NOLA stages get a ‘Clue’ and a close shave at Summer Lyric

It’s murder most marvelous in local theaters as the Saenger gets a “Clue” and Summer Lyric has a close shave with “Sweeney Todd.”

Board (game) to death?

Believe it or not, the stage version of “Clue” has a lineage dating back to World War II when a British couple invented the murder mystery game to fight boredom.

Characters, locations and murder weapons are the triptych needed to solve the curious case of who killed Mr. Boddy. 

Fast forward several decades, through the influence of Parker Brothers, video versions, a big-screen movie (with Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan) and now a stage version, featuring an actor with a strong Louisiana legacy.

Could it be Miss Scarlet, in the Saenger, with the beignet?

Well, it will be Michelle Elaine in the role and she’s anxious to get back to south Louisiana.

“All of my maternal family is rooted in Louisiana, and most of that family is either in Baton Rouge or New Orleans,” the actor said. “As a child, I used to stay with my cousin every summer in Baton Rouge and we would go to New Orleans for fun! I’ve seen several 4th of July fireworks at the (Earnest N. Morial) Convention Center and have had plenty of beignets.”

The touring performer, who while in high school attended a summer program at Xavier University, is married to a Nicholls State University alumnus.

“Some of our first dates were in Crescent City and plenty of others as a married couple.”

And while she may be “killing it” onstage (“Miss Scarlet may or may not come from New Orleans! I can neither confirm nor deny this about my character. Wink wink.”), Elaine has nothing but love for New Orleans and “will find any excuse to get to the Crescent City. What’s there not to like? The food is amazing, the people are fun, the history is rich, the music unites everyone … the list goes on.”

Despite the grisly grounding of the story, “Clue” is packed with fun and frivolity as strangers (with strange names) gather for an evening of intrigue.

There’s murder and blackmail on the menu when Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Wadsworth the butler and more gather in a romp of gallows humor.

So who dies and who did it? See the show. And expect some surprises.

“I think audiences will be delightfully surprised by the technical theater magic we are pulling off every night,” Elaine said. “It’s hard to pull this story off with a live audience, but with amazing technical elements and some sneaky ‘in the dark’ staging, you will be wowed.”

The show opens Tuesday and will be at 7:30 p.m. through June 20, at 8 p.m. June 21, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. June 22, and at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. June 23.

Tickets start at $33. The Saenger Theater is at 1111 Canal St. Tickets start at $33. For information, visit saengernola.com.

A slice of pie?

One of the glories of “Sweeney Todd” is to look a bit past the obvious macabre core of the show: the death of (admittedly deserving) victims at the hands of “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Pies so popular yet patently putrid? A web of lies that ends up consuming all those involved? Humor?

Yes, it’s all there, in every slice of this production opening June 20 by Tulane University’s Summer Lyric Theatre, the first of a trio of shows that make up the seasonal sensation at the Uptown campus. “Anything Goes” runs July 11-14 and “Pippin” takes to the stage Aug. 1-4.

Set in London in the 19th century, the story features a barber, framed for a crime he didn’t commit, who begins to exact revenge, while his partner/landlord/love interest bakes the victims into meat pies that seem to have garnered a loyal following.

There’s a crooked judge, orphans and Stephen Sondheim’s soaring score, with several memorable tunes, including “Pretty Women,” “Johanna,” “Not While I’m Around” and “A Little Priest.”

Dr. John “Ray” Proctor directs the show, with Daniel Rigamer as choreographer and C. Leonard Raybon as musical director.

Sweeney Todd is played by Austin Adomitis, while Elizabeth Argus takes the role of piemaker Mrs. Lovett. Ahribelle Bender is Johanna and Horace English is Judge Turpin.

Other cast includes Wesley Adams, Austin Anderson, James Andrews, Abigail Rosero Barrera, Luke Boucvalt, Christina Early, Justin Eifert, Tom Grantham, Emily Harville, Nathan Long, Hadley Magaziner, Kristen Marchiafava, Garrin Mesa, Charles Mukaida, Alix Paige, Gabriella Santalla, Jan Esthus Schluter, Nicholas Anthony Smith, Kaelyn Turkmany, Knox Van Horn, Knox Cody Villemarmette, Cara Waring, Matthew Welch, Anna Kate Yeager, and Andy Zapata.

The show is set for 7:30 p.m. June 20-22 and 2 p.m. June 22 at Dixon Hall on Newcomb Circle. Tickets start at $30. Visit summerlyric.tulane.edu.

Opening this week June 13-19

“THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL”: Opening 8 p.m. Saturday and running 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through June 30; 30 by Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. Set in “pastoral” Armadillo Acres, there’s a love triangle, a Greek chorus-esque ensemble of residents who play a variety of characters and an underlying sense of community that shines through in “an All-American musical odyssey through agoraphobia, adultery, hysterical pregnancy, strippers, huffing, electric chairs, flan, roadkill, toll collecting, spray cheese and disco.” Tickets start at $32. 30byninety.com. 

In production

“THE CAKE”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; Marquette Theater, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave. Crescent City Stage presents Bekah Brunstetter’s comedy about a conservative North Carolina baker named Della who’s asked to make a wedding cake for her late best friend’s daughter Jen — who happens to be marrying a woman of color. Tickets start at $10. crescentcitystage.com.

“THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] [AGAIN]”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 150 Dixon Hall Annex, Newcomb Circle, Tulane University. New Orleans Shakespeare Festival production where three actors attempt to perform all 37 works in bits and pieces, with some hilarious effects, as the stories overlap, extrapolate and convey some Shakespeare’s genius. Tickets start at $40. neworleansshakespeare.org.

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through June 23, special matinees 10 a.m. June 13 and 2 p.m. June 22; Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St. One of British author Oscar Wilde’s most popular works, is subtitled “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” a comedic farce about 1890s English gentry, mistaken and concealed identities, love and other entanglements. Tickets start at $35. lepetittheatre.com.

“THE PROM”: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays through June 22; Cutting Edge Theater, 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell. Four slightly tarnished Broadway luminaries in need of some spotlight time find a cause in helping a small-town teen who was banned from taking her girlfriend to her senior prom. Filled with music and dancing, the four pros help bring about a rollicking good time when “It’s Time To Dance.” Tickets start at $32. cuttingedgetheater.com.