CLUE Delights with Comedic (and Queer) Sensibilities

The 1985 film CLUE has become a well-loved iconic part of cinema history. This month, the stage version of the film comes to the Ahmanson in Los Angeles. Featuring an extremely colorful cast, all your favorite characters are there – Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, the trusty butler Wadsworth, and even the French maid Yvette in this fun romp, featuring award-winning playwright’s Sandy Rustin’s quick script. It’s a physical comedy whodunit celebrating the board game by Hasbro. This adaptation has become one of the nation’s most-produced plays in the US and over 3,000 productions done worldwide. This touring production celebrates Pride season with members of the company representing the queer community. We chatted with members of the cast hot off the heels of their run at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County.

Photo by Evan Zimmerman

Mark Price

Mark Price fills Tim Curry’s shoes in the role of Wadsworth, the noble butler who becomes the master of ceremonies. On Broadway, he’s appeared in Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia, Rocky Horror Show, Chicago, and more. He previously played Wadsworth at the Papermill Playhouse. On-screen, he’s been a guest star on Law & Order, The Good Wife, Blacklist, and Murphy Brown. He received a Helen Hayes nomination for his turn as Tobias in Sweeney Todd at the Kennedy Center.

What is your coming out story?

I realized I was gay at 8 yrs. old but didn’t officially come out until my first year of college. My mother had asked me when I was like 10 if I was gay which I confirmed, my parents were divorced at the time. But I didn’t tell my father until my first year of college, I was a mess, but he just said, “I know, I’ve always known,” which I thought was touching looking back. I think gay sons always have beautiful and complex relationships with their moms. I was lucky I had support from both of them, but other kids coming out in Texas during the late 80’s, early 90’s were not that fortunate.

 What was your creative process in putting together a character that we all think we know and love? How have you made the character your own?

This one was a challenge because it is a beloved movie – some consider it a cult classic, and because the show is so plot-driven because it’s a murder mystery in the most comedic menacing way possible. I had to find something to hang my hat on and eventually landed on McCarthyism and the Cold War as well as Mr. Boddy’s backstory of coming from a crime family. I purposely did not watch the film when we first began to put this together pre-pandemic because I didn’t want to be influenced too much by the genius of Tim Curry.

What has your queer sensibility and creativity added to your character and to the show?

I was lucky in that I had a director who trusted me and encouraged us to play. The best kind of environment to be in. But I think the queerness of it all to me is breaking rules, thinking creatively, and that’s the whole premise that Wadsworth has operated under to bring these individuals together. That and the physical comedy- I was a child who grew up on Three’s Company, so I’ve always loved farce for that reason. It almost feels like a lost art form.

What is your favorite part of the show?

Once the show starts, there’s no time to think and you have to be laser-focused with everyone onstage. There’s also a musicality to this piece like no other I’ve done. All comedy is music in my opinion, it’s just about finding the rhythm that is dictated by the play and then getting out of the way and letting it ride. So, for me, it’s strapping yourself in and taking the ride.

What do want most in terms of queer representation on Broadway? What does the future look like to you?

Great question. For me, queer representation means disruption. It is eliminating the power imbalance that some of the gatekeepers have in terms of what’s being produced. It means trusting the audience more and not dumbing things down or diluting them because you think it’ll be absorbed by the masses better. And it means letting other artists, whether that be trans/queer playwrights, producers, designers, or storytellers come in and say, “Hey, this is a story that needs to be told.” We’re in an interesting transition, I think the best material is being produced Off-Broadway right now, and some of those end up being transfers, but if you look at pieces like A Strange Loop, Oh, Mary, or Slave Play, that’s a great step.

You’ve done classic shows and new shows, what aspect do you love doing of each genre?

Honestly, I love working with creative individuals I trust. So, put me in a room with a really smart director, I’m happy to explore. New shows are definitely a labor of love, something I love because we’re all figuring it out in real-time. The medium of live theatre will dictate how that piece wants to be told.

CLUE is a high-energy and physical show. How do you maintain your physical and mental health while on the road?

This one is no joke! Lots of PT and fundamentals like sleep, diet, and movement are non-negotiable, but working with a trainer to breathe lower in the abdominals because of how high-paced it is, has been a journey. Never knew breath would be the lynchpin for this one!

What do you love about playing the “funny guy?”

