Logo design by Michelle Gu, ‘24 and Calista Wong, ‘25.
Murder, mayhem, and merriment are at the core of CC Theatre’s fall production Clue, a whirlwind whodunit play inspired by the 1985 movie that was, of course, inspired by the board game. At 7 p.m. sharp on Thursday, October 26, Friday, October 27, and Saturday, October 28, the CCHS auditorium’s curtain will rise to reveal a whimsical cast of characters with obscure histories who quickly become entangled in the plans of their mysterious host. Purchase tickets at this link: ticketstage.com/T/CCHS. The production will run approximately 90 minutes with no intermission and will be open-captioned.
CC Theatre’s artistic director, Melissa Charych, explains that the choice of Clue came in part due to the program’s goal of “[making] sure students leave their four year experience with a diverse range of material,” and in part because of overwhelming student support for a comedy this fall. Nearly everyone involved describes that at its heart, Clue is farcical and FUN. Charych says, “I laugh out loud when I’m sitting at my kitchen table planning out the blocking for these scenes, just knowing how the actors are going to nail it.” Stage fighting and physical comedy abound, as do full breakdowns of hysterical laughter by the cast and crew during rehearsals. These experiences have only strengthened the bonds between CC Theatre’s already tight-knit community. The students involved echo similar sentiments: Stella Kaplowitz, ’25 (Police Officer, Program Coordinator, Bio Manager) describes that the “comedic genius” of the script combined with each character’s “unique personalities… will be brought to life in a hilarious way.” Sadie Butler, ’24 (Yvette) describes that “[the cast has] so much fun being ridiculous and making each other laugh with our lines.” “We’ve created so much joy behind the scenes putting the show together and we’ve also found joy in the material and tried to let it shine through in the piece,” Ciara McCrory, ’24 (Mrs. Peacock, Props Manager) explains.
Above: Cast rehearsing scenes from Clue. Photos courtesy of Melissa Charych and Paige Reidy.
Charych says, “One of my favorite parts is the creativity of the actors and their willingness to take theatrical risks… it’s amazing to witness our students developing their characters, stretching themselves, and coming up with their own innovative ideas to try.” Wilbur Moffitt, ’24 (Mr. Boddy) adds that the cast “knows its own comedic timing and is willing to make bold choices to reach its full potential.” Ultimately, however, Ned Roos, CC Theatre’s technical director, emphasizes that it will be up to the audience to “catch all the humor” and wordplay throughout the fast-paced production.
Nina Davidson, Clue’s Costume Designer and Producer (and a CCHS English teacher), adds that Clue (1985) is one of her top five favorite movies of all time. For CC Theatre’s production, she says, “my absolute favorite part has been curating the costumes.” Despite the initial challenge of navigating the sizing of men’s clothing, which included Davidson “[calling her] uncle to help [her] dress Professor Plum.” She notes that “the sizing of men’s clothing is wildly different than women’s in that it’s logical and it makes sense.” Davidson simply “can’t wait to see them all on the stage!”
Perhaps one of CC Theatre’s most defining characteristics is the students’ level of passion and dedication, and as Charych puts it, “the collaboration of the cast and crew working toward the same overarching vision.” Roos describes that he’s feeling “laughervous” – “a combination of laughing and nervous” – because “this is a really funny show with lots of puns and tricky humor,” but “we still aren’t positive the set will work the way we need it to.” As is often the case with CC Theatre productions, Clue is coming together on an ambitiously tight timeline of less than two months. The set may be one of the most complicated processes of this show: not only does the crew need to go through the tedious process of designing and re-designing the intricate parts – which Roos describes as both his favorite and least favorite project – but they also need to pain and polish the (quite literally) moving pieces (Charych says, “the rooms in our mansion are built on rotating platforms!”). The student-led tech crews work diligently under the guidance of Roos and Mike Hamblin, a retired CCHS engineering teacher who has returned as a contracted tech mentor. Vail Henry-Hanson, ’25 (Head of Scenic Art) is one student leader who acknowledges that there is certainly a struggle in “[staying] on top of everything” – on top of schoolwork – as a student manager. However, they describe that reaching out to the community of adults and students has made it “much more manageable.”
Above: Tech at work on the sets. Photos courtesy of Ned Roos.
Beyond Clue’s surface of lighthearted tomfoolery, there lies a deeper message about paranoia and finger-pointing and how they “prevent us from getting to the bottom of things and finding a reasonable and effective solution to our problems,” as described by Charles Mastromarino, ’26 (Chief of Police). Another student adds, “Clue is such a mystery because everyone’s connections are hidden below the surface. The truth can only come to light when we can understand who knows who and what they have to hide.” Moffitt hopes “audiences will remember that, more often than not, we are fighting against the same things and are more effective if we do so together and with a cool head.” He adds, “At the same time, there is a very ‘slapstick’ feel to this production that I hope the audience appreciates.”
“I think there are very important messages about truth, suspicion, and morality,” Charych concludes, “but if the audience comes away with a feeling of ‘whodunit’ fun, we’ll feel like we found success.”
