WALNUT CREEK — Murder and blackmail will be on the menu when Center Repertory Company presents the uproarious cult comedy “Clue.”
Six mysterious guests assemble for a dinner party at Boddy Manor, and then become suspects when their host turns up deceased. Led by Wadsworth the butler, the guests race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench?
Based on the cult-hit 1985 Paramount movie, which was in turn inspired by the classic Hasbro game, Sandy Rustin’s farce-meets-murder-mystery theatre adaptation has been called “a welcome throwback to an era of physical comedy” by The New York Times.
Says TheaterMania, “Sandy Rustin adapts Jonathan Lynn’s infinitely quotable screenplay, borrowing its most sparkling gems but fashioning her own piece in the spirit of classic ensemble farce.”
Whether audience members are longtime followers or newcomers to “Clue,” this comedic whodunit should offer a bloody good time. Helmed by acclaimed Bay Area director Nancy Carlin, “Clue” will perform Oct. 29 to Nov. 20 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Opening night: Tuesday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m. Regular showtimes: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 19.
For tickets ($45-$70) and more information, visit http://lesherartscenter.org or call the box office at (925) 943-7469 (open Wednesday-Sunday, 12-6 p.m.).
Center Repertory Company offers Pay What You Can tickets (suggested price of $25) for the Oct. 29 and 30 preview performances, increasing access to theatre, inviting audiences to see the show at whatever price that they can afford. ASL interpretation for deaf and hard of hearing patrons is offered at the 2:30 p.m. performance on Nov. 20.
To bring this hit comedy to life, Carlin assembles an outstanding cast of Bay Area talent: Wilma Bonet as Mrs. Peacock, the batty wife of a senator; Dorian Lockett as Colonel Mustard, a pompous military man who tries to solve the murders while becoming a suspect himself; Keiko Shimosato Carreiro as Mrs. White, a tragic woman who may or may not be the murderer of her five ex-husbands; Corey Rieger as Professor Plum, an academic Casanova; Sarah Mitchell as Miss Scarlett, a madam with a penchant for secrets; David Everett Moore as Mr. Green, a timid and anxious rule follower; Brady Morales-Woolery as Wadsworth, the butler of Boddy Mansion; Caroline Pernick as Yvette, the maid of Boddy Mansion. Heather Kellogg Baumann, Michael Doppe, and Kyle Stoner round out the cast playing a variety of ensemble characters.
Shimosato Carreiro is a collective and board member with the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. Since 1987, she has been an actor, designer, co-writer, and director with the company and has been in almost every summer show. She has also performed at theaters throughout the Bay Area, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Magic Theatre, Aurora Theater Company, Word for Word, and Center REP.
She was nominated for The Shellie Award for Outstanding Actress in the role of Grace in Philip Kan Gotanda’s “The Sisters Matsumoto” at Center Rep. She is an award winning costume designer whose work has been nominated for a Theatre Bay Area and SFBATCC (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle) awards, and she is recipient of the 2018 Meritorious Achievement Award (American College Theater Festival).
Shimosato Carreiro teaches with The San Francisco Opera Guild’s “Book to Bravo” and “Voices for Social Justice,” and is a visiting professor at Hollins University’s Summer Graduate Program.
Original music by Michael Holland; choreography by Natalie Greene; costume design by Jessie Amoroso; lighting design by Jennifer Fok; scenic design by Kelly James Tighe; sound design by Cliff Caruthers; props design by Alyssa Tryon; additional materials by Hunter Foster.
Center REP is the resident professional theatre company of the Lesher Center for the Arts. Its season consists of six productions — a variety of classic and contemporary musicals, dramas, and comedies, presented with artistic excellence and high professional standards. Center REP’s mission is to celebrate the power of the human imagination by producing emotionally engaging, intellectually involving, and visually astonishing live theatre, and through outreach and education programs, to enrich and advance the cultural life of the communities it serves. As a producing theatre, its presentations are conceived and developed at the Lesher Center. Whether the production is a Bay Area premiere or a Shakespearean classic, each is devised to be a one-of-a-kind, artistic creation offering a unique theatre experience for audiences.