Henry Woronicz

Syracuse Stage closes its 2022-23 season with the madcap farce, Clue. Based on the iconic 1950’s board game of the same name, Clue spoofs whodunit mysteries, film noir, 1950’s pop culture and gothic horror films. The play is adapted for stage from the 1985 film that was a critical flop but has since become a cult classic. Set during McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, a time fraught with suspicion and accusation, the mansion owned by Mr. Boddy becomes the gathering point for six invited guests. These guests we find out are all guarded about their pasts, are all being blackmailed and are referred to by aliases that correspond to the famous characters in the board game. Each guest is then gifted one of the six murder weapons. In all, there are six potential murderers, six weapons and nine rooms in the mansion, 324 possibilities for who, what and where; as Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes agree, now “the game is afoot.” The gothic mansion, the dark and stormy night, the suspenseful reality of the play merge with Parker Brothers’ (now Hasbro’s) rule book and the characters become mashups of villains and game pieces. They punctuate the endings of scenes with comic confusion, mad scrambling and a kind of frantic skipping, like game pieces moving on a board after a dice roll. Scenic designer, Czerton Lim, creates the perfect 3-D version of the original board game. Upon entering the theatre, the audience sees a classic gothic foyer, complete with crystal chandelier, mahogany woodwork, marble stairs and a tiled floor fashioned to replicate the spaces on a game board. As the play progresses, the set becomes a character in itself as it transforms into the rooms of the mansion required by both the game and the play. His design is beautiful and functional. It not only provides a setting but also helps establish the humor and tempo of the play. It always surprises and delights. Likewise, original music by Michael Holland and sound design by Todd Mack create a comically suspenseful mood and punctuate the zany exploits on stage. Along with lighting design by Jared Gooding, the cliché of a dark and stormy night permeates the atmosphere and heightens the tension and anxiety of this mock thriller. The production is at its best when the actors are highly choreographed and in tune with the music, sound and light cues. In fact, the funniest moment in the play is prompted by a single gunshot. Director Benjamin Hanna establishes a fast pace from the very beginning of the play. It is so fast and furious that neither the audience nor the actors are allowed to get their bearings. The characters in Clue are obvious stereotypes but the portrayals all share the same frenetic quality without ever establishing basic, underlying traits and motivations. Characterization, for the most part, has been sacrificed to blatant silliness and camp. (There is nothing in the script that requires the beginning to move at such a pace.) Once the first murder occurs and the stakes are raised the speed can and should pickup through the end. For example, Plum is a stereotypical Professor, haughty and cerebral but cursed with an inflated libido. Beethovan Oden has a nice general feel for the character and indicates his personality traits, but he isn’t able to develop those qualities from the onset of the play. If he had, then as the pace became more frantic the audience could have enjoyed watching him first struggle then ultimately fail to keep his composure. Clearly many of the actors are talented. John Taylor Phillips as Wadsworth has a natural presence on stage as well as crisp comic timing but never fully embodies the stereotypical reserved, unflappable and ultimately arrogant butler. Emily Berman as Miss Scarlet is also clean and precise. Miss Scarlet is a stereotypical Madame but the actress is not allowed to explore the cynism and sexuality of the character who should have a slower, more voluptuous pace than some of the others. Henry Woronicz’s Colonel Mustard vacillates appropriately between being doddering and demanding. He sketches out an interesting frame for his character but again seems to fall prey to the tempo of this runaway train. Claire Wilcher makes a strong acting choice to play Mrs. Peacock with the nervous energy of a bird. Her comedy is broad and eccentric while still grounded in reality. Even when she is in the background of the action, she is always in the moment. When given focus, she commands the stage and rate of action. As a result, her portrayal is very funny and very satisfying to watch. Her least successful moments occur when directed to do something out of character simply for a laugh. Less successfully, Eric Sharp’s Mr. Green and Emjoy Gavino’s Mrs. White just seem lost in the silliness and frenetic mayhem. As lovers of farce and broad comedy, we were disappointed that more care wasn’t taken to create an underlying believability before descending into comic chaos. A stock character when presented by an actor still needs to have specificity. Silliness can be funny, comic bits enjoyable and a fast pace exciting, but they need to be balanced and well executed. By the end of the production, it felt like all 324 murder possibilities were explored, but few realities remained. If you are looking for an evening of fast-paced silliness, screwball comedy and sight gags this production satisfies. As a farce poking fun at human frailty and foibles, Benjamin Hanna’s Clue misses the mark. Clue runs through Sunday, June 25th. Tickets can be purchased by visiting SyracuseStage.org or by calling (315) 443-3275 or by visiting the box office at 820 East Genesee Street. did our critic think of CLUE at Syracuse Stage?

