Theater Review: CLUE: The Play

by Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions

Oh gosh…

I sometimes don’t enjoy being a critic, especially when you can see all the work went into a production, and you know it was done out of love. But here’s the review:

Company of Rowlett Performers opened the play Clue last night to an enthusiastic audience. The play is an adaptation of the 1985 John Landis produced film and screenplay. The original film received lukewarm reviews. Perhaps you remember it? Various movie theaters presented the different endings. It was a great marketing ploy for you had to go to different movie theaters to see the various ways the film resolved. It also had an array of great comics and performers, most notably Madeline Kahn and Tim Curry. This adaptation is very faithful to the film, in fact, too much so. When the movie was released on VHS it included all the various endings, and this stage play presents three multiple endings. Clever? Yes. Does it work? Not really. The problem isn’t so much the source material. The problem is that the play is too not so much an adaptation but a recreation of the film. In film the editing takes our eye to different locations and we can go back and forth, we accept the premise that two scenes can be happening simultaneously. It takes very clever staging to pull the same trick. After seeing this production I strongly believe this film could be adapted to the stage, just not this way.

The biggest problem lies in the realism of the set. The set is enormous. If you remember the board game which the movie is based on, and now the play, there are many locales: the conservatory, the dinning room, the library, the kitchen, etc. All of these locations are represented on the stage making it a very crowded and making it a bit confusing at first to understand where they are exactly in the house. The scenes go back and forth from locale to locale. This is supposed to be defined by the lighting, but since so many light cues were being missed, it added to the confusion. Even had their not been so many mistakes, it still would have been a problem. A nearly blank stage with just signs indicating the whereabouts of each location would have allowed the imagination of the audience to do the set dressing. Instead it’s chaotic. Getting all the actors to go from one side of the stage to the next to enter these so called “rooms” takes time since it’s a large cast and it ends up killing any momentum being built. The overall effect is that they are trying to faithfully recreate the movie, thus forgetting the conventions and restrictions of theatre. The concept is good; it’s the execution that’s flawed.

The script could have been streamlined to lessen the number of scenes. Film can create short quick visual gags and turn them into 30 second or one minute scenes. In a play 30 seconds or one minute is too short for a scene. The audience just gets their bearings and the scene is over. The net effect is that it chops up the play A better answer would be to creatively find a way to interweave the sight gags into the longer scenes.

I do understand that this is an amateur production, so I cannot hold it to the same standards of a professional theatre group. Many of the “staff” involved in the production are teens, and their work is commendable. Lots of effort went into this and there is some talent. The costuming by Whitnee and Tonya Bomkamp and Kailee Foerster rivals anything at a professional theatre. The set construction by the cast and Jennifer Sims is impressive too as is the sound design by Colin Taylor. It’s Donna Covington’s work I’m criticizing mainly. She’s the (grown up) director and the visionary behind this -- it is also her adaptation. She created a monumental task for everyone that made the production fall short. Simplifying the production would have made the play pop. This said, she guided this cast into some good and in one case, a magnificent performance. I tip my hat to her for her abilities in this area.

Clue is a spoof of the Agatha Christie murder mysteries and it utilizes the characters of the board game. As the evening progresses more bodies pile up, and everyone becomes a suspect. Besides Colonel Mustard, Ms. White, Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green we have Wadsworth, the butler, Yvette, the French maid, a cook, Mr. Boddy, and various other minor characters. The entire cast does a well enough job with their characters. Many of the performers are rather new to acting and they do an appropriate job of bringing their characters to life. This play isn’t Shakespeare, so we are not to expect performances of that caliber. The personalities are all stereotypes, and they are meant to be played that way. This said there was one actor that operated on a whole different level then the rest of the cast.

Brandon Becvar plays Wadsworth the Butler. The way the script is written, he actually is the lead. Talk about immersing yourself in a character! He was funny, in the moment, and handled on stage oopses as if it all had been preplanned. When a frame fell off the wall, he reacted to it in character and even turned it into a bit of comedy. When he’s forced to tell the conclusion of the play three times, he does it with much aplomb. Watching him was a delight and he single handedly stole the show. His performance proved how good Clue as a stage play could be with more development and work put into it. I hope to see him in other plays. He’s truly a gifted actor.

The one thing that I love about seeing community or amateur theatre is the impact on its audiences. The main purpose is to entertain and serve the community which it springs from. This audience loved seeing their friends and family members on stage. The cast had blast doing the show. That is the main purpose of this kind of theatre, and in this the show succeeded.

So would I recommend this show? This production didn’t have any mugs as mementos for sale. I didn’t need one.

Clue runs until June 15 and tickets can be purchased online or by calling 972-977-7710/972-412-1927.