By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — There was a time when Michelle Elaine didn’t have a “Clue.” She does now, and she’s taking it to the stage.
Elaine is the first Black actress to play Miss Scarlet in the murder mystery comedy, “Clue,” set to open at the Ahmanson Theatre for a limited four-week engagement July 30.
This is the first time a Black woman will play Miss Scarlet on stage.
A veteran actress, who has starred in “Sweat, Sense and Sensibility,” “Clyde’s,” “By the Way,” “Meet Vera Stark” and more, Elaine, who has been playing Miss Scarlet across the country, is unaffected by being a “first.” When she was first approached about playing the role, she said race was not an issue.
“I didn’t think about the fact that usually, Miss Scarlet has been white,” said Elaine, a married Houston native. “I didn’t think about it because one thing I’m not going to be is white. Instead, my thought was, ‘How am I going to put myself into that role?’
“The fact that it’s a role that usually goes to white actresses never crossed my mind. They were looking for what Michelle could bring to it.”
A hilarious whodunit, “Clue” is not only based on the fan-favorite 1985 Paramount Pictures movie starring Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet but it’s also inspired by the classic board game.
In “Clue,” murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests are anonymously invited to dinner by a man who knows a dark secret from each of their pasts. When they assemble at Boddy Manor, each is given a pseudonym and handed a weapon, at which point the lights are switched off and the blackmailer is killed. The six are then left to figure out the whodunit before they all become victims.
More questions than answers arise. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Or was it Miss Scarlet, a socialite, investigative reporter and gossip columnist who writes under the pen name “Cyan” and has a candlestick for a weapon?
I caught up with Michelle Elaine, who recently played the role at the Alley Theatre in Houston, to talk about the historic casting and the show. This is her first time performing at the Ahmanson Theatre.
DD: You attended Howard University where you majored in theater. Why did you major in theater?
ME: When I was in the second or third grade we had to do a play. The teacher gave us some things to read and thought I was the best reader. She gave me the best part. It was my first time performing in front of people. I kept doing plays through high school. I knew it was what I wanted to do.
DD: How did you know?
ME: There was a rush of being in front of an audience.
DD: How long have you been a working actress?
ME: Since shortly before graduating college. I’d say 14 years. I’m a teaching artist.
DD: Have you ever done anything else?
ME: I waited tables. I also produce and star in a web series, @castmedammit on YouTube.
DD: Do you ever think to yourself, I’m a working actress?
ME: I have that feeling every time I go on stage. I’m doing the thing I said I wanted to do.
DD: You are the first Black woman to play Miss Scarlet. What did you and your director talk about regarding your playing the role?
ME: I had played it in 2022 in Houston. At that time, I spent the rehearsal process figuring out what Ms. Scarlet wanted. It’s high energy and it’s quick. What makes it work is what the characters want and what the stakes are. They are full people with backstories.
I had to figure out who she was. My Miss Scarlet is a businesswoman here to settle this business because it’s draining her pocket. Miss Scarlet resents the fact that she’s being blackmailed. She’s sarcastic, witty and messy. She loves secrets. I want people to see more than what her occupation is. She has a full life.
DD: Were you a fan of the book or movie? Had you read the book or seen the movie before getting the role?
ME: I did not know there was a book before getting the role. I had seen the movie. She was one of my favorite characters.
DD: How did audiences react when you played in ‘Clue’ at the Alley Theatre?
ME: I think you’re coming to the theatre to suspend disbelief. This show is so ridiculous but also very real. You think, what would you do in this situation? These are flawed people. I’m sure people think, ‘Oh, she’s not white.’
DD: What do you bring to the role that others haven’t or wouldn’t?
ME: I’ve created a full character. I naturally bring something different because of who I am. My whole life is colored by that, by my upbringing, surroundings and being southern.
DD: Do you have to like a character to play them?
ME: I feel that you do. You have to find a way to justify all of their actions. You have to walk around that person. It’s juicy to try to convince an audience of who you are.
DD: What do you like about Miss Scarlet?
ME: I like that Miss Scarlet doesn’t take herself too seriously. She takes her business seriously. I like that she’s a boss lady. She’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind or take control.
DD: What have you learned as an actress?
ME: I’ve embraced that I’m still learning and discovering when I’m on stage. I learn something new about Miss Scarlet every night. Sometimes something will make me laugh that didn’t make me laugh before. Sometimes I don’t feel I have a handle on things until opening night. I’ve often said, ‘Oh, God,!’ because I’m still making discoveries and checking things out.
DD: What is it about theater?
ME: It’s similar to TV and film. You work with a group of artists. But once the train starts, it doesn’t stop. In live theater, people are pretending to be other people in front of you. Pretending to be in love, hate, having problems, crying.
When it’s good, you’re completely convinced that this person is immersed in another world. And you’re sharing that with the people to your left and your right. It’s humans portraying a human experience inside of a human experience.
DD: Miss Scarlet had a candlestick. What weapon would Michele Elaine pick to knock someone off?
ME: A cell phone. Call somebody. Call an Uber. I would get up out of there.
“Clue,” directed by Casey Hushion (associate director of “Mean Girls” and “The Prom,” associate resident director of “Aladdin,” choreography for the Netflix series, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), stars Elaine (Miss Scarlet), Joanna Glushak (Mrs. Peacock), Mark Price (Wadsworth), John Shartzer (Mr Green), Jonathan Spivey (Professor Plum), Alex Syiek (Mr. Boddy), Teddy Trice (The Cop), Mariah Burks (The Cook, and Elisabeth Yancey (Yvette). The understudies are Greg Balla, Alison Ewing, Mary McNulty and James Taylor Odom.
Performances are Tuesday through Sunday at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, July 30–Aug. 25. Tickets begin at $35 and are available at CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at 213-972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group box offices.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
