Clue: Who, Where, and What in the Fall Play!

By: Alexa Neal & Maya Doraiswamy

It began with a scream, a blackout, and a body on the floor… but before Tower Hill audiences could even begin to guess whodunit, the show’s cast and crew had to solve the mystery of how to bring the iconic world of Clue to life onstage. This November, the Tower Hill Theater program successfully solved that mystery in their presentation of Clue: On Stage for the fall play. Clue is a farcical murder mystery heavily influenced by the board game, featuring the iconic characters of Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, and Wadsworth. They are invited to Boddy Manor due to threats of blackmail when the untimely death of Mr. Boddy leaves them each a suspect.

Understudies

This production, although a common murder mystery, is unlike anything Tower Hill has ever performed before because of the use of understudies, even having an entire performance dedicated to displaying their hard work. Not only were the understudies available if an actor couldn’t make a show, but they also played a crucial role in rehearsals. The understudy for Mrs. Peacock, Clara Buller, states her role was “mainly watching Paige and just looking at all the blocking to make sure I got everything down.” For the understudy performance, they were expected to put on a show of similar quality to the main production, but with less than half of the practice. “We were all going into it expecting like a total bombshell, but it was good,” she says. The lack of rehearsal time left the actors anxious before the show, yet they were able to deliver a marvelous performance.

Main Cast

The actors truly brought each of their characters to life, with each performer truly finding unique ways to highlight their role’s humor, mystery, and personality. A few of the cast members reflected on their experience in Clue:

Amal Bhattacharya (Wadsworth): “Clue was incredible! We didn’t always have it together but we stood by each other and made it work. I remember standing in the dressing room realizing it was my last play at THS theatre and I felt sad but happy as well. I’m so glad Clue was my final fall play.”

Macy Shi (Miss Scarlett): “I was surprised by my character's strong traits at first because they were so different from mine, but as I got to know Miss Scarlet more, I really enjoyed stepping into the role of a sexy, confident, and sarcastic business owner and badass woman.”

Jordan Donnelly (Mrs. White): “I would say that Clue and theatre itself is a great way for different types of people, no matter their age, to come together and work on something they are passionate about.”

Crew

Our crew worked behind the scenes to tackle one of our most tech-heavy productions yet. From navigating a complex modular set to coordinating fast scene changes, they adapted to every challenge with incredible focus and creativity. Junior Ansh Kapoor, one of the backstage leaders, helped the crew overcome many set challenges. “The constant scene changes and all of the moving parts were difficult with the limited time we had to make changes, but our crew was well organized and we quickly were able to delegate change assignments to ensure the set change process occurred smoothly and efficiently,” he says. “There is no room for error when moving out sets, and with all the practice we had, we were able to take on quite a challenge.”

Stage Managers

For those who don’t know, Alexa and I (Maya) were the stage managers of Clue. We just want to thank our cast, crew, and faculty for trusting us, supporting us, and bringing so much dedication and joy to this production. Watching everything come together from the behind-the-scenes side of things has been such a rewarding experience, and we’re incredibly proud of all the work everyone put in.

Faculty

As the true heart and guiding source of our theatre productions, Clue simply would not have been possible without our incredible teachers, especially including Ms. Hines, Mrs. Healy, and Mr. Marshall. As director, Mrs. Healy commented, “I thought the cast really wrapped their head around the fun and kind of wacky parts of Clue, as well as creating really interesting characters. Overall, I think the audience left having had a really good time, seen an amazing performance, and felt like they were part of the fun.” Mr. Marshall, the production manager, also reflected on the play: “This was the biggest show I’ve been in charge of the set for since I started here, so it was a lot to manage. But having a lot of support from the rest of the department, students on the crew, stage managers, and the whole cast all buying into the process really made it a lot of fun and better than I ever could have imagined it would be.”

Our cast, crew, and faculty faced so many new and exciting challenges in putting on this production. Whether learning intense monologues, running rigorous set changes, or navigating complex technical cues, the dedication and passion behind this show have been incredible to be part of. We’re so proud of the work put into this by all involved, and we hope that everyone in the audience enjoyed seeing it come together!

Our next production will be Mamma Mia, running from February 27th to March 1st—we hope you all come watch and continue to support our theatre community!