There’s always been a place for a manic kind of comedy. The type of over-the-top performing style that consistently errs on the side of the outrageous, emphasizing the unpredictable at every juncture and leaving audiences agog at the wildness of it all. Think of stream-of-consciousness comedians like Jonathan Winters and his heir to the crown of breathtakingly rapid-fire humor, Robin Williams.

It feels like that’s what playwright Sandy Rustin and director Casey Hushion were shooting for with “Clue,” a stage comedy built from a board game and a 1985 film fashioned after it. Currently opening a 21-city tour at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre, its key ingredients are pace and outrageousness. And, if you’re in the right mood, you could have some fun with it, for it’s as much of a spoof of the game as it is an homage to it.

But one chief difference is that the game requires you to think, and this production doesn’t really encourage that. The characters are almost as cardboard as the ones inside the game box, all stereotypes and convoluted back stories. Even when some intriguing context about McCarthyism and blackmail is presented in the opening scene, it’s soon cast aside in favor of wall-to-wall pratfalls and schtick.

So when folks start turning up dead, you’re unlikely to care, especially when you’re presented with a multiverse of murder scenarios in which everybody seems to have killed someone at some point.

But if you’re in the mood for something outrageously silly and totally devoid of substance, “Clue” may be the show for you. Director Hushion certainly keeps things moving, and she has a fine off-the-wall master of ceremonies in Mark Price as the slapsticky butler, Wadsworth. He’s hosting a group of guests at a rural New England mansion on a stormy night, and the pseudonyms they’re asked to assume will be familiar to anyone who’s played the game.

As will the settings the characters slip into and out of over the course of the show: the library, the lounge, the billiard room, the hallway. They’re all vividly created by designer Lee Savage, whose set is a success of grand proportions. And Jen Caprio’s 1950s costumes are faithful to what Hasbro hath wrought, as well.

But don’t go expecting anything of any nutritional value, as stories go. For “Clue” is just about speed, silliness and relentless physical comedy. On that account, Price fills his role well, as does John Shartzer as the rubber-limbed bundle of nerves that is Mr. Green. And there’s some charisma to be found in John Treacy Egan’s dim-witted Colonel Mustard and Michelle Elaine’s gregarious madam, Miss Scarlet.

But there’s one thing those manic comedians like Winters and Williams had that Rustin’s script lacks: Cleverness. Sure, there’s a bit of wit bantered about, but you might get the suspicion that the production’s pace is intended to mask its paucity of any particularly funny dialogue.

That said, when we finally abandon the multiple ending idea – we get our choice of six – the final take-off on the detective’s declarative denouement from your typical whodunit proves a satisfying conclusion. But even that seems as apropos of nothing as most of this murderous fluff.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

‘Clue’

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.

Tickets: $109-$35, available at hennepintheatretrust.org

Capsule: All speed and silliness, but not a very clever “Clue.”

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Chicago Bears guard Nate Davis paid $2.3 million in May for a five-bedroom, 5,537-square-foot house in Highland Park.

A Virginia native who previously had played for the Tennessee Titans, Davis signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Bears in March. He battled injuries in his first year with the team, including missing four games later in the season with a high ankle sprain.

Built in 2003 and designed by Evanston architect Michael Hershenson, Davis’ new house has five bathrooms, three fireplaces, a kitchen with a butler’s pantry, a family room with built-ins and a wall of windows and a wood-paneled study on the first floor. Other features include a four-season sunroom that offers ravine views and a primary suite with a second office, a private screened porch, dual custom walk-in closets and heated floors.

Downstairs on the lower level, the house has a game room, a kitchenette and a fitness room.

The house sits on a 1.28-acre property and is accessed via a wooded private drive.

The agent who represented Davis, Paul Gorney of eXp Realty, could not be reached for comment.

The house had a $52,785 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance writer.

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INDIANAPOLIS — There was a time in his life that former Gophers tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford wasn’t the biggest fan of blocking. He starred at receiver growing up in St. Cloud, Minn., and enjoyed scoring touchdowns himself rather than paving the way for others.

That’s why a particular answer on Thursday at the NFL Combine was so revealing. Asked if he could call any play in the playbook, Spann-Ford had no hesitation saying he would run inside zone. Why call a run up the middle rather than, say, a pass to himself?

