The plot concerns a murder at a mansion, occupied by several suspects, that is solved by a detective, while the ending is decided by the audience.
Based on the cards drawn, the mystery has 216 possible endings, for which the script provides appropriate selections of dialogue to be delivered at the show's conclusion.
Clue had previously been adapted for the screen as the 1985 black comedy film of the same name and was the basis of the British television game show Cluedo, which ran from 1990 to 1993.
[1] The musical premiered at the New Boston Street Dinner Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland from June 1995 through August 1995, with Peter DePietro directing.
[4] The production was again directed and choreographed by DePietro, and the cast featured Denny Dillon as the Detective, Robert Bartley as Mr. Boddy, Wysandria Woolsey as Mrs. Peacock, Ian Knauer as Professor Plum, Tiffany Taylor as Miss Scarlet, Michael Kostroff as Colonel Mustard, Daniel Leroy McDonald as Mrs. White, and Marc Rubman as Mr. Green.
...The cast members are generally charming and have good voices, the choreography has moments of real humor, and the set is a pleasant cross between a three-dimensional game board and a freshly painted subway station".
[5] The New York Daily News called it "excruciatingly unfunny" and quipped: "Inflicting such embarrassing material on a group of able-bodied actors and then supplying them with a variety of deadly weapons is a dangerous provocation.
Between scenes throughout the musical, Mr. Boddy gives rhyming clues, which provide the audience with information they may jot down on a form supplied to them and use to solve the mystery.
In the kitchen, Mrs. White prepares dinner and argues with Mr. Boddy over her forced servitude to pay debts because he once helped her son.
After his attempts fail, she in turn interrogates Col Mustard, Mr. Green, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, and Mrs. White, as each speculates that she is a "Foul-Weather Friend".
As the Detective prepares to make her accusation, the Suspects cry "Don't Blame Me" and panic at "The Final Clue".