Just So - 1985 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 12

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?

'Good Vibrations'? 'California Girls'? 'I Get Around'? See where your favorite Beach Boys songs land on the list!

Looking for the best deals on Broadway shows? Welcome to our new weekly guide to the most popular shows listed on BroadwayWorld. Check out which shows are selling this week, June 5, 2023.

 TheatreSquared Artistic Director Robert Ford, Executive Director Martin Miller, and Director of New Play Development Dexter J. Singleton announced the lineup of new plays for the 15th annual Arkansas New Play Festival (ANPF).

Tina Turner, the 'Queen of Rock'n Roll' has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.  With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model. 

Bard Fest, Indy's only annual Shakespeare Festival, is producing the epic two-play cycle of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer-prize-winning Angels in America. They will present Part One - Millennium Approaches and Part Two - Perestroika in rotation throughout the month. In anticipation of its landmark June premier, some of the cast of Angels in America (AIA) answered some questions about the show.

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.

It's TOP FUN - Matt Hale's laugh-packed 80s themed hypnotic show heads to the Fringe 

What did our critic think of ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART I: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA?

A modern musical fairytale, Once On This Island is Romeo and Juliet set in the French Antilles with the two lovers on opposite sides of a race and class divide. Regent’s Park Theatre opens its 2023 season with a humdinger of a revival, a real foot-stomper that rings in the ears long after the last song finishes.

A Red Orchid Theatre has announced its 31st Season. Learn about the productions, see who is starring, and learn how to purchase tickets.

The 92nd Street Y, New York announces Caleb Teicher and Veronica Swift, the first-ever collaboration from the acclaimed dancer and vocalist, as part of Midsummer MusicFest, a new summer festival debuting this year in celebration of 92NY's 150th anniversary. 

The 92nd Street Y, New York will present An Evening with Norm Lewis as part of Midsummer MusicFest, a new summer festival debuting this year in celebration of 92NY’s 150th anniversary.

Playing the piano and singing a repertoire of all original self penned songs she is now in the 12th year of her residency at London's premiere cabaret room Crazy Coqs. Now Hope revisits fabulous Wilton's Music Hall for the umpteenth time since appearing there first in 2014.

Tickets are now on sale for New York Stage and Film'S 2023 Summer Season July 14-August 6 at Marist College.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the third season of The Refocus Project, its multi-year project to elevate and restore marginalized plays to the American canon. This year's series of readings will feature Asian American and Pacific Islander playwrights: Prince Gomolvilas, Velina Hasu Houston, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, and Anuvab Pal.

With deft direction that plumbs the depths of silliness in turning a Parker Brothers board game to farce, Jill Bloede weds the flimsiness of the 1985 film's plot with a divinely flimsy set populated by precision actors scurrying around amid flawless transitions and scene changes, lifting Sandy Rustin's stage adaptation to heights of delight, ridiculous story and all.

The World Premiere of ALI will be presented in Ali's hometown of Louisville, at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, in Fall 2024. Learn more about the show here!

The Phoenix Theatre Company's production of A CHORUS LINE, directed by Jeff Whiting runs through May 14th: It's 'not just a handsome production; to date it’s the standout of the current season.'

The issues that LES MISÉRABLES touches on are unfortunately as relevant today as they were in 1862 when Victor Hugo’s novel was first published and in 1985 when the musical adaptation first opened in London.

This month, the reader question was: Which Broadway theaters have been demolished/repurposed and when/why?

What did our critic think of CAPA SEASON at Ohio And Palace Theatres? Be it their birthday, anniversary, Halloween, or the Fourth of July, everyone has a special day to which they look forward.

Looking for the best deals on Broadway shows? Welcome to our new weekly guide to the most popular shows listed on BroadwayWorld. Check out which shows are selling this week, April 3, 2023.

A seismic theatrical jolt shot through the theatre world this past Thursday evening when a startling, radically deconstructed production of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches opened at the Arena Stage; this interpretation grabs you like a “fever-dream” of the mind.  As soon as I walked in to see this interpretation of this classic play of the American canon, a distinctly European sensibility took hold, and I noticed the chandeliers were all covers in heavy tarp/sheeting and the Angel was raking the theatre-in -the -round stage while moving gradations of sand around an inner circle.  This Angel appears with some frequency in this interpretation and we are reminded that there “are” angels in America ---perhaps we do not need be ruled by the crazed politics that divide us.  We can choose to fight our biases and preconceptions.

Notre Dame de Paris will return to New York this summer to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. See performance dates and learn how to purchase tickets!