Interview: Adam Brett of CLUE at Ahmanson Theatre

I talk with Adam Brett, lead of the hit murder mystery musical Clue, coming to the Ahamnson Theatre September 8th to September 12th for only seven performances on its second North American Broadway tour.

Tell me about your audition process for the Broadway tour of Clue.

I had the chance to be in a production of Clue at a summer stock playhouse, Timberlake Playhouse in Illinois, and that was my first time doing the play. I got to play Colonel Mustard, which was such a stretch, but I had such a fun mustache on! That helped me with my audition for Wadsworth when I auditioned for the national tour because I knew the pacing, I knew the dialogue, and I knew the style of how the play should go, so it led me to the next step in my career.

For the national tour, I had to put myself on tape. I had a blank wall behind me and a tripod that held my iPhone, and I had to record myself, script in hand. And my roommate was my reader, and she played all the characters while I was in a tuxedo in my kitchen reading Clue. So I sent that in, and then a few weeks later I found out I had a callback, which was in person.  I did many scenes from the play, and it was quite a rush. And then a week later, I had my final callback, so it was a long process. 

When I was offered the part, it was such an honor that they thought of me for this role.  I certainly didn't think I was worthy enough to play this role.  I grew up with the movie and playing the game, so to play this part and have the opportunity to do it is truly an honor and a joy.

When you did your self-tape for Clue, was there any additional research that you did, or preparation?

Yes, I did Clue before, and of course I grew up with it, so it was in my bones. For my national tour audition, I just had to relinquish the idea of getting it right and just do it and have fun with it -- because I knew it so well at that point. I remember I had to be somewhere and I was running behind, so my reader, my roommate, just read the lines really fast, but it helped because it's such a fast-paced show. 

Clue is such a specific show in terms of pacing and tone. I know it's also gained a lot of momentum over the years. I think in the beginning, critics weren't that fond of it, and now it's such a cult classic. Tell me about your favorite characters and moments in the show, and what's special about the show to you?

The tone is so specific. It has to be dark, and it has to be mysterious, and it has to be a little spooky.  It balances comedy and darkness. It has the puns, it has the wit, it has the physical comedy, and it even has the fart jokes. It really covers everything. It is thrilling and it is shocking and it's also hilarious. 

Clue is in our society's DNA, like let's lock ourselves in a haunted mansion and figure out this murder mystery! We love that. There's a reason that people watch true crime documentaries. And there's a reason we still play the board game. I just played it. We were all together, my family and I, and it's just a blast.

It means so much to me. I grew up playing the board game. There were some scary times growing up, and Clue kind of got me through those times. It was something we did as a family together, and then I was introduced to the movie. I remember watching it as a kid, and the little theater brain in me was like, "This would make a great play one day." All these years later, getting to do it is really special.

These are huge, recognizable characters in the show and this cast is so brilliant. I have to give them all a shout-out because they shine in their roles. And getting to interact with all of them and spearhead this kind of colorful troupe of characters around the mansion is such a dream.

Did you get a rehearsal process before the Broadway tour of Clue?

We had about a two and a half week rehearsal process. I have to give a shout-out to our director Casey Hushion. On her own, she is a comedy master class. She is so, so specific. She has the best eye and ear. She'd be like Adam, if you move a hair to your left, Nate's line is going to land much better. It is this kind of math throughout the whole play, and it's a really well-oiled machine that we have now. 

The other challenge in the rehearsal process, and still now, you know, 300 shows later, is just trying not to break because it's hilarious. It's hard sometimes to keep a straight face on stage!

And then the power of live theater is that it changes every night, and it grows, and it evolves. I love this play, and I love Wadsworth, the character, because I'm still learning so much about him. 

Tell me about getting involved in musicals. 

I got bitten by the performing bug very, very early on. I am so privileged that I have parents who are very supportive and also excited to be immersed in the arts.  My dad is a musician, and he plays the piano, so I grew up kind of watching him play the piano around town. I remember listening to the Wicked CD in the car while he drove me to play practice. My parents threw me into theater camp at such a young age, and I literally just haven't stopped. 

