‘Clue: On Stage’ brings fun whodunnit flair to CNY

The road to opening for CNY Playhouse’s production of “Clue: On Stage” was a rocky one — August rehearsals, scheduling issues and even moving to a new venue. But, when the show finally raised the curtain, co-director Christopher Lupia got the only reaction he was craving — laughter.

“For a show like this, the actors really need to feed off of the laughter from the audience to carry on,” Lupia said. “I am more than positive that my actors were sick of just hearing me laugh for the last two months.”

“Clue,” the newest production from CNY Playhouse, opened on Oct. 7th at Atonement Lutheran Church. Based on both the iconic board game and the 1985 Paramount film of the same name, the show is a comedy that combines laughter with life-or-death mayhem.

“Six guests are invited mysteriously to a mansion. They don’t know who invited them or why, and throughout the night, and a series of chaotic events, they find themselves involved in a murder mystery,” Lupia said.

The show stars CJ Roche, who grew up in Manlius, in the role of Wadsworth, the mansion’s hapless butler, who must guide the guests through a night of intrigue on behalf of his boss, Mr. Boddy. At first, Wadsworth appears to have everything under control, but once dead bodies begin to pile up, it becomes clear that nobody in the house is truly safe — even from each other.

Roche, who said he mostly appears in musicals, saw “Clue” as an exciting opportunity to return to the stage as part of a traditional play, and make audiences laugh while doing it.

“This play really allows me to flex the comedy muscles,” Roche said. “To be able to really try to do some kind of slapstick farce-style comedy is really great.”

Rehearsals for “Clue” began months ago, but due CNY Playhouse’s tight schedule for the 2022 season, the cast was not able to rehearse inside of the show’s main venue, Atonement Lutheran Church, until the group’s previous production of “Spacebar: A Broadway Play by Kyle Sugarman” was complete.

Atonement is a new venue for CNY Playhouse this season, but despite scheduling issues, the cast and crew said the transition has been a smooth one. Once the cast began to rehearse at Atonement regularly in September, they said they appreciated the ability to practice using the show’s actual set.

“A lot of times when you do a show, you don’t get to be in the space until sometimes the week of the show, the week that it opens,” Roche said. “To have that as our home base for CNY Playhouse has been really, really helpful.”

The cast and crew of “Clue” features several Syracuse University alumni and faculty members. Richard Smith, one of the Residence Directors for Day and Flint Halls, plays Mrs. Peacock.

Smith is new to the Syracuse area and said CNY Playhouse is a welcoming outlet for his lifelong passion for theater. “Clue” is his first show with the group.

“Luckily, I do have the support from my department (at SU),” Smith said. “They’re like, ‘absolutely go do stuff off campus.’ They’ve been so great, because our office administrator and one of the other RDs both came on opening night. And I’ve got even more coming throughout this week.”

Another performer, Stephen Shepherd, who plays the villainous Mr. Boddy, received his master’s degree in chemistry from SU in 2018.

“I first started performing with CNY Playhouse the same weekend that I had commencement,” Shepherd said. “I feel I’ve definitely grown as a performer.”

“Clue” is just one of seven productions in this year’s CNY Playhouse season. It will run for three weekends between October 7th and October 22nd. Tickets are still available for the final weekend of “Clue.”

Syracuse local Nelson Price attended the opening weekend with his wife, Barbara Fought, and appreciated the show’s eclectic cast and the quality of the performances.

“The diversity of characters and the pantomiming, definitely lots of fun,” Price said. “I’d urge people to come and have a good evening.”