the night is completely flipped as soon as murders begin to occur throughout the house. Clue depends on a hilarious cast. This production delivers. The physical comedy of John Shartzer (Mr. Green) was executed flawlessly without overdoing it. Shartzer’s germaphobic tendencies cause him to writhe on the floor, at times scooting across the stage in an absurdly funny, wormlike manner. The pure idiocy of John Treacy Egan’s portrayal of Colonel Mustard highlights the actor’s effortless talent of comedic timin...

Winning The Game.  Clue may not be what most people envision when asked to picture the quinticental stage show, however, with every positive trait conjured up, the pristine image of Clue gets clearer and clearer. Clue is most definitely the dark horse of the 2023-24 Orpheum season, with its droves of comedic moments, hoard of incredible talent, and props with more character than most other productions.  Clue loosely follows the story of the similarly titled 1985 film, as well as the 1949 board game to an even looser degree. Our colorful cast of socialites and power players find themselves trapped in Boddy manor, and must attempt to unravel the evening killing with the help of the manor's dwindling staff. With such a formulaic-sounding plot, one could very easily mistake Clue for a lesser show, however within the confines of this show's story, grows perhaps the most perfect example of an archetypal good play. By limiting its intentions to telling a bottle story with a constan...

  How did this make it to a Broadway tour? Haven’t got a Clue. A cult classic movie was murdered on Tuesday night. In the Orpheum. With bad acting. By, well, almost everyone. The beloved 1980s movie Clue (and the 1940s board game) was adapted into a play in 2017. This brand new national tour launched in Minneapolis, running here from February 27 to March 3, hasn’t yet solved some of its biggest crimes: the script, direction, cast and costumes are haphazard and shocking.  The first glaring problem seems to be the script by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. Three people turned out to be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen when they wrote the jokes, and none of them seemed to land.  Besides the less-than-ideal script, the team didn’t have much luck saving it with the acting or directing. The overall production, directed by Casey Hushion, felt lazy. She opted for predictable gags and elbowed the audience in the ribs when something wa...

  Curtain Call Culprits: Clue Takes the Stage On Feb. 27, Clue stepped onto the stage at the Orpheum. A classic whodunnit, Clue follows the six loveable, color-themed characters from the board game as they arrive at a mysterious manor after all receiving the same letter. Relying on physical comedy and dry humor, and being based on the 1985 movie, Clue is an iconic show that all die-hard thespians know and love. Since the show itself is so iconic, and because it’s based on a well-known movie, it’s easy to spot any places where a production of Clue strays from its predecessors. In this production, the first thing I noticed were a couple of line changes -- punchlines were both added and changed. I felt these changes better suited the actors’ interpretations of their characters. But they also added punchlines to already long-running jokes which felt a bit redundant.  Most of the characters stayed true to the movie, but one thing I noticed is that most of the characters weren't a...

MAMMA MIA!: Thank You for the Music! The first thing I noticed about the Tuesday night performance of MAMMA MIA running at the Orpheum now until February eleventh, was just how many people I knew who were posting the marquee on their Instagram , many of whom were outside my theater circle. Due to the large audience for this particular musical, the merits of this show must lie in its ability to give the audience what they’re looking for, a spectacle of high energy. If you ask me if the show met those expectations, I’d respond with an (almost) emphatic yes. At the top of the show, the band opens with an overture that left me absolutely exhilarated. Somehow, with only eight musicians, the band managed to pack an excellent punch, delivering supreme energy and setting the tone for the incredible score we’d experience throughout the performance. The rest of the music does not disappoint with the performers managing to keep the music feeling fresh while maintaining ABBA’s disco-pop sound...