Horizon High staging “Clue” whodunit

Could it have been Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick? Or, perhaps, Mrs. Peacock in the kitchen with the wrench?

You’ll have to go see Horizon High School’s stage production of “Clue: On Stage (High School Edition)” next week to find out who is killing people at Boddy Manor, in which room and with what weapon.

COMMUNISM WAS JUST A RED HERRING

Ashley Fisher, in her first year as theater instructor at HHS, is thrilled with her students and what they have brought to the table in her second performance of the school year.

“It’s just a really, really fun show,” Fisher said. “It’s beyond like a typical straight stage show. It has a lot of musical sound effects in it, and there’s a lot of transitional moments within the show where they have to go from room to room, and there’s choreography and music, and it’s very entertaining how they move from room to room across the stage.

“As a producer, it’s been a creative challenge how to figure all that out, how to make that happen,” she said.

The crew brainstormed how to get an entire manor onto a high school auditorium stage — and made it work by building rooms that are on casters that pivot in and out.

“A lot of our stage pieces are transitional,” Fisher said. “Each scene they’re in a different room – they go from the billiard room, library, a lounge, study, kitchen, dining room, hall and the front entry and a conservatory.”

The show also calls for detailed choreography so the characters move effortlessly from room to room as the scenes rapidly change.

“I think my favorite scene is when they all decide to split up and search the house for clues or evidence of who could have done it,” Fisher said. “We have this really elaborate door sequence where they’re going in and out of doors and bumping into each other, and it’s really fun to watch.”

The students have embraced their characters’ personalities and traits, including the French and British accents of Yvette the maid and Wadsworth the butler.

“All of the characters, they work so well together as an ensemble, and they play off of (one another) and …react to (one another),” Fisher said.

The first production of the year was “Six,” which is about Henry VIII and his six wives. Fisher was going for a yearlong theme of tyranny, oppression and power struggles and was planning to showcase “The Crucible” and then “Urinetown.”

“But when I saw the group of kids I was going to work with … I thought we needed something more comedic because these kids are all so quirky and could bring such (hilarity) to the show,” she said.

The script is much like the film, but unlike the movie, there are no alternate endings.

“There’s one ending,” Fisher said. “They go through every single possibility of who could have done it, and then they do a rewind of the ‘tape.’ There’s a fixed ending, but they trick you on who you think really did it.”

Fisher is hoping to get the word out to the community about the talented students and their performances.

“People have said, ‘I wish we knew how talented these kids are,’” she said. “It’s expensive to produce high school theater. (We) don’t have financial backers for these shows; we have to rely on the sale of tickets.”

THE ACTORS SPEAK

Each of the main characters shared his or her thoughts about the show.

Senior Michael Vita portrays Wadsworth the Butler. His favorite character trait is how sassy the butler gets and the drama that comes with it.

“My favorite part of the show would also have to be the drama that follows in every scene and how every character portrays themselves differently,” Vita said.

He did community theater when he was younger; this is his first year of drama in high school. He plans to continue theater in high school and wants to make it a career.

Breyonna Crawford, a junior, plays Yvette the French Maid, and she loves her character’s accent. She’s excited to perform in a show based on a board game.

She performed in one play in middle school and has been in high school theater all three years.

This has been her favorite year of theater, she said.

Isis Tavarez hits the stage as Mrs. Peacock. The junior loves the flightiness of her character and that she gets to shout, she said. She has been active in musical theater since her freshman year and wants to continue to audition while working on other careers.

Freshman Karris Martin plays Miss Scarlet.

“My favorite part about my character is being able to have fun with her … and being able to try something different with acting,” Martin said. “My favorite part about the show is the people and how sweet and kind everyone is and how we are able to support each other to put on an amazing show.”

She has been involved in theater for four years and wants to continue her pursuit of theater throughout high school.

Amelia Huckabee is a senior and plays Mrs. White.

“I love how Mrs. White always comes to Mrs. Peacock’s aid when she needs it,” she said. “She very clearly distrusts men, but when a woman needs her she’s there.”

This is Huckabee’s first performance, and she said she’s excited to be in a lead role and to learn how theater works.

“This has been such a great experience for me, and I have such a deeper understanding of what goes on behind the scenes,” she said.

She hopes to continue performing in local theater after high school.

Reece Mulder is Professor Plum.

“My favorite part about my character is being able to act in a way I usually wouldn’t,” the freshman said. “My favorite part about the show is being able to meet the cast and have fun while making this production.”

Mulder has been doing theater for eight years, starting with community theater. He plans to continue performing throughout high school.

Junior Thomas Ferrer portrays Col. Mustard, and he loves being able to use a special voice for the character and keeping the audience’s attention with transitions. He started acting in middle school and wants to continue performing while at Horizon High.

Timothy Gittens, also a junior, is Mr. Green.

“My favorite part of my character is when I revealed myself as ‘Larry Goodman, FBI,’ and I get to do a whole monologue,” he said.

Gittens has been in theater for nearly nine years, performing in plays in elementary, middle and high schools; as well as community church Christmas programs. He has participated in districts for thespians. His plan is to continue theater in high school and possibly after graduation — with the hopes of making a career in acting, filmmaking and music.

CAST AND CREW

Wadsworth the Butler - Michael Vita

Yvette the French Maid – Breyonna Crawford

Miss Scarlet – Karris Martin

Mrs. White - Amelia Huckabee

Mrs. Peacock – Isis Tavarez

Col. Mustard – Thomas Ferrer

Professor Plum – Reece Mulder

Mr. Green – Timothy Gittens

The Cook – Julia Bowles

Mr. Boddy – Kelly Hack

Motorist, White understudy – Olivia Maddock

Chief of Police, Wadsworth understudy – Andres Gonzalez

The Cop, Green understudy – Richard Recheizer

Mustard understudy – Caleb Hack

Peacock understudy – Sophie Kushnick

News Voice, Plum understudy – Cohen Moser

Telegram Girl, Yvette understudy – Abby Gardner

Stage manager – Amity Warren

Assistant stage manager, Anna MacPhail

Assistant stage manager, Scarlett understudy – Bella Gower

Sound lead – Emerson Walker

Lighting designer – Aiden Gjurich

Lights – Lily Chipoli

Run/publicity – Delaney Dotson, Emma Myerson and Lauren Dilk