Clue, the Musical” brings the combination of murder mysteries and board games to the Kelsey Theater stage on weekends from Friday, October 19, to Sunday, October 28. Fans of “Clue” the board game are in for a treat as the show brings the world’s best-known murder suspects to life on the stage. As suspects sing, dance, and bluff their way through the show featuring musical numbers including “She Hasn’t Got a Clue” and “Life Is a Bowl of Pits,” audiences are invited to play along to answer the famous questions: “Who dunnit? With what weapon? In which room?”##M:[more]##
There are 216 possible endings to the show and the company promises that no two performances will end in the same way. According to Dan Slothower of Plainsboro, who portrays Professor Plum, there are six possible weapons, six possible rooms, and six possible suspects. “Each one depends on what the audience suspects — and there is a slightly different ending if the person confesses,” he says. “The show keeps both the actors and the audience on their toes depending on who does what in each room.”
Slothower was born in Minnesota, and the family moved around quite a bit. When he was in ninth grade the family lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although Slothower was pale with blonde hair, he played the role of one of the Sharks. In 10th grade he was on stage in a more traditional (and forgettable) drama. Over the years he sang in choirs in church and in school. Growing up in a musical family he also played the acoustic guitar.
He graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in journalism. Over the years Slothower worked in public relations, political campaigns, and for a magazine. In 1986 he began working for IDS, financial advisors for American Express.
In 2001 he began working with support technology and internal communications with American Express in New York. The family, scheduled to move to New Jersey on September 15, 2001, was on one of the first flights to Kennedy Airport after 9/11. Slothower commutes to New York City four days a week and works from home one day.
Slothower’s wife, Kathy, volunteers for Girl Scouts, PTAs, Prince of Peace Church, and runs the book fair at Millstone River School. Their daughter, Robin, 10, a fifth grade student at Millstone River School, is involved in West Windsor Plainsboro Dance Company and Girl Scouts. Their younger daughter, Amy, 13, an eighth grade student at Grover Middle School, is also a Girl Scout, active in McCarter Theater programs and New Jersey Repertory Theater, and is a former Junior Town Crier in Plainsboro. Last spring she played the part of Gander in “Charlotte’s Web.”
“One of the reasons I got back into theater is to spend more time with my children. Amy talked me into auditioning for ‘The Music Man,’” Slothower says. They both landed roles in “The Music Man” and more recently, “The Sound of Music,” both at Kelsey.
“Clue the Musical” had 29 performances at the Players Theater in New York City in December, 1997. The show is based on the book by Peter DePietro, with lyrics by Tom Chiodo, and music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker, and Vinnie Martucci. “You’ve got to like all of the characters in Clue, Slothower says. “They are all very colorful.”
—Lynn Miller
Clue: The Musical, Kelsey Theater, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheatre.net. Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for students and children. Kelsey is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices upon request. Friday, October 19, through Sunday, October 28.