Interesting, I don’t see it as funny at all, in fact, I think I see it as tragic – this guy is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain his “dignity.” What ensues as a result is hilarious. But I love finding the musicality of the piece, the pace of this ensemble, and it’s refreshing to hear people laugh right now in these times we’re all living in!

Photo by Evan Zimmerman

Jonathan Spivey

Originating the role of Professor Plum for this first national tour is classically trained actor Jonathan Spivey. He studied acting at The Globe in San Diego, appearing in their productions of Death of A Salesman, Richard III, The Tempest, and As You Like It. Regionally, he has popped up just about everywhere from Yale Repertory Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St Louis, Cape Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and many more. His one-man-and-a-piano show Rodgersandhart recounts the final days of lyricist Lorenz Hart. On Broadway, he appeared in the Tony-nominated revival of The Front Page with a slew of heavy hitters. On-screen, he’s appeared in The Gilded Age, Blacklist, Blue Bloods, to name a few.

 What is your coming out story?

I grew up in rural Southeast Virginia, a small town of twenty-five hundred people. I’m no longer religious, but my folks raised me Southern Baptist and I played piano in those churches in high school. My mom Sandra was such a perceptive person. She very slyly told me, “You know I can see what you’re searching for on the internet, right?” and she left it at that. She already knew. Dean Cain was playing Superman on television, and I’d been looking for pictures of him from the TV show to hang on my bedroom wall. But I was so lucky that my parents were closet progressives. That was not always easy for them in our small town. I came out to them when I was seventeen. My father cried because television had convinced him that being gay automatically meant you were going to die from AIDS. Even though I think he had those concerns, the first thing he said was, “You’re my son and I will always love you, no matter what.” Both of them are gone now, but I was very lucky to have Ren and Sandra as my parents. As I’m getting older, I’m realizing more and more that coming out isn’t one watershed event, it’s a lifelong process.

What was your creative process in putting together a character that we all think we know and love? How have you made Professor Plum your own?

Rehearsing this tour was really my introduction to the story and to Professor Plum. I’d seen clips, but I didn’t grow up watching the movie or playing the board game. Christopher Lloyd’s performance is iconic, but I’m not an actor who wants to spend too much time watching someone else’s interpretation of a character. I read the script and in a farce like Clue, I try to figure out what’s the comic archetype. Professor Plum is an academic who thinks of himself as a womanizer, a Casanova. I didn’t want to lean too far into his sleaze-ball side, so I approach him more as an arrogant doctor, a professor who is full of himself, convinced that he’s the smartest man that ever lived even though he clearly isn’t. I think we all had a professor or two like that in college.

What has your queer sensibility and creativity added to your character or to the show?

This role is one of many men with questionable moral compasses that I’ve gotten to play. There is something amusing to me as a gay man about playing this idiot who thinks he’s God’s gift to women. The Professor’s shortcomings remind me of a lot of some of the straight men I grew up around in rural Virginia. I think growing up queer in that socially conservative environment allowed me to see some of those men’s blind spots from an outside perspective that I wouldn’t have necessarily seen if I’d grown up straight.

What is your favorite part of the show?

We’ve already gotten to visit so many cities I’ve never spent time in: Minneapolis, Seattle, Louisville, Cincinnati, Greenville, and New Orleans. My favorite thing about bringing our farce across the country is hearing how different markets respond to the jokes. The audiences all have their own sensibilities. Some jokes work like gangbusters in the South and go over like a lead balloon in the more progressive cities and vice versa. Hearing what kind of humor different parts of the country respond to has been a really fascinating social experiment. Another big treat has been catching up with old friends and acquaintances who come out of the woodwork to say, “I’m coming to see you next week!” These are friends that are too far away to see when I’m home in Brooklyn, but now I’m in their hometown. At times it has felt like an episode of “This Is Your Life” in the best way.

What do you want most in terms of queer representation on Broadway? What does the future look like to you?

The types of roles being written for folks across the spectrum of gender, identity, and sexuality is expanding exponentially, and that’s amazing. I’d love to see more character actors given opportunities to play those queer roles, and not just as comic relief. When a role is a gay man, for example, I think Broadway can still have a pretty narrow idea of what a gay man looks like. I’d also love to see more queer roles where the character isn’t just there to spit out one liners. Film is a different medium, but I think of Tár, Notes on a Scandal. We need to see deeply flawed queer characters just as much as we need to see queer characters celebrated for their singularity and senses of humor.