Syracuse Stage closes its 2022/2023 season with a production that celebrates the pure joy and simple fun of live theatre, the fan favorite and ultimate whodunnit, CLUE. The production runs June 7 to 25 in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse.

The Indianapolis Repertory Theatre is heating up these cold snowy days with a sci-fi classic. Fahrenheit 451 is on stage until Feb. 20 on the OneAmerica MainStage. One would hope that this play would become irrelevant in our world, but unfortunately, it’s more important than ever.

It was another beautiful day up The Hill. Today’s picnic menu included canned cocktails (they’re better than you’d think), fried chicken and cholate mousse tort from an area café. It did not, unfortunately, include any Cognac.

Tonight’s festivities are especially exciting, James DeVita’s “An Improbable Fiction”! Six improbable Shakespearean characters hang out at The Boar’s Head Tavern during the plague

The classic American courtroom drama by Reginald Rose Twelve Angry Men, under the impressive direction of James Still, is now captivating audiences at Syracuse Stage. The production is co-produced with Indiana Repertory Theatre and showcases brilliant acting, a flawless and detailed set design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, and thought-provoking topics.

Ensemble's production of Death of a Salesman is intimate and Willy's final sacrifice is tragic and inevitable. The production offers high-caliber performances and a unique visual narrative, and it engages the audience with timely questions about inter-generational disconnect, the definition of success, and our relationship to the expectations and entitlements ascribed by our culture.

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the third show of its 40th Anniversary Season, one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, written by Arthur Miller and directed by ETC founding artistic director Joseph Hanreddy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN begins previews on Thursday, February 7, opens today, February 9, and runs through Sunday, February 24, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.    The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is a haunting and moving portrait of a man whose belief in, and pursuit of, the American dream ends in tatters. 

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the third show of its 40th Anniversary Season, one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, written by Arthur Miller and directed by ETC founding artistic director Joseph Hanreddy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN begins previews today, February 7, opens on Saturday, February 9, and runs through Sunday, February 24, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.    The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is a haunting and moving portrait of a man whose belief in, and pursuit of, the American dream ends in tatters. 

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller's American tragedy, equates the worth of a man's life with his earning potential and forces characters and audiences alike to examine their expectations around the idea of 'success.'

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the third show of its 40th Anniversary Season, one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, written by Arthur Miller and directed by ETC founding artistic director Joseph Hanreddy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN begins previews on Thursday, February 7, opens on Saturday, February 9, and runs through Sunday, February 24, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the third show of its 40th Anniversary Season, one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, written by Arthur Miller and directed by ETC founding artistic director Joseph Hanreddy. DEATH OF A SALESMAN begins previews on Thursday, February 7, opens on Saturday, February 9, and runs through Sunday, February 24, 2019 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara.    The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is a haunting and moving portrait of a man whose belief in, and pursuit of, the American dream ends in tatters. 

'The middle takes guts. The middle is where you go to sit down with monsters.' The Indiana Repertory Theatre's current Upperstage production, The Originalist, explores that middle, introducing us to a fictional relationship between Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and a liberal law clerk. The play is about the absolutely essential nature of debate. Having the freedom to openly discuss political issues is something we often take for granted in our country as we get lost in the fight. We forget that the person you disagree with doesn't have to be the enemy.

Utah Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Brian Vaughn recently announced a slate of eight highly-creative, talented, and experienced directors for the Festival's 2018 season. Many have directed at the Festival before, but some will be new to Festival audiences.

Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) theatre-goers might be delighted to find musketeers off the stage and dueling in front of the historic building for the opening night celebration of The Three Musketeers, which runs September 20 through October 15 on the OneAmerica Mainstage.

Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) theatre-goers might be delighted to find musketeers off the stage and dueling in front of the historic building for the opening night celebration of The Three Musketeers, which runs September 20 through October 15 on the OneAmerica Mainstage.

Actress and playwright Mary Jane Schaefer explores the relationship between Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald in her play, Scott and Zelda: Happy Forever, which was performed at the Theatre Artists Workshop in Norwalk in June. Schaefer is best known for her work in Shakespeare. She performed with Shakespeare On The Sound and has written two parts of a trilogy on the Bard -- Shakespeare Rising and Judith Shakespeare Has Her Say.

With a $38 million project under construction, a world premiere adaptation, a visit from England and the continuation of the Complete the Canon and History Cycle initiatives, the Utah Shakespeare Festival showed no signs of slowing down in 2014, its 53rd season. Producing 235 performances in rotating repertory in three theatres for 17 weeks is no easy feat, but through countless hours, a dedicated group of artists has pulled off another artistically successful year. Scroll down for photos from the 2014 season!

The 22nd annual New American Playwrights Project (NAPP) takes the stage at the Utah Shakespeare Festival from today, August 8 through August 29.