Cue and Curtain Sleuths to Unravel Classic Style ‘Whodunnit’

It’s no secret that people always love a good murder mystery. So, it’s not surprising that Clarkstown High School North’s drama club, Cue and Curtain, under the amazing advisorship of teacher Tim Reid, worked hard to pour thrills, chills, and a barrel of laughs into this fall’s production of The Alibis. The new play is several tales wrapped into one and told in the classic style of literary legend, Agatha Christie.  

The plot follows a eccentric group of people pulled together by the grizzly murder of  peculiar billionaire, J. Leslie Arlington. At the scene of the crime, a clueless detective finds all of the suspects are reluctant to admit their alibis and prove their innocence because they were all too busy committing other crimes at the moment Arlington was rubbed out.

Among the ensemble cast are Cue and Curtain co-presidents, seniors William Heidelberger and Nola Thompson. Heidelberger plays the character Warwick, a butler with a passion for karaoke, and Thompson plays Davina Arlington, a “grand dame of theater.”  

“Passion, attitude, and heart is apparent in everything we do,” said Thompson, a four-year veteran of the club who doubles as a superfan of her castmates and crew. She explained how in Cue and Curtain, “cast members will make their parts their own because [it’s fun and] they want to, and they enjoy being in shows.”

Cue and Curtain presidents Nola Thompson (left) and William Heidelberger (right)

The Alibis was first performed in 2021 by a local theater company in Missouri, which had rave reviews. Locally, the play was performed last spring at Huntington High School in Long Island, New York.

Club members hope mystery and comedy fans alike enjoyed the production, which ran to sold out shows throughout the November weekend. Heidelberger believes that there are many reasons why Cue and Curtain productions are received warmly every year. “I think the audience is most excited to see their friends and family acting in the scenes [in person],” he explained. Especially now, he added, due to the pandemic, “we hadn’t been able to do so in so long.”

The Alibis has a large cast and was written by a collection of eight playwrights who were challenged to create a flexible “build-your-own mystery” with up to ten 10-minute long plays. These can be performed in any combination or threaded together with optional interludes, according to its distributor, “Broadway Licensing.” 

A project like this gives each actor an immense amount of creative freedom and results in a variety of ways each part can be played. However, such freedom comes with a price, as it can sometimes be challenging for the actors to interpret the role. 

“My biggest challenge is not saying all my lines in the same way,” said Heidelberger. “I didn’t want every line to be super peppy and over the top so I varied with levels,” he elaborated. Thompson faced a different puzzle stating, “my biggest challenge with my role, Davina Arlington, has been figuring out how to portray such a larger than life, dramatic dame of theater – with limitations since I broke my ankle,” noting the cast on her right foot. 

As the Rams Horn’s exclusive look at The Alibis was wrapping up, Heidelberger tried to fight back the urge to reveal the shocking twist in the show that will leave audience's jaws on the floor. He fought himself, and lost. 

 “What I think will shock them the most is…” 

In the interest of serving our readers, the Ram’s Horn Staff has agreed to hold Heidelberger’s final comments to protect the integrity of the show and its characters, who are most certainly not innocent. Congratulations to Tim Reid and the entire Alibis cast and crew! 

The Alibis opened on November 17th and ran till the 19th. For information on the next production, check the Cue and Curtain Website often. 

Co-Presidents Will and Nola in last year's Fall Production- Lost and Found (left) and Spring Musical- Smokey Joe’s Cafe (right).

Image courtesy #1 and #2 of  2021-2022 CHSN yearbook