Frequent laughter filled the Performing Arts Center during the four showings of the fall play, “Clue.” With physical comedy, one-liners and antics, the play flips the murder mystery genre on its head and makes it comedic.
Adapted from the 1985 movie, which was based on the 1943 board game, “Clue” follows six guests at Boddy Manor, each with a color-coded pseudonym, as they are blackmailed by Mr. Boddy (junior Adrien Nolte). The night soon takes an unexpected turn when Mr. Boddy is found dead and his six guests are tasked with finding his killer before the police arrive.
The play is characterized by its campy humor and fast-paced plot which keeps the audience hooked all the way until the twist ending.
Much of the play’s comedic success came from the performances from the play’s leads, including Wadsworth (senior Ryan de Forest), Miss Scarlet (junior Amara Shelton), Mrs. Peacock (senior Molly McKenna), Mrs. White (sophomore Ronia Holkins), Colonel Mustard (senior Charlie Stockton), Professor Plum (freshman Edie Liedholm), and Mr. Green (senior Natalie McManus).
Senior Natalie McManus brought Mr. Green to life by putting her whole body into every joke.
“For Mr. Green, I definitely decided to heighten the physicality, to be very dramatic about the way that I was moving on stage because I think that he is a very comedic character in the way that he moves,” McManus said.
McManus’ adept portrayal of Mr. Green benefitted from working with fight choreographer Chelsey Sheppard. McManus found this especially fun because of Mr. Green’s skittish nature, which allowed for plenty of fun physical bits.
“I think it’s really funny that Mr. Green is such a jumpy character because it means that there are a lot of moments where he’s falling on stage,” McManus said. “We got to work with the fight choreographer to heighten all of the physicality, which was really cool.”
Not all the physical comedy was intentional, as freshman Edie Liedholm, who played Professor Plum, described.
“Throughout the show, Colonel Mustard and I keep banging into doors, like, walking in at the same time, and that was completely on accident,” Liedholm said. “We just happened to walk through a door because we thought we weren’t running through a scene any more and Ms. Miller said we should keep it. And then we just kept adding that more and more throughout the show.”
The excellent costumes, set design, sound effects and lighting helped the acting shine. Senior Jane Vos, Head of Stitch Crew, made each character distinct by designing unique, colorful costumes to emphasize their individuality.
“For Clue, we really wanted to hone in on the characters’ personality and really distinguish them, so we made them very monochromatic,” Vos said.
Mrs. Peacock’s extravagant blue dress is a perfect example of this and one of Vos’s favorite costumes.
“It reflects her bigger personality, whereas someone like Green is more simple, neat, put-together, because he’s very anxious and scared,” Vos said.
The set, too, worked well to convey the context for the story. Its geometric layout spoke of the board game from which the play derives its name and concept, while the addition of a lofted area and trapdoor maximized the limited stage space and added interest.
Meanwhile, sound design and lighting contributed to the over-the-top theatrics of the play through effects like thunder and lightning as well as dramatic sound effects that played off the tropes of the mystery genre, lightening the mood and producing their own bouts of laughter.
Theatrical and campy, Clue is unashamed of what it is, maximizing its humor. By making no attempt at subtlety, it leans into its over-the-top comedy, making it an endlessly amusing experience.
