Is everything all right in the CPAC? Yep, just six corpses lying on the main stage. Get ready for a night of mystery, mayhem, and nonstop laughter on November 9 and 10!
Clue: On Stage is a hilarious murder-mystery based on the 1985 cult-classic film and famous board game. Everyone is dying to figure out whodunnit—literally.
Six suspicious guests, one creepy mansion, and one unfortunate dinner party. On the menu? Murder and chaos. With Wadsworth the butler leading Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Colonel Mustard, the suspects scramble to uncover the identity of the killer as more bodies are found in the Boddy Manor. Expect twists, turns, and plenty of deadpan humor—because in this mansion, someone is always dropping dead!
Although Groton’s theater department has historically explored varied genres of the arts, Clue will be the first comedy in recent memory. Why the sudden shift to comedy? Is laughter the best medicine for the post-dormstorm-sniffles? To find out, we spoke to Laurie Sales, head of the Theater and Dance Department.
We first asked Ms. Sales why she chose to produce Clue this fall. Ms. Sales usually chooses shows with large casts so that she can encourage new students to join the program and accommodate as many Grotonians as possible. She also likes to produce shows that somehow enhance students’ understanding of what they have learned in school. For example, last fall she produced The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was the summer reading assignment for the Forms of 2027 and 2026.
However, Ms. Sales’ preferred genre of play is farce, an impossible and buffoonish physical comedy, which Clue is. With Clue, Ms. Sales seeks to lighten the mood and encourage students to enjoy themselves and the work of their peers. Of course, though Clue will be fun to watch, students behind the scenes will have to put in many hours, especially since many of them are new to comedy. Thus, Ms. Sales aims to help them develop their skill in this new genre.
We talked about backstage, but what about onstage? In terms of audience enjoyment, Clue will be much easier to receive compared to previous pieces. As Ms. Sales said, comedy is either funny or not, making it more objective than drama, where there are many gray zones open for audience interpretation. Ms. Sales emphasized her hope to make this play an opportunity for the Groton student body to relax and just laugh! Clue is a gift from the hard-working theater department that should be appreciated by allowing oneself to simply have fun during the show.
While rehearsing, Ms. Sales encourages students to make adventurous and goofy choices, as she hopes to create a safe space where students will unabashedly experiment and lose the reservedness often encouraged by high school social dynamics. Comedy actors invite audience attention, which Ms. Sales believes will teach Groton students confidence—a crucial lesson.
In addition, Ms. Sales stated that comedy and acting on the mainstage require very different skill sets from the plays the theater department has selected over the past few years. In choosing Clue: On Stage, Ms. Sales exposes students to a range of theater genres, which will hopefully raise interest in current and prospective theater students.
The cast and crew of Clue are putting an incredible amount of work into their upcoming performances, and they hope that this peek into their process encourages the Groton community to attend.
