“With a show that’s only 80 minutes long, I call it a roller coaster. You come in, you meet the characters, a body hits the floor and you’re off.”
That’s Nate Curlott, AKA Colonel Mustard, speaking about the national tour of the play developed from a movie developed from a Hasbro board game coming to Broadway at the Hobby next week.
It’s Clue and even though the theatrical version doesn’t allow for multiple possibilities to its ending, it is designed to keep everyone engaged as they follow the script and try to figure out who the ultimate bad guy or gal is.
Curlott describes his character as follows:
“He’s a buffoon. He’s a galoot. He’s a military blowhard. He’s devilishly fun and charming with a gleam in his eye. I love playing him. He sees the world with a childlike wonder and I love tapping into that.”
Curlott was wrapping up five summers performing in Alaska when he spotted a casting notice for Colonel Mustard. “[I] hadn’t been in the lower 48 for a summer in five years.” He and his future fiancée decided they were ready to return and to see what would come next.
With a previous seven years of experience in Chicago’s comedy scene, Curlott was intrigued by the chance to become part of the board game he’s played growing up in Iowa. Now he’s got more than 200 shows under his belt.
“They’ve got me in military suit, a uniform. if you’re close enough to see our faces, excellent. If you’re far enough away we still look like game pieces on a game board. It’s really fantastic, the costume design, the set design, they’re really wonderful at making you feel like you’re staring at a game board.”
It should also be noted that on the less light-hearted front, the play is set in the 1950s when suspicion and paranoia reigned during America’s Joe McCarthy era. “Everybody’s got secrets, but everyone is scared to share them. That plays to the overlying cloud of suspicion that is hovering over the mansion on that dark and stormy night. The play is set in the DC area; the characters have ties to DC, which plays into the political fear at the time, too,” Curlott says.
“You can pay attention all show and try to guess who the murderer is and best of luck to you.” And he has one added bit of advice to those coming to the fast-paced show:
“I encourage you to come with your friends and come dressed up. It’s a really fun thing to see groups of people dressed as these characters. It really is a fun, joyous night.
Performances are scheduled for June 9-14 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-315-2525 or visit thehobbycenter.org or broadwayatthehobbycenter.com. $55-$131.
