From a young age, James Taylor Odom shared a love for film, particularly the movie “Clue,” with his father. Now, he’s getting the chance to bring that love to the Fox Theatre.
Odom is in the cast of “Clue,” the stage adaptation of the 1985 film based on the classic board game that’s headed to the Fox from Jan. 28 through Feb. 2. Odom covers numerous male roles in the show from Wadsworth, to Mr. Green, to Professor Plum. Tickets for the show are on sale now on the Fox’s website.
Odom grew up in Lawrenceville, Ga., and his love for “Clue” and other films and art forms was fostered by his late father. During the Feb. 1 matinee, he’ll be stepping into the shoes of Wadsworth, the butler played by Tim Curry in the 1985 movie. He has about 60 friends and family who are coming to see him onstage.
Odom has performed on the Fox stage before in a touring production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” But this time feels different.
“This time, I get to perform this role of something that I loved since I was 5 years old,” Odom said. “It’s going to be a special day.”
Ahead of the performance, Rough Draft Atlanta interviewed Odom about his role and his career. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I read some of your bio online, and it mentioned how your father really helped bring out your love for art and love for film. I was wondering if you could elaborate on that relationship and how it helped get you to where you are today?
James Taylor Odom: I appreciate you doing some research there and asking about my dad, because my dad is no longer with me. He passed away in 2010 from a very rare cancer at the young age of 57. My family has a long history of music as their background. My grandfather was a country music songwriter for RCA and Victor Records back in the day, and would live in Georgia, would travel up to Nashville and do writing sessions, and that sort of thing. So the love of music, art, was definitely something from a family standpoint that was very important.
My father, he loved to sing and play music and that sort of thing, but he also loved movies. Now, a lot of people love movies, but he was absolutely fascinated with films, as a cinephile. He kind of gave me a love for that. So every Friday, we would if not go rent movies together, go see a movie together, or go buy a movie together. That was my allowance for the week. So I would see so many movies – some of which maybe I shouldn’t have seen – one of which was “Clue,” in fact, when I was six. [I] became obsessed with “Clue” when I was a kid.
[My dad] loved all of these movies, classic or newer. We would spend time together and celebrate the form together. My dad, he loved to perform in front of other people, whether it was acting … he just loved to entertain people. I think that I inherited that aspect from him, and certainly my love for movies and actors that really inspired me.
There’s a line in the bio where you talk about doing reenactments of movie scenes. Do you remember any specific ones that you all would do?
Odom: We would reenact scenes from Abbott and Costello, which is actually great, because “Clue” the stageplay is a huge love letter to physical comedy, and also witty and clever dialogue, which Johnathan Lynn – who wrote the film – really created, and Sandy Rusin has elaborated on in the stageplay. But Abbott and Costello were the perfect pairing of physical comedy with witty banter, and sometimes stupid humor [laugh]. My dad and I could quote and/or perform moments or scenes from different movies like “Bad,” or Neil Simon’s movies like “Murder by Death,” which was one that we loved to act out together. There was a lot of that going on.
You went to school for theater, but when did the idea of theater as a potential career you could take on start to manifest for you?
Odom: I loved the idea of performing. I loved the idea of acting, but I didn’t really – when I was in middle school or elementary school, there was no real outlet for that for me. There may have been programs in the area, we just didn’t partake in them. So it was not until my brother, who was 10 years older than me, was doing theater in high school for fun, and I remember going – oh! Theater! That’s something you can do that’s acting related. I discovered it then, and it wasn’t until I got into high school that I really became theater focused and discovered that I could maybe go to school for this. And then going to school, I realized, oh, I can go to grad school for this, and then in grad school I went, oh, I could have a career! [Laughs]
You’ve talked about your love for the movie “Clue,” which I love as well. Can you talk a little bit about getting this role and stepping into the show, and what that process was like?
Odom: Absolutely. It’s kind of a lengthy story, in that I was fresh out of grad school working at a very small theater in upstate New York when it was announced in Variety Magazine that “Clue” was being adapted for the stage. I remember sitting in my kitchen of this actor housing going, “Oh. My. God. I have to do this.” I remember thinking that, because I was so new on the scene – no one knows me – it’s gonna be impossible to get seen, being that it will be Actors Equity, the union.
