Reviewed by George Basler

Here’s a piece of advice: If you get invited to a dinner party at Boddy Manor, skip it. That’s the main message of the comedy/mystery Clue: On Stage, which opened this past weekend (March 4-6) at the Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center in Owego and will run through March 13.

The play is as lightweight as a feather duster and campy as all get out. But on its own terms, the well-directed Ti-Ahwaga Community Players’ production provides a sizeable share of laughs over its 90-minute, one act running time.

The play is based loosely on the popular Parker Brothers board game and a 1985 movie that has developed a cult following over the years. Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, adapted the material for the stage.

Audience members unfamiliar with the board game will miss some inside jokes, but not enough to ruin their enjoyment.

The play is set in the early 1950s at the time of the “Red Scare” of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. But the play drops any attempt at political commentary once the murderous escapades begin at Boddy Manor. Instead, it becomes a madcap farce, filled with sight gags and physical comedy.

The action, of course, takes place on a dark and stormy night in the middle of a clamorous thunderstorm. Six characters arrive at Boddy Manor after receiving written invitations from the mysterious Mr. Boddy (H. Scot Saggiomo). They are greeted by the snooty butler Wadsworth (Ryan Canavan), a sexy French maid (Megan Longo) and a cook (James Mead).

If you know the board game, you know the six dinner guests: Professor Plum (Gil Choi), a “touchy” psychologist; Miss Scarlet (Caitlin Westfall), a sultry madam; Mr. Green (Chris Vanderwerker), a seemingly timid Washington bureaucrat; Colonel Mustard (Shane Smith), a dimwitted buffoon; Mrs. Peacock (Amy Hathaway Gilbert), the dipsomaniac wife of a corrupt senator, and Mrs. White (Anna Rizzotti), a widow whose husbands keep disappearing under mysterious circumstances.

It turns out all are being blackmailed by Mr. Boddy, who promptly winds up dead (or is he?). Soon the eccentric characters are careening through the mansion, complete with slamming doors and a secret passageway, trying to figure out what it’s all about. And the body count keeps mounting.

All this is supremely silly and depends on the timing of the ensemble cast to make it work. The good news is that all the Ti-Ahwaga cast members are on their toes in bringing the frenetic action to life. Director Brian J. Flynn has skillfully kept the characters moving at a fast pace through the elaborate set.

All the cast members have laugh-provoking moments. Especially humorous is Canavan as the snobby and waspish butler who is not what he seems to be. The character has many the play’s funniest lines. Canavan also gets to play one of the best moments in the show when, near the end, he manically reviews the action to that point. He plays it well.

Vanderwerker also showed a nice touch for broad physical comedy in playing Mr. Green, a character modeled on the pratfalling klutz of an early Jerry Lewis. And Saggiomo does triple duty as Mr. Boddy, a bubbling policeman and an FBI agent

Really, though, Clue: On Stage, is very much an ensemble piece, and all the actors seem to revel in their nefarious characters.

Also, more so than for some plays, the lighting, sound and set design are crucial elements. In fact, the intricate set almost becomes another character in the play. Credit goes to lighting designer Laura Ranae Kensley, sound man Mike McManamon, set designer Gerald Arbes Jr. and a 15-person set construction crew.

While the play generally moves at a breakneck pace, the action bogs down a bit in the middle when the characters split up in pairs to roam through the mansion in search of the murderer. The plot device wears out its welcome, and the story becomes muddled. Then again, the plot is secondary to the broad comedy.

A clever last scene wraps up the play’s action. The only drawback of the “big reveal” is that audience members need to be familiar with the rules of the original board game to fully appreciate the conclusion.

But all and all, Clue: On Stage is a fun play with guaranteed laughs. While it may not be a classic farce, it’s a good time. The Ti-Ahwaga production is a spirited and successful one.

IF YOU GO: Clue will be presented this weekend (March 11-13) at the Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center, 42 Delphine St., Owego. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; the Sunday performanc is at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 (65 and over, $20; 11-17, $15). Reserve by calling 607-687-2130, or purchase by visiting www.tiahwaga.com.