You are classically trained, what elements of your classic training have helped you in the world of TV, screen, and contemporary stage?

Classical training is the best way to learn how to break down any script quickly. I am so grateful that earning my MFA at the Old Globe in San Diego taught me that text analysis. I’ve been lucky enough to do a fair amount of TV in the last few years, and at times I’ve had to forget some of the voice training from school to make sure that I don’t sound like a crazy person on screen. You can’t really whisper too much on stage, for example, but that can be pretty powerful in a close-up. The common thread is that you’re always looking to play honesty, whether you’re doing a farce or a one-hour procedural.

What did you learn most from doing The Front Page with some pretty big actor heavyweights?

Our director Jack O’Brien was a masterclass every day in wrangling big personalities with effortless grace. From day one with Jack, you know you’re in expert, capable hands. There were so many legends in that cast. Nathan Lane, John Goodman, Holland Taylor, Jefferson Mays, Lewis Stadlen, Robert Morse, John Slattery, Sherie Rene Scott, Dylan Baker. Jack is comfortable enough with himself to let great ideas come from other people in the room. One of my biggest lessons from that show was that if everyone is confident in their talent and abilities, the best ideas don’t have to come from just one person.

You’ve done a bit of everything on screen and stage, what kind of project do you want to work on next?

Stage farce is incredible fun, but there’s only so many layers to the types of characters you’re going to play in a broad comedy. I am having an absolute ball with this cast, and I’m also looking forward to getting back to some of those roles on camera that are more nuanced, characters that are flawed, people who are making bad choices and suffering the consequences. Ultimately, I just want to keep working. The feature film door is starting to crack open for me, and I’m excited to do more of that. I love the variety of getting to slam doors onstage one month and then cry on cue on camera the next month. Being a professional chameleon is a lot of fun.

Photo by Evan Zimmerman

John Treacy Egan

John Treacy Egan is a New York City boy, born and raised, and takes on the role of Colonel Mustard. He made his Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde, originated the role of Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid, and is the only actor to have played three principal roles in The Producers. On-screen, he has appeared on 30 Rock, Law & Order, As the World Turns, and in Last Night with Keira Knightley. He’s directed CLUE twice and has been with this touring production since its premiere at Cleveland Playhouse and Paper Mill Playhouse.

What is your coming out story?

I came out in my 30’s. My older sister came out before me, and my family had a difficult time accepting it. Eventually, everyone came around to being comfortable with her lifestyle. I have great friends who helped me build the confidence to accept myself and once I felt like my life was mine to live, I came out and haven’t let anyone else tell me who to be.

What was your creative process in putting together a character that we all think we know and love? How have you made Colonel Mustard your own?

I never saw the film in which this show is based. I played the game as a child and based my character on what Col. Mustard looked like on the playing cards. What did he sound like? I have an actor friend in NY, who is very blustery and braggy. I modeled my posturing and character on him.

What has your queer sensibility and creativity added to your character or to the show?

There are a few jokes in CLUE the movie that focus on homosexuality as a sort of punchline. Our brilliant director found a way to keep some of these jokes in while taking the comedy in a different direction than what was first presented. We are no longer laughing at them in the same way.

What is your favorite part of the show?

I love the group scenes where all of the characters are finding out why each one is there for the evening. The dialogue is fast and funny, and we are all on our toes during those scenes.

What do you want most in terms of queer representation on Broadway? What does the future look like to you?

I think Broadway has always been the leader in queer representation and diversity in general. It continues to support the queer community.

You made your Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde not only playing roles but understudying a bunch of other roles! What was it like making your Broadway debut, and what did you learn most about the Broadway biz from this experience?

It was thrilling finally making it to Broadway. I thank Frank Wildhorn for giving me the opportunity to be a part of that iconic show. I learned so much from the Broadway community and made some amazing friends. I learned eight shows a week is exhausting for long periods of time, but it is also invigorating to experience the privilege of making the performing arts my living.

You have a deep relationship with The Producers. What was it like exploring that show from three major different points of view?

The Producers was a wild ride. Truly one of the best experiences in my career. That script is pure comic genius. I loved playing all of the characters in that show.

You have a ton of Broadway credits, but what do you love most about taking the show on the road?

The audiences for CLUE have been over the top! Fans of the film and the game come dressed as characters and roar with laughter when they see our show. It’s been a gift to bring this show to the country and hopefully the next stop BROADWAY!

CLUE runs through August 25^th at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.