It was announced at that time that Sally Struthers was going to be Mrs. Peacock, and they were doing an out of New York tryout before they rode for a national tour. Well, of course, there was no way I was getting seen at that time. They did an original staging, and then it kind of stalled there. It wasn’t until around 2019 that they revamped the script and decided to restage it at Cleveland Playhouse. So I auditioned for them – I did get an audition – and I did not book it. Then, the pandemic came, so its national tour got stalled yet again.
When the pandemic was over, it had another couple of regional productions attached to the tour … and in 2022, I was asked to do a regional production of “Clue” with Sally Struthers. And I remember thinking, “Oh my god!” You know, I never got that job, but here I am. I get to do this show regionally with her. In 2022 we did it together, had an immensely fun time together. Following that, it was announced finally, “Clue” is going on its national tour. I was doing everything I could to get seen for that, and I was having a hard time.
I was doing a regional production in Fayetteville, Arkansas – so far away from New York City! And I was on a break from rehearsal, and I walked down the street in this college town, and lo and behold, the director of the national tour is sitting on the street corner of this small southern town. I know her because I had auditioned for her years ago, and I knew she was attached to the project. I thought to myself, “Why is this person here in Fayetteville, and I happen to be walking by?” And on that very day, I had received an email in my inbox for an audition for the national tour. I thought, “This is weird. This is super weird!” So I walked up to her, I reintroduced myself – of course, she didn’t know who I was, as I had auditioned for her years ago – and it was from that moment that I made a connection with her and reached out to her on her website, and really pushed for this, and eventually booked it. But I really give a huge thanks to fate, and God – whatever it is that you subscribe to. Not only that, I was most interested in being cover for Wadsworth, which was my dream role. So here I am!
Here you are! I’m glad you brought that up. I believe you’re a swing for Wadsworth, Mr. Green, Professor Plum, and then it just says “and more.”
Odom: That’s right. I cover everybody except for Colonel Mustard, which means I cover Mr. Boddy, and Mr. Boddy has a tracking of different roles. And then I also cover the cop, the unexpected cop.
I always ask this to people in theater who are swings, but could you just talk a little bit about the preparation that goes into that, and handling the spontaneity of that role?
Odom: It’s actually a tricky thing, what we’re talking about here with us. Because of a traditional swing is someone who covers a variety of ensemble roles in a musical, whereas an understudy covers principal characters, and then, of course, there’s a standby and alternate. In this case, we are off stage covers, but the same principle of swinging is true, which is that if anyone out of the show is gone, we’re swinging into that position. But “Clue” is an entire show made up of principle characters, so it’s a difficult task, actually, having to cover five principle roles – one of which is the person who speaks the most.
This is a rare situation where all of the off stage covers, we pretty much know the whole script regardless of whether or not it’s our line, because every character we have responds to someone in quick succession of dialogue. We have to know it all. We got to New York back in January of last year, kind of thrown into the lion’s den of having to figure it out. It was a very challenging process of taking each role one by one, learning them separately, but keeping our eyes peripherally on the others. We could learn each one, and then be at a place where we just move from one to the other on a daily basis. It’s not for everybody. It has its moments of elation, and its moments of absolute panic. But after a year of doing this, we’re all super comfortable with all of the roles that we cover, and it’s just a matter of okay – if I’m on stage for this role that I haven’t done in three months, it’s about going back to the notes. Making sure, okay – I have to do this, this, this, this this. You know, if you’re not perfect, you’re not perfect. No one cares [laughs].
That’s sort of the magic of live theater, honestly.
Odom: Exactly.
And like you mentioned, it’s also a really physical show, so there’s not just the lines. I’m sure there’s a lot of intense blocking that goes into it.
Odom: Movement, choreography – it’s a lot.
I’m curious – the movie has a pretty famous ending. I don’t really want to spoil it, so I guess without getting too much into that territory for anyone who hasn’t seen it, how does the show compare to that? I was watching it the other day and started thinking about the difficulties with adapting that onstage.
Odom: So here’s what I often say about “Clue” live onstage, which is that it is a truly faithful adaptation of Jonathan Flynn’s script. However, the ending becomes its own thing. It absolutely pays homage to the film, but the writer has taken some liberties here, so it will be surprising for most audience members, how it’s done. However, it’s familiar enough that those who are huge “Clue” fans will be satisfied with how it wraps up.
