Things are a little different this week. Two reviews??? Well, no, a review and a spotlight. If you read through the paper last week you will know that we highlighted Portsmouth Little Theater’s performance of Clue which runs Friday, March 24th at 7:30PM. With other shows on March 25th (7:30 pm), 26th (Matinee at 3pm) the 31st (7:30 pm) , and April 1st at 7:30PM. First, I wanted to go back and review the film, Clue. Both the play and the movie are inspired by the board game Clue, actually called Cluedo and released in 1949. It was released in 1972 as CLUE, by Hasbro. We all have hopefully played! Who is the killer??? The film came out in 1985 and of the many famous faces in the film you’ll remember Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future series) and Tim Curry (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the original IT as Pennywise) I will say in reviewing this film for the column I hadn’t seen it before. I know, I know. I was pleasantly surprised! The biggest strength is how the cast plays off each other in a classic “who dun it?” I hope and imagine it will be the same for PLT rendition. As I explained earlier, we will do a quick snapshot of this film and then I was able to sit down with Kasie McCreary, the co-director of PLT’s Clue and had a few questions for her. But first, the movie!

Onto the film.

We open with a dark and stormy night. The score of this film is another great strength as immediately it pulls the audience into the mansion, and you’ll be on edge look everywhere for any clues. It feels as if you’re part of the fun! We meet our six strangers,

and the film does a nice job of setting up our characters. The great Wadsworth (Curry) give each person a pseudonym to keep their identity a secret. As you know, the game version each person gets one of these characters and you must find the killer! I won’t dive too far into this film, but its fun, the cast is all excellent. And believe it or not there are THREE endings! That’s it. Just a snapchat. Go watch it! 4 stars out of 5. This is available to rent on most streaming services.

Now onto PLT’s Clue

Starring:

· Eva Martin as Mrs. Peacock

· Adam Lucas as Wadsworth

· Shannon Grice as Mrs. White

· Gregory Bauer as Professor Plum

· Nathaniel King as Mr. Green

· Eric Gray as Colonel Mustard

· Kelli Riffe as Miss Scarlet

· Eric Musser as Mr. Boddy

· Annie Davis as The Cook

· Emily Nickell-Yvette as The Maid

· Kasie McCreary as The Singing Telegram Girl

· Maeve Justice as The Motorist

· Pam Klinepeter as The Unexpected Cop

· Michael Vermillion as The Police Chief

Look at that cast! I also wanted to mention that I reviewed The Humans in 2019 and brought my family with me. We all absolutely loved it. Especially my mom, Karen. As I spoke earlier, I wanted to highlight the upcoming performances and I must say, if you’ve never been to the Portsmouth Little Theater, it’s a real gem for Portsmouth. Support the Arts! These are our friends, families, neighbors. I also wanted to thank Kayla Parker, Leigh Anne Smith, and Kasie McCreary for their time and conversations regarding this performance. I sat down with Kasie McCreary to ask some hard-hitting questions in all things Clue. She is a veteran of PLT so she was prepared.

– How does this compare to your other shows? (I said I wouldn’t print this….)

“I’ve worked with a lot of tight ensemble casts over the years as a director: namely A Midsummer Night’s Dream and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This is the funniest group I have ever worked with. And Clue is so different because the original script of the movie is very iconic—it reminds me of Rocky Horror in the way that audiences get excited by certain little lines and moments from the characters that they will recognize.

– Why Clue?

“Clue is a nostalgic dream for folks of all ages and tastes. Whether you played the board game growing up, or idolize the cast of the movie adaptation, it truly has something for everyone to enjoy. It’s a zany, fun murder mystery, and it’ll definitely

bring the kind of laughs that most folks could use after a long winter cooped up at home.”

– What makes PLT great?

“PLT is great because of the everyday members of the community who volunteer to make it great. Our community is made richer when we can see these stories told by actors and crew of all ages, races, genders, and levels of experience. PLT is where the person who delivers your mail, grades your essays, or bags your groceries can also move you to tears—or make you laugh so hard that your sides ache.”

– Hopes for 2023?

– “I hope in 2023-24 that our community embraces other productions from PLT as they have Clue. And we love seeing veteran actors return to audition for productions, but I’d also love to see community members who have never been onstage before go out on a limb and try something new. We were all brand new to the stage once, and you never know when an audition could lead to a lifelong love of performance.”

There you have it everyone. I encourage you to watch the film and more importantly SEE THIS SHOW. Tickets are going fast. I mean when you read this there may be two or three left! But go to www.pltlive.com and click “Buy Tickets.” The next show will be Footloose the Musical in June! Paging Kevin Bacon!?!

Enjoy the show and to the cast. Break a leg!!