MURDER, MAYHEM, AND THE ART OF THE MADCAP WHODUNIT AT EMENS AUDITORIUM
By: Kevin Vickery
Welcome back, music lovers, movie buffs, and pop-culture junkies! Grab yourself a front-row seat and settle in, because this time we are stepping away from the concert stages and the movie popcorn to chase down a dose of live-theater nostalgia that brought down the house in good old Muncie, Indiana.
To be honest with you, I wasn’t the kid who spent every single rainy Saturday afternoon glued to a cardboard map of BoddyManor, and it has been years since I last watched the cult-classic 1985 film. But there is one thing that will always get me excited for a show, and that is any excuse to return to the acoustically superb, Emens Auditorium on the campus of my beloved alma mater, Ball State University. There is a distinct, nostalgic feeling to walking through those doors, and seeing the venue buzzing with an eager crowd set the perfect stage for the evening. It’s hard to believe that the “Clue” board game released in the US by Parker Brothers in 1949 would spring to life with this much vibrant energy, and have such a huge, devoted cult following of loyal fans. Live theater does however have a funny way of making the impossible happen.
Work Light Productions and Lime Productions’ version of “Clue: Live on Stage!” rolled into town, and they didn’t just bring a nostalgia trip. They brought a masterclass in high-energy, razor-sharp physical comedy.
Walking into the hallowed halls of Emens, there was an electricity in the air. This wasn’t just your standard Tuesday night for anyone in attendance. This was an audience hungry for the comfort food of classic American pop culture, wrapped in the timeless, structure of a classic British parlor-style whodunit. From the moment the house lights dimmed, and the ominous thunder cracks echoed through the sound system, the cast and crew delivered a relentless, 90-minute sprint of pure, unadulterated dark comedy and slapstick fun.
Before we even discuss the stellar ensemble cast in attendance for this deadly dinner party, we have to talk about the physical space, which felt like a beautifully manufactured trap designed to ensnare the characters. The scenic design by Lee Savage is nothing short of a theatrical Swiss Army knife. The idea of mansion is obviously difficult to translate to a singular stage. After all, the entire joy of the original board game and the beloved film is the frantic running between distinct, isolated rooms. Savage solves this beautifully with a towering, gothic, hyper-detailed set that is a star of the show all its own. Wall panels flip, secret doors pivot smoothly, and heavy wooden furniture glides on and off the stage with mechanical perfection. Combined with Ryan J. O’Gara’s moody, atmospheric lighting design, which shifts seamlessly from deep, sinister purples to stark, dramatic spotlights during moments of sudden accusation, the stage truly becomes another key character in the play. It sets a visually rich, yet slightly eerie playground for the madness to unfold.
At the center of this spinning top of a production is the butler, Wadsworth, who acts as the literal ringmaster of the madness, played with an unstoppable momentum by Adam Brett. Taking on a role permanently stamped into our collective cultural mindset by the great Tim Curry is a terrifying mountain to climb for any actor. Instead of attempting to mimic Curry, Brett instead, channels a distinct, frantic charisma that is entirely his own. His physical commitment to the role is also very impressive and can convey a state of mounting panic with the simple twitch of an eyebrow. His delivery of the script’s fast-firing, rhythmic dialogue is crisp and flawless.
The apex of the evening comes during the show’s legendary, breathless third-act recap. Wadsworth (Brett) launches into an Olympic-level solo performance, physically reenacting every single murder, movement, and plot twist of the entire play in a matter of minutes. He sprints across the stage, slides into walls, throws himself into chairs, and manages to keep his vocal clarity completely intact. It is a breathtaking feat of theatrical stamina that rightfully earned him a generous amount of mid-show applause from the crowd.
Any whodunit is only as good as its lineup of suspects, and director Casey Hushion has assembled a colorful array of suspects within a finely tuned, collaborative ensemble where each actor gets a distinct moment to shine.
