Beethovan Oden

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?

Listen to Dave Harris’ Freedom Freedom Freedom Et Cetera presented by Playwrights Horizons.

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.

This comedy horror stars the Tony Award winning Santino Fontana (Tootsie on Broadway, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Shades of Blue, Nurse Jackie), two time Tony Award Nominee Sarah Stiles, (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Billions, Get Shorty), Tony Award winning Julie Halston (Gossip Girl, The Good Fight), and more. Watch the video trailer now!

A new short film Brenda & Billy and the Pothos Plant, written and directed by Dave Solomon (Side Show, Pump up the Volume, photo op) and starring Tony winner Santino Fontana (Tootsie, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Frozen) and Tony nominee Sarah Stiles (Tootsie, “Billions,” Hand to God) will have its World Premiere this summer at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Photos have been released from The Drama League’s 2022 Fall gala, “Embrace The Season: A Drama League Celebration”, which took place last night, Monday, October 17 at 6:00 PM at City Winery. See the photos here!

The Drama League has announced performers and appearances slated for the 2022 Fall gala, “Embrace The Season: A Drama League Celebration” coming up on Monday, October 17 at 6:00 PM at City Winery.

The Drama League has announced performers and appearances slated for the 2022 Fall gala, “Embrace The Season: A Drama League Celebration.” Held on Monday, October 17 at 6:00 PM at City Winery, the gala will feature a dazzling array of exclusive cast performances and appearances from musicals and plays on stage this season.

The Drama League has announced the 2022 Fall Gala, “Embrace The Season: A Drama League Celebration.” The Gala, presented with a spirit of uplifting and amplifying the New York theater community as it returns to a post-pandemic vitality, will be held on Monday, October 17 at 6:00PM at City Winery.

Obie Award winner Metropolitan Playhouse presents a new free 'screened' reading, live-streamed at no charge, with its groundbreaking, signature visual wizardry, and a talkback to follow: BERTHA, THE SEWING MACHINE GIRL - Part Two, by Charles Foster

Obie Award winner Metropolitan Playhouse presents a new free 'screened' reading, so enormous it must be presented over two weekends,  live-streamed at no charge, with its groundbreaking, signature visual wizardry, and a talkback to follow: BERTHA, THE SEWING MACHINE GIRL - Part One, by Charles Foster.

The play, whose premiere was presented by NFT in 1987, is an imaginary encounter between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in 1965 in a hotel in Harlem. Differing in their philosophies but alike in their mutual respect, the two men debate their varying approaches to the same grave social problems. Both are prepared to die for their beliefs but neither is aware of how soon assassins' bullets await them. The play was televised on American Playhouse in 1989.

On Saturdays from February 13 to 27, 2021 New York's New Federal Theatre (NFT) will present 'New Federal Theatre Celebrates Black History Month,' a retrospective readings series in which three rarely-done yet noteworthy plays, all previously produced by NFT, will be recreated by savvy actors and directors. These plays illuminate burning issues of their time and are newly instructive today.

On October 16 - 18, Woodie King Jr's New Federal Theatre's Octoberfest virtual revival play reading series will present the acclaimed 'From the Mississippi Delta,' the biographical journey of a Black woman's rise from poverty and prostitution to become a Civil Rights activist and historian by late scholar-poet Endesha Ida Mae Holland, PhD.

Woodie King Jr's New Federal Theatre's Octoberfest virtual revival play reading series will present 'Dr. DuBois and Miss Ovington,' the acclaimed 2014 drama about the beginnings of the NAACP with original stars Peter Jay Fernandez and Kathleen Chalfant.'Dr. DuBois and Miss Ovington' are 7:00pm on Friday, October 9 and 7:00pm on Saturday, Oct 10.

On Fridays from October 2 to 20, New Federal Theatre (NFT) will present 'Octoberfest,' a retrospective readings series in which five rarely-done yet noteworthy plays, all previously produced by NFT, will be recreated by accomplished actors.

On Fridays from October 2 to 20, New Federal Theatre will present 'Octoberfest,' a retrospective readings series in which five rarely-done yet noteworthy plays, all previously produced by NFT, will be recreated by accomplished actors.

Obie Award winner Metropolitan Playhouse will present a free 'screened' reading of THE PEOPLE, a one-act play by Susan Glaspell, via live stream video, with talkback to follow, on Saturday, July 18th, 2020 at 8 PM, EST.

Woodie King's New Federal Theatre has set four plays for the June, 2019 edition of its Annual Ntozake Shange Readings Series. The series will run four Tuesdays--June 4, 11, 18 and 25--with all readings at Castillo Theatre, 543 W 42nd Street.

The Bushwick Starr, in collaboration with Superhero Clubhouse, is proud to present BIG GREEN THEATER, a series of plays written by public school elementary students from Bushwick's PS75 and Ridgewood's PS239. Celebrating its ninth year, BIG GREEN THEATER (BGT) is an eco-playwriting program in which kids write short plays about local ecology, climate change, and environmental justice, then see their work produced professionally for public audiences. This year's students have crafted eco-plays that question and tackle some of the world's most pressing environmental issues: climate change, habitat loss, and the interconnectedness of ecosystems. The plays are performed by an ensemble of professional actors, directors, and designers using only green theater methods (recycled materials for sets and costumes, solar-powered LED lighting, paperless programming, etc). BGT is a beloved community based program celebrating environmental education, sustainability in the arts, and community enrichment.