Actor is game to take on whodunit in stage version of ‘Clue’
The path that “Clue” took to get from a family board game fave to a 1985 movie to the stage version that will be at Century II next weekend is almost as much of a mystery as the whodunit that’s on stage.
To add to the confusion, there’s also a musical version of “Clue” out there, and maybe even another play, says cast member Nate Curlott.
“The play here is closely based on the movie,” Curlott, who plays Col. Mustard, said in an Eagle phone interview from Roanoke, Va. “If you’re familiar with the movie, there are going to be a lot of things that will be familiar with the show.”
The movie, with actors including Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn and Christopher Lloyd, didn’t attract big audiences, but gained status as a cult favorite with the advent of VHS and DVD.
“I was introduced to the movie just two or three years ago, and after learning about this gig I went back and watched it again just to refamiliarize myself with the pace and things like that,” Curlott said.
The movie had a gimmick that was mid-1980s groundbreaking: Three different endings, depending on which theater you went to see it.
“As people got the VHS and then the DVD, they threw all of the endings on the end of that, so you could watch all the options. The alternate endings is an important part of the movie to people,” he said. “Our show is the same every night, so it doesn’t change depending on what night you come in. But we do definitely keep the whodunit of it all right up until the very end. You can try to catch all the little clues that we’re dropping throughout the show, but it’s hard to do. You will still leave happy, for sure.”
The Iowa native said he’s enjoyed every minute of performing.
“This sort of farcical, 80-minute roller coaster, with no intermission, is right up my alley. I was really excited to get to do a comedy at a time like this,” he said. “I feel lucky to take this around and make people laugh.”
The rest of the cast, with characters including Prof. Plum, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock and Miss Scarlett, make the roles their own, Curlott said.
“There is an element you’re able to pull out of every single one of these,” he said. “I credit the casting department, because there’s a little bit of us in every single one of these roles.”
Curlott said the writing of the play is brilliant.
“The script just had my comedic brain really riffing on so many options, so much comedic potential in the script alone,” he said.
Col. Mustard is played as a buffoon, Curlott said, which is right in his wheelhouse.
“When the opportunity comes around for a big, military blowhard who fills the space but doesn’t really know anything, the comedic opportunity for me there was something I really, really wanted and I couldn’t pass up,” he said. “I have so much fun playing the fool.”
“Clue” is booked through next spring, Curlott said, and he’s been loving his first tour.
“This has been a dream for me,” he said. “I think the five summers I spent doing dinner theater up in Alaska sort of trained me to live sort of minimally. It’s certainly a different lifestyle living out of a suitcase, and it’s nice when we get to set down in one place for a week, but all throughout May we’re not in a place for more than two or three days.”
‘CLUE’ BY BROADWAY IN WICHITA
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 15-16; 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16; 1 p.m. Sunday, May 17
Where: Century II, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: $49-$139, from the Century II box office, selectaseat.com or 316-755-7328