I grew up on Long Island, New York, with Broadway in our backyard. We went to Broadway a lot, and it was such a privilege, and that instilled in me the caliber, the stamina and the talent that it takes to do that.

Are there Broadway musical soundtracks that you listen to a lot?

I am like the biggest Sondheim nerd ever, so I love all of his musicals. My favorite musical is Sweeney Todd. I guess I just like dark, murderous shows. But Sondheim is someone who has brought so much humanity and depth and grandeur and nuance to the form.  I'm always so moved by his musicals. I grew up with Sweeney Todd, I grew up with Little Shop of Horrors.  I love Something Rotten, paying homage to Shakespeare and musical theater. Those are my three big favorites. Of course, West Side Story and some of the sweeping Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma have made a huge impression on my life.

I went to college and got my BFA in drama, focusing on acting at Carnegie Mellon, and had a great time there. We just did everything. I took a clown class, which helped me so much with my comedy skills, and I had extensive Shakespeare training, which helps you with dialogue and heightened language. I had movement classes, where we become, you know, trees and elements and abstract ideas and colors. Then I graduated and got into the real world and have just been auditioning. And I have amazing friends that direct shows and I got to perform in shows around the country, which led me to lead the Broadway national tour of Clue. This is like the ultimate role, and such a fun show to do.

Tell me about clown class. 

The clown class has changed my life. We had this amazing teacher, Kaf Warman. She birthed like a thousand clowns from Carnegie Mellon. So you start with neutral masks. You go to character masks, focusing in Commedia dell'arte, and then you go to the red clown nose, which is the smallest mask of all, and you start to create this clown. You realize this inner clown that you've created has always been inside you. There's a whole naming process, and it's a very sacred process, believe it or not. Mine is Beamus Broadway. 

I remember my best friends from college came to see Clue while we were in Pittsburgh. Afterwards, they said, I saw your clown on stage, and I was really proud of that. Inside themselves, everyone has their inner clown. Taking that class with Kaf really brought it out in us, that vivacity and zest for life.

A tour puts insane demands on your voice.  Are there specific things you do to take care of yourself when you're not on stage? Because travel is also hard on your voice, right? 

You hit the nail on the head. It is a big toll for me. The whole day revolves around those 75 minutes at night. Everything I do is leading up to the show. I run all the time because I need the cardio, for the stamina of the show. I am speaking nonstop and I'm running around the whole time on stage, so I need a lot of breath support. I have to eat well, lots of protein, lots of fiber, making sure I feel light on stage.

The most important thing for me is I do is a 45-minute warm-up in my dressing room and a physical warm-up to stretch everything. Every muscle in my body, including my voice, and making sure that my head's in the right place. I'm so annoying, the whole cast probably knows my warm-up at this point. But it's a great warm-up. Shout-out to Carnegie Mellon and my teachers Lisa and Ausar. They taught me how to use my voice and prepare and sustain myself doing eight shows a week.

The travel is different. One week you're in Miami, and it's humid, and then you're in Dayton, Ohio, and it's cold and chilly, and then you are in Palm Springs, and it's dry and it's really hot. But it's such a gift too. I mean, you get to see these amazing places around North America. That's kind of the best part of the job, really.

What are some of the places that you have discovered on the Broadway tour of Clue?

I like everything, every city I've been to. Portland, Maine, is just so nautical and coastal and it has so much character in its cobblestone streets. I love chowder, so I had so much chowder! I loved Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Who would have thought that Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is this really special kind of nook in the Midwest that I just really loved? I loved Philly, of course, and Washington D.C. There are the greatest museums there in both those cities. I love going to museums.

What do you want Clue’s audiences to feel as they leave the theatre?

To go out with more life than before. It's ironic and it's funny because it's a play about death, but it's just this rush of adrenaline that you get. It's crash, lightning, gasp, joke. You have got this pep in your step, despite seeing, you know, six six or seven or eight murders on stage, and that's what I love about it -  it is this huge contrast between dark and light. You walk out feeling more alive.

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