Farce hardly begins to describe the organized chaos of Clue Live on Stage. This adaptation of Jonathan Lynch‘s 1985 film, which brought the iconic board game to life, shows why the franchise has been tickling our hearts since 1949. Clue understands that a game needs just enough rules to guide its players’ imaginations. Its macabre setting and stylized characters allow even your stiffest relative to embrace a new reality where silliness ensues as murderers run loose. Within the confines of these well-worn characters, and under the direction of Casey Hushion, the spectacular cast of Clue Live on Stage! strike the perfect balance between synchronized gimmicks and unbridled buffoonery.
On a dark and stormy night in 1954, six guests are gathered at Boddy Manor, a grim New England mansion, by an anonymous blackmailer threatening to expose their secrets to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Each guest receives a pseudonym and a signature weapon. Mr. Boddy (Joseph Dalfonso) reveals himself as the blackmailer and promises to destroy all evidence against his hostages if they kill his butler, Wadsworth, before the police arrive. When the lights go out, Mr. Boddy goes down, and the group must reckon with the presence of a murderer in their midst. What follows are tactless one-liners, witty banter, bawdy jokes, and Scooby-Doo-level antics.
Adam Brett as Wadsworth was the ringmaster of this dark circus. Infectiously energetic, he could up the ante of everyone’s performance with a skip and a hop. While his spitting deliveries made the messy affair more literal, Brett’s wacky and loose acting anchored the production in its own ridiculousness, never letting any moment border on serious. Not even the dry declarations of Mrs. White, played by Sarah Mackenzie Baron. Baron’s monotone and deadpan provided a much-needed drag on the pacing of jokes, which might otherwise have grown breathless to the point of suffocation.
I felt similarly about Nate Curlott‘s Colonel Mustard, who was only capable of being confused or horny. His jokes fell limp for me, but my eye rolls were affectionate, since these contrivances reinforced the sincerity of the show as it tried again and again to make the audience laugh. The production was most successful at this mission when it relied on physical comedy. Robert Westley, movement director, choreographed scenes that animated the live performances. Like watching a real-life cartoon, the cast crept in perfect sync through the halls of Boddy Manor, tiptoeing one after the other as the sets whirled around them.
Another example is Mr. Green’s (TJ Lamando) brush with death by chandelier in the foyer. The stage flooded with blue light. The actors moved in slow motion. Lamando crumpled inch by inch onto the mahogany floors, his face frozen in terror, as the chandelier sank toward him. This was one of many standout moments of physical comedy for Lamando, but the competition for best slapstick performance was cutthroat. Other contenders include Brett’s hissing cat impression, used to scare away The Cop (Kebron Woodfin), and At Sanders‘ show-stealing appearance as The Singing Telegram Girl.
To Clue’s ragtag group of petty villains, death isn’t sacred, and neither is sex. The most provocative characters are Miss Scarlet, Yvette, and Mrs. Peacock, each representing different stereotypes of female sexuality. Miss Scarlet (Camille Capers) is a femme fatale, an alpha female. Capers’ performance is characterized by languishing movements and suggestive quips meant to lower the defenses of the men around her. Her seductive drawl was opposed by Mrs. Peacock’s (Madeline Raube) squabbling voice and over-the-top histrionics.
Raube leans in to the crazy-old-bat energy of Mrs. Peacock, a religious hypocrite, as she swigs liquor from her purse and ogles Professor Plum (Kyle Yampiro). No sexcapade is complete without eroticism for the sake of eroticism. Enter Yvette, the ample-bosomed French maid. Zoie Tannous plays this role on the tip of her toes and the top of her vocal cords. Her chemistry with Adam Brett was a highlight of the show, pulling me to the edge of my seat, wondering whether each wink and nod offered another piece of the puzzle.
When Jonathan Lynch expanded the characters and world of Clue to satirize McCarthyism, he created a comedy of moral disintegration — a subversion of the comedy of manners in which the upper-class characters have abandoned all illusions of polite society, opting instead to freely kill, steal, cheat, and lie. Never preachy but always provocative, Clue is the quintessential whodunit that reminds us that the pursuit of truth should always include some laughs.
Running Time: 80 minutes, no intermission.
Clue Live On Stage! plays through February 1, 2026, at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets ($50–$200) online or at the National Theatre box office.
Information about the North American tour can be found here.
Clue Live on Stage!
PRODUCTION STAFF
Director: Casey Hushion
Scenic Designer: Lee Savage
Costume Designer: Jen Caprio
Lighting Designer: Ryan O’Gara
Sound Designer: Jeff Human
Composer & Music Supervisor: Michael Holland
Fight Director: Robert Wesley
Hair, Wig & Makeup Designer: J. Jared Janas
Associate Director: Saki Kawamura
Casting: Whitley Theatrical / Peter Dunn
Production Stage Manager: Jenna Wadleigh
Dance & Fight Captain: Taylor Tveten
