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You may have enjoyed playing the Hasbro board game “Clue” when you were young — using cards and pieces to figure out who murdered, in what room and with what object.
Was it Col. Mustard in the billiard room with a lead pipe? Or Miss Scarlet in the library with a candlestick?
Now you can experience “Clue” live on stage at the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts from March 11 to 13. Written by Sandy Rustin, Hunter Foster and Eric Price, with music by Michael Holland, this fast-paced play is based on Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 film — only better.
The theater describes the play, directed by Casey Hushion, as a “hilarious murder-mystery comedy [that] leaves audiences dying of laughter and keeps all guessing until the final twist.”
A wealthy but mysterious Mr. Boddy has invited (or rather, blackmailed) Mustard, Scarlet, Prof. Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green and Mrs. Peacock to come to his mansion for dinner, only to turn up dead.
With the help of British butler Wadsworth and French maid Yvette, the guests must figure out who killed him before police arrive, and before any of them is also murdered.
Frantic sleuthing and mayhem ensue, including a lot of running around the stage, evading, spying and exclaiming in coordinated action.
Zoie Tannous, who plays maid Yvette, told the Long Beach Post that all of that movement is physically demanding for the actors, requiring off-stage maintenance that includes physical therapy and yoga.
But as a Los Angeles native, Tannous is excited to be performing close to home after traveling the country with the show.
“Growing up, I would watch [the film] ‘Clue’ with my brother on any rainy day,” Tannous said. “We loved to quote Madeline Kahn’s line in the film — ‘flames on the side of my face’ — anytime someone was a little upset.”
Tannous said she’d have been happy to even get a callback after auditioning for the part, so to now travel with the show every day is a “dream come true.”
“The most fun part for me is to feel how Yvette uses her body for power and for play,” she said of her sexy character, who may or may not be as innocent as she appears.
Besides focusing on their own role, each cast member must also respond to others on stage as an ensemble, Tannous said.
“We react to each other’s energy, and it’s exciting to see slight changes in body mannerisms based on subtle changes in physicality,” she said. “It keeps every day feeling fresh.”
Training for the rigorous show involved “playing with physicality” during cast rehearsals, Tannous added.
“We reminisce about our ‘bit graveyard’ — physical moments we tried out that didn’t end up in our show,” she said.
Tannous invited Long Beach audiences to see the show to “laugh all night and be kept on your toes in our high-energy, slapstick murder-mystery.” “Clue” runs March 11 to 13 at the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Dr., Cerritos, with shows Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-916-8500 or visit CerritosCenter.com. Run time is 90 minutes with no intermission.