Inspire Theatre cast presents CLUE On Stage

Jeannette Steinhauer as The Cook, Mark Phillips as
The Motorist, and Katie Royston as The Singing Telegram
Girl rehearse for their roles in the production of CLUE
on Stage in Westland through Nov. 6. 

The 18th season of Inspire Theatre in Westland will begin with the board game turned movie turned stage play - CLUE on Stage. Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, CLUE is a farce-meets-murder mystery. The tale begins at a remote mansion as six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party, where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host finally turns up, and ends up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth, the butler, the audiences will become re-acquainted with the physical embodiment of the iconic game pieces of Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Colonel Mustard, who race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. 

Having experienced issues from COVID in their last two shows (one show was postponed in April, while Guys and Dolls saw replacements in the cast), Director Len Fisher, of Wayne, and his staff decided to double cast CLUE.

"We've never done this before, so it's a new challenge every rehearsal. Preparing two separate casts for the performances is an adventure, to be sure. We're making it up as we go along," explained Fisher. "That's only one of the challenges this production presents." 

Westland Center for the Arts is home to Inspire Theatre, a 90-seat theatre with a stage area of 784 square feet.  Although Inspire is known for the imaginative use of space, the CLUE set calls for eight separate rooms represented on stage. "A couple of our workdays were spent just trying to visualize how it would all work," said Fisher. "To be honest, I think the cast had their doubts. But watching it come together is part of the fun."

Due to an overwhelming response, Inspire Theatre has added another weekend to accommodate the requests for tickets to see the production. Most of the performances are sold out, however, there are still tickets available. "With two distinct casts, this will be two completely different shows," added Fisher. "Same script, but with each cast giving their own flavor to their characters." Who did it? "I can't say. That would spoil the fun. However, it will be a surprise."

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased at http://inspiretheatre.ticketleap.com, or by calling the ticket office at (734) 751-7057. The show will continue weekends through Nov. 6, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays.