Whodunit? Dinner guests are dying to know.

This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on October 26, 2026. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. Ledger subscribers can add the Toppman on the Arts newsletter on their “My Account” page.

Today’s Toppman on the Arts is sponsored by The Mint Museum. See more than 100 stunning works by designer Judith Leiber in the exhibition "Brilliant by Design: The Handbags of Judith Leiber," on view now at Mint Museum Randolph.

by Lawrence Toppman

It takes a village to raise a killer. At least, it did earlier this month, when Blumenthal Performing Arts unveiled “Clue: Murder on the Menu” at Blume Studios.

I have spent 60 years filling bookshelves with mystery novels until the floors sag. Even with my Holmesian brain employed full-tilt, unimpeded by the flow of alcohol around me, I was but one of seven smart tablemates who figured out the whodunit, howdunit and wheredunit to become Clue conquerors. (We were one of two tables out of 16 to nail the solution, I think.)

The board game started life 83 years ago in England as Cluedo (rhymed with voodoo), which explains why the six suspects have UK-type names: Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, etc. Their personalities were updated over the years – Mrs. Peacock, a socialite, eventually became a lawyer – and those are faithfully reproduced for this production.

But this immersive event, linked to a dinner that begins with hors d’oeuvres during a cocktail hour and proceeds through three tasty courses, is harder than the dice-throwing game. Much harder.

For one thing, suspects blather through conversations with guests, and you have no idea whether they’re lying. Miss White has become a manic chef, trying to balance preparation of our meal with her podcast. Professor Plum, a hypochondriac nitwit, allegedly teaches forensic science but can’t stand the sight of a corpse.

Mr. Green, a glad-handing politician, seems equally as unsavory as Scarlett’s preening journalist and Peacock’s shady solicitor. If I understand rightly, Colonel Mustard is now a war profiteer! (In conversation, he claimed to be a veteran of World War I, which would make him 130 years old.)

They’ve gathered at the mansion of Boddy Black, who appears only in videos before face-diving into the linoleum. We guests have to solve the crime via clues that involve menus, redacted texts, playing cards, napkins, even a QR code that activates Chef White’s podcast. Tablemates must work together, appointing a leader, a secretary and an explorer to walk around the dining room, and all must brainstorm constantly. You win bragging rights, as there’s no reward for success.

The script doesn’t quite play fair. For a long time, it makes more sense for Black to have killed his guests, rather than the other way around. The murder motive comes out of nowhere, as does one absurd plot twist. But the clues do finally add up to one solution, if you understand all of them. And they’re so tricky that I’m going to help you by giving the first one away.

Just kidding. Why should I make things easier for you, when our table had to use every brain cell?

The acting by an unnamed cast is over-the-top enough to be entertaining but not off-putting. The suspects and administrators of the show come around to all of the tables to nudge slowpokes in the right direction – we profited by one hint – and make sure nobody feels left out. “Murder on the Menu” strikes a careful balance between a dinner served without rushing and a deductive process that moves at top speed.

One thing left our table puzzled, though. Why was each player given a package of small unmarked seeds? Were we supposed to put them on the salad? Crack them between our teeth? Plant them and hope for a crop of … something? Maybe they were merely a reminder that, no matter how you cogitate, some mysteries are never meant to be solved.

Lawrence Toppman covered the arts for 40 years at The Charlotte Observer before retiring in 2020. Now, he’s back in the critic’s chair for the Charlotte Ledger — look for his reviews several times each month in the Charlotte Ledger.