By SHARON EBERSON
The new year in Pittsburgh theater opens with a comedy whodunit, based on a classic board game, which spawned a movie with multiple endings, and, no mystery here, a play.
Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Was it Miss Scarlet, or Mr. Green, or the cook … Did the butler do it? You can find out for yourself when Clue arrives at the Benedum Center, December 30, 2025 – January 4, 2026.
Adam Brett as Wadsworth, front and center, and the cast of Clue — A New Comedy.
In addition to the colorful suspects introduced with the circa-1940s Hasbro game, the 1985 movie added the eccentric butler Wadsworth, embodied by Tim Curry and driving the comedic action toward one of three possible endings.
Taking on that lead role in Clue — A New Comedy is Adam Brett, a Carnegie Mellon alum who was on the phone from a tour stop in Waterbury, Connecticut, before Christmas. He was headed home to for the holidays, a break before his return to Pittsburgh and first time on the Benedum stage.
The expectations for those familiar with the movie are for a madcap ride to the finish line – who among the possible suspects killed the mysterious blackmailer Mr. Boddy, in which room, and with what.
Brett said Tim Curry’s performance in that film and others “bled into my psyche,” inspiring his own take on the role.
“I was 8 or 9 when I was introduced to the game, and that board game kind of got me through some tough times growing up,” the actor said. “And so it has been a touchstone in my life, and I just never would’ve thought that all these years later I’d be doing the national tour and playing Wadsworth, a really amazing journey that has been very fruitful.”
Without giving away too much, Brett said the play makes use of “iconic lines” from the movie, such as when Madeline Kahn (as Mrs. White), cries out, “Flames… on the side of my face!”
“Our Mrs. White, Sarah Mackenzie Baron, is just brilliant in her delivery,” Brett said. “And then of course, there’s all these new things. We learn a lot more of the backstory of these characters and how they function and how they operate, and how they navigate through this kind of haunted mansion, in a way.”
Brett, originally from Long Island, N.Y., lives in Brooklyn now, home base while he is on his first national tour. He emerged from the pandemic shutdown – he was a sophomore acting major at Carnegie Mellon in 2020 – as part of a collective of fellow CMU alums, forming Dartboard Productions.
The nonprofit theater and film production company was “born from the shared experiences of a diverse group of artists, many of whom met at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. As a ‘Covid class,’ our journey was uniquely shaped by the challenges of the pandemic, pushing us to emphasize original work in forging our paths in the arts. … We embrace an equitable approach in our leadership team, fostering exploration, making space for the uncomfortable, and challenging the conventional.”
(Learn more at https://www.dartboardproductions.com/.)
Brett was living in Shadyside during the Covid shutdown, then finished his studies with a semester abroad in Scotland, but he recalls that there were “pros and cons” to working his way through the pandemic.
“I was very fortunate that during that time I got to really explore Pittsburgh more than I could have if I was on campus the whole time,” he recalled. “And I just absolutely fell in love with that city. I walked pretty much every inch of [Pittsburgh] as just kind of an activity and hobby.”
School won’t be in session when Brett arrives with Clue, but he still was looking forward to being back on the CMU campus, as well as eating at the “obvious” places – Primanti’s and Pamela’s.
“And I want to see the Cathedral of Learning, and I’m definitely going to go back to Shadyside, and go to Mellon Park, which is where we always hung out, and kind of just try to do everything I can.”
Asked about the educators who shaped his CMU experience, he said, “Of course, I have to give a shout out to my professor Don Wadsworth, because we share the same name. Now we’re both Wadsworths together!”
The real-life Wadsworth’s specialties were voice and speech techniques, and he continues to be called on as a dialect coach for Pittsburgh productions.
His expertise would come in handy for the Wadsworth of Clue, who is still kind of that archetypal British butler,” Brett said. “The play honors so much of the movie, but it also introduces its own kind of unique quirks that just work better on a stage than it would on screen.”
The fast-talking, manipulative butler is a man with a plan as he hustles about Lee Savage’s Boddy Manor set.
Brett said he checked his Fitbit after a long rehearsal day, and discovered he had burned 800 calories.
Not that Brett’s complaining.
“It’s rapid, but it’s just so much fun, too, because you get to honor Tim Curry and some of those iconic lines, then also kind of make it your own. So it’s just been a blast.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
The tour of Clue — A New Comedy is at the Benedum Center, Downtown, December 30, 2025-January 4, 2026. Tickets: Visit https://trustarts.org/production/100457/clue or call 412-456-4800.
Categories: Our Posts, Show Previews
Leave a Reply Cancel reply