Clue: On Stage
With murder on the menu, the ticket sales just tripled! Visit www.barnstormersgp.com today to save your seat for Barnstormers' opening show of their 70th season-- Clue: On Stage, based on the renowned Paramount movie.
The Game BEgins
By Sean Glover
The game begins at Barnstormers Theatre this fall with their 2021-2022 season-opening show of Clue: On Stage: a fresh-out-the-oven play, which is based on the Parker Brothers board game made in 1949, bearing the same title. The board game ended up gaining so much traction that Paramount released a movie adaptation of Clue, starring Tim Curry as the esteemed butler, Wadsworth. From there, scripts made to adapt for stage versions of this story have led to multiple versions and revisions, including Clue: The Musical and Clue: On Stage (High School Edition); nevertheless, the story remains consistent.
This classic murder mystery takes place in the 1950s, an era in which the Red Scare had an everlasting effect on people’s mindsets towards those in positions of power and even those around them. Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, and Colonel Mustard are all invited to Boddy Manor one evening without any reasoning in why they should show up. Once they arrive and are introduced to the mansion and the house staff, Wadsworth confronts them with the fact that they are being blackmailed by the host, Mr. Boddy, who ends up murdered in the Study when he arrives. The events from there start downward-spiraling as Wadsworth, Yvette, and all six guests try to solve the confusing, multi-layered case unfolding before them.
Miss Scarlet (middle center), played by Jamie Banister, opens Mr. Boddy's briefcase containing the evidence of the guest's crimes.
The clever plot twists, discoveries of each character’s background, and their motives for murder wraps this tight, ninety-minute play into an exciting, intense journey that leaves a mark on the audience’s mind for ages.
The bodies continue to stack as the mystery murderer continues to strike unsuspecting victims.
Since late August, Barnstormers volunteers have been working diligently to produce a full-fledged show by their opening night, October 15th, complete with a set of the eight featured rooms, costumes with coordinated colors relating to each character’s original game piece, and an array of over a hundred sound cues that fix right into the environment of the spooky, mysterious setting. As Jael Hanson, the director of Clue, remarked, “Barnstormers’ stage is small, but we have carefully used every inch of space to create Boddy Mansion. I can not wait for our audiences to experience the character and detail of each individual room.”
The show will run from October 15th to the 31st with performances on Friday/Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sunday afternoons at 2pm. Tickets are currently available for sale in groups of four people for $18, and social distancing will be required between separate groups; furthermore, masks will also be required of patrons during the entire duration of the show. On the homepage of Barnstormers website, Annie Sabel and the board of directors state that “Masks that fully cover the nose and mouth must be worn by all patrons at all times while in the theatre. Face shields are not allowed… Distance of 1 seat (approximately 3 feet) on all sides will be observed between parties… Please observe distancing when moving around the theatre.” Actors and crew members themselves have been following COVID-19 protocols during rehearsals, and they will even be tested for COVID-19 two weeks before the show starts in order to be able to safely perform the show sans face masks.
The unexpected cop (right), played by Sean Glover, and Chief of Police (left), played by Bryce Robertson, storm the crime scene.
Hanson acknowledges that “This is probably one of the most tight-knit teams I have ever worked with because we all care about one another’s health and safety above all else. We have phenomenal understudies who empower our lead actors to say: ‘I don’t feel well, and I need to take a night off.’ It’s no longer acceptable for actors to risk their health for the sake of the show... Gone are the days of ‘The show must go on-- even if I feel terrible.’ Instead, we live by the rule that the show must go on while prioritizing our health.”
The full cast of Clue: On Stage having a nice bonding moment as they attempt to murder each other.
Clue: On Stage includes a tight cast of thirteen people, all of which include the dinner party guests, the victims of these mysterious murders, the investigative police who are on their way, and the killer loose inside of Boddy Manor. The talents of this production include many familiar faces to the Barnstormers scene-- some of which have been present in the previous line of shows facing the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about the cast and crew of the show, Hanson replied, “One of my favorite things about the Clue cast and crew is the age span of our team. Our youngest Clue team member is 12 years old, and our eldest team member is in their 70’s. Barnstormers is a place where budding actors and experienced stage buffs mingle, learn, and create.”
David Vickeron stars as Wadsworth, the butler, along with the guests invited under anonymity: Professor Plum, played by Steven Corelis; Miss Scarlet, played by Jamie Banister; Mrs. White, played by Gwen Duffy; Mr. Green, played by Tim Coatney; Colonel Mustard, played by Greg Franklin; and Mrs. Peacock, played by Jamie Krull. The turn of random events even lead them to encountering other unexpected guests, like a Motorist and a Singing Telegram Girl, both played by Madeliene Fichera; Mr. Boddy, played by Stephen Gleffe; an Unexpected Cop, played by Sean Glover; and the FBI agent who wraps up the play’s conflict, played by Bryce Robertson.
With a knowledgeable creative team and the direction of Tanaia Green and Jael Hanson throughout the whole process of the show, this never-before-seen production at Barnstormers, with already one buyout performance for local business owners and an only-vaccinated night for those with that concern, is bound to sell like hotcakes to the community and leave audiences with bated breath as they await the next piece to be produced and performed by the local theatre talent.
Photo Credit:
Lori Mitchell - Mitchell Arts Photography