Bringing her skills in comedic haughtiness to the stage is Madeline Raube as Mrs. Peacock. Dressed like her board game character, complete with blue gown, feathers and pearls, Raubecommands the stage with the shrill, desperate dignity of a high-society politician’s wife with too many skeletons in her loo closet and too many spirits in her flask. Her vocal range darts from a trembling, nervous squawk to a booming, defensive roar. Raube plays the physical comedy especially well, particularly during the dinner scene where her frantic, oblivious consumption of soup becomes a visual running gag that leaves the audience roaring with laughter.
Contrasting beautifully with Peacock’s nervous energy is Camille Capers, who steps into the crimson heels of Miss Scarlet. Capers exudes a sharp, cynical confidence that cuts through the panic of the other guests like a knife. She grounds the absurdity of the situation with a dry, worldly wit and perfect comedic timing. Capers plays Scarlet not just as a femme fatale, but as the smartest person in the room. She is always two steps ahead of the chaos, even when bodies start dropping around her.
On the opposite end of the intelligence spectrum is understudy, Kebron Woodfin, who turns in a wonderfully dim-witted, performance as Colonel Mustard. Woodfin is a joy to watch as he plays the military man with a slow-burn realization of jokes that happened three scenes prior and his banter with Wadsworth provides some of the sharpest dialogue of the evening. Woodfinleans heavily into the old-school, Southern gentleman style of the Colonel, using his New Orleans upbringing to summon a “good-ol-boy” spirit contrasting against his more refined co-stars.
The perpetually terrified, disaster-prone Mr. Green, played by TJ Lamando, whose performance embodies a marvel of physical anxiety. He spends the vast majority of the play sweating, trembling, and flinching at every sudden noise, treating his own body like a fragile piece of porcelain caught in a tornado. Whether he is accidentally knocking over furniture, awkwardly reacting to accidental physical contact, or desperately trying to maintain an air of innocence while looking guiltier than anyone else, Lamando acts as the audience’s surrogate for the sheer terror felt by those in the mansion for the evening.
Rounding out the core suspects are excellent performances by Kyle Yampiro playing Professor Plum and Sarah Mackenzie Baron as Mrs. White, who both flesh out the classic color palette with distinct, memorable quirks such as Mrs. White’s highly quoted line, “Flames… on the side of my face.”
The dynamic between the entire group is tightly coiled as they move across the stage like a single, multi-legged creature during the show’s many choreographed hallway sequences. These transitions, set to a jaunty, suspenseful musical score, turn the simple act of walking from room to room into a stylized, hilarious dance that keeps the momentum from ever dropping for a single second.
As I sat there in the dark of the auditorium, listening to the collective cackling of hundreds of my fellow Hoosiers, I couldn’t help but reflect on why live theater matters and why we keep coming back to stories like “Clue”. We live in an era dominated by hyper-realistic special effects, using AI and CGI to cast perfectly constructed images onto massive digital screens so that we can consume that entertainment in isolation on our couches. It is easy to forget the simple, communal magic of a well-executed stage performance.
I attended the show with my friend, fellow columnist, and “Clue” super-fan, Blaise (The Baker) Doubman, and got his thoughts after the curtain call: “I absolutely loved it! – Growing up playing the game and watching the movie with my Grandma Barbara so many times, I have always loved the characters, and Miss Scarlet has always been my absolute favorite. The live version blew me away. – And they captured the spirit of the movie perfectly! – I loved it and would definitely recommend it to anyone.”
When the final curtain came down and the plots twists were revealed, the audience rose to their feet in a collective wave of genuine appreciation. It felt like it wasn’t just applause for a job well done. It was an outpouring of gratitude for a night of escaping to an old familiar friend. “Clue: Live on Stage” doesn’t ask you to solve the heavy, existential crises of the modern world. It invites you to step inside a beautifully designed toy box, turn off your brain’s anxious background noise, and laugh at the delightful absurdity of human nature. If this touring production proves anything, it’s that when we gather at a campus landmark like Emens Auditorium, community is built because we chose to celebrate the timeless art of live storytelling together. It also made me realize that I need to go back and watch the 1985 film version again. It’s been far too long, and I just remembered that it has three different endings!
For more information about events at Emens go to the official
To learn more about “Clue: Live on Stage” you can visit the official Clue Live on Stage Tour Website.
