The play adaptation of the classic 1985 movie Clue, based on the board game Clue, released in 1949, is a fast-paced, exciting mystery that keeps the quirky energy of the film.
Written by Sandy Rustin, the play captures the original vibe of the movie while bringing the board game to life on stage from Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, it was a mix of comedy, mystery, and plenty of surprising twists.
The WSHS theatre production of “Clue” was straightforward and familiar, but it still grabbed your attention: six “strangers” are invited to a fancy dinner party at a mansion, and then shortly after get caught up in a murder mystery.
The plot kept the audience guessing, with tons of plot twists to keep you in suspense the whole time. For instance, in the opening scene where each character was being introduced to the audience, Mrs. White played by Senior Emma Lee, recognized the maid, Yvette, played by Senior Clementine Metz.
The flashing white lights, suspenseful music and a pause from the other characters on stage hinted to viewers that these characters definitely know each other, making the audience curious as to why the interaction was so tense. The exact same situation happened with Mrs. Peacock, played by Senior Ny’Asia Lindsay and the chef played by Junior Emma Pifer.
The humor; however, didn’t take away from the mystery; it actually made it even better because it helped to highlight or reveal personality traits of each character. For exampleColonel Mustard, played by Senior Daria Lesmerises, was portrayed as overly self-confident, which contributed to the humor of his character.
At the end of the play, the characters go through multiple different endings; each ending was based on what the individual characters believed to have happened. The amount of energy this scene involved was an amazing thing to watch, especially the butler, Wadsworth, played by Senior Ella Hansan.
Her performance made the end of the play exciting in multiple ways. Hansan recited a fast-paced monologue recapping the character’s actions and murders. Her character also reveals a huge plot twist- He was the host of the dinner party and posed as the butler to deceive the guests.
Hansan said, “My character had over 250 lines. Because of that, they were difficult to learn, the monologue especially.” Regardless of the large amount of lines in comparison to the other characters and the gender bending of her role, Hansan portrayed her character perfectly.
The set design was complex and unique in that it included elements from both the movie and the game.The complexity involved having a movable set that created multiple rooms to represent the foyer, library, kitchen, and so forth. They also used 3D-printed props to look like game pieces and posters on the walls in various rooms that looked exactly like cards from the game.
According to tech lead, Junior Elyse Stuckey there were around 10 set changes that the crew had to move during the play. She also said that the director, Matthew Wolfe really wanted to “highlight more of the board game features, to really bring the familiar game to life, which is why we created the posters and game pieces the way we did instead of making them look accurate to the movie.”
In the end, perhaps the best aspect of the play was that the ending caught the audience by surprise because throughout the play you are led to believe that the same person had committed all of the murders, when in reality that was just one of many techniques the playwright used to spark a reaction from the audience.
However, in the end the truth is revealed by the talented Mr. Green, played by Freshman Lucas Lusher, an FBI agent all along.