“When I was at Minnesota, that was our statement play,” Spann-Ford said. “You can set the tone for the whole game with that play.”

Not long after arriving on the U campus as a teenager, Spann-Ford officially switched from receiver to tight end. He learned the fundamentals of blocking from other players before him while simultaneously growing into his body. He slowly started to fall in love with that part of the game as he got better and better at it.

It never bothered him that he rarely got the glory.

“It’s about winning games,” Spann-Ford said. “It’s not about my personal needs. It’s about the team’s personal needs. That’s all I was focused on throughout my college career, and look forward to doing that in the NFL as well.”

Still, as much as Spann-Ford takes pride in being deployed as a blocker, he knows he can shine as a pass catcher in the NFL given the opportunity. Let’s just say his massive 6-foot-7, 270-pound frame lends itself to being a red-zone target. He could emerge as a matchup nightmare in the right situation.

“Just being able to go up top to go get the football,” Spann-Ford said.  It wasn’t necessarily something I was needed for in our offense, so I’m excited to show that at the next level.”

It will be interesting to see which team takes a chance on him in the 2024 draft. He met with the Vikings a couple of times at the Senior Bowl last month. He grew up cheering for them as a kid and was actually in he building when former star running back Adrian Peterson broke the NFL rookie rushing record.

What would it mean if the Vikings selected him in this year’s draft?

“It’d definitely be a dream come true,” Spann-Ford said. “It’d be awesome.”

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MIDDLETON, Wis. — River Falls followed its game plan almost to perfection.

It wasn’t enough.

The Wildcats withstood an early barrage and went into the final period even, but Fond du Lac Springs punched home the eventual game-winner with just under seven minutes remaining for a 2-1 victory in the Division 2 semifinals of the Wisconsin boys hockey state tournament Thursday afternoon.

“I thought we played a great game today,” River Falls coach Cam Wilken said. “We did everything, executed our game plan. We kept it tight. We wanted to see if we could kind of wear them down in the third period, and we did. They had pot luck tonight.”

Second-seeded Springs (19-9) advanced to Saturday morning’s title game against defending champion New Richmond (17-9-2), an 8-4 winner over Tomahawk in the first semifinal.

Third-seeded River Falls (14-14) was making its first trip to state since its only other appearance in 1997.

After a scoreless first period, each team tallied a power-play goal in the second stanza, taking a 1-1 tie into the third period.

With River Falls junior goalie Luke Linehan registering 34 saves through two periods, and overtime looking more like a possibility, Armani Fisher kept the puck to himself on a 3-on-2 break and punched it past Linehan from the high slot to put the Ledgers up 2-1 just past the 10-minute mark.

“I just saw the defenseman in front of me, and I saw the goalie was kind of cheating to the left side a little bit. So I shot through a screen to the upper right side,” Fisher said.

In the tightly contested defensive struggle, that turned out to be enough.

Linehan finished with 38 saves, while Brendan Gaertig had 27 stops for Springs, which got hot after starting the season 3-7.

“At the end of the day, it’s not really how any one of us plays, it’s how all of us play,” said Linehan, who turned away numerous tough shots and breakaways. “I think we played a really good game.”

After 27 first-period saves by Linehan, the Ledgers finally broke through on a power-play goal by Fisher at 4:39 of the second period.

Andrew Amundson brought the Wildcats even at 8:57 of the second period with a power-play goal from the right circle after a faceoff.

The Ledgers were assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding at the 9:41 mark, but River Falls failed to capitalize, managing just four shots with the advantage.

River Falls salvaged a scoreless tie after one period despite being outshot 21-7. The Wildcats killed a five-minute penalty with Linehan registering eight saves during the onslaught.

“We felt good, because we had him (Linehan) in the net,” Wilken said. “We knew that was part of their game, and we talked about how the first period was probably going to be more in Springs’ favor. They wanted to push the envelope right away. We’re not built for a team to be in an 8-6 track meet.

“We were doing everything that we could that we planned for and practiced for to play in this game,” he said. “We just didn’t get the bounce we needed to. There’s not a whole heck of a lot I would have said or done differently. We just didn’t get to be on the right side of the scoreboard.”

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