Photo by Richard L. Gaw                    Clue: On Stage will be performed at the Kennett High School Auditorium on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m, and on Dec. 11 for two shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. 

By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

It is a late Thursday afternoon at the Kennett High School Auditorium, and the nearly empty 800-seat theater is positively humming with the familiar sounds of a high school stage production nearing the final stages of its rehearsals.

Every noise heard – that of a sound producer performing microphone checks with the actors, a director calling ‘Places’ – signals that not only is this production of in the crunch time before its opening the following week, but that after a two-year layoff when a worldwide pandemic brought every Kennett High School production came to a screeching halt, the magic of live performance has happily returned.

For three shows on Dec. 10 and 11, the high school will present its Fall 2021 production of Clue: On Stage, a two-act play directed by Christopher Skopowski. Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue: On Stage combines the intrigue of a murder-mystery with the madcap silliness of a comedy. The tale begins at a remote mansion, where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, each dinner guests becomes a suspect.

Though discouraged from revealing personal information, it is soon discovered that all of the guests have fallen victim to the same blackmailer, their very host of the evening.

The play stars Amelie Saint Amand as Yvette, Blake Ciresa as Mrs. Peacock, Dio Giganti Dima as Mr. Boddy, Lydia Duckworth as Mrs. White, Ksenia Kaliakih as the cook, Thomas Linderman as Professor Plum, Paul Mullin as Colonel Mustard, Maya Ranganath as Miss Scarlett, Luke Sandusky as Mr. Green and Alec Salameda as Wadsworth.

The cast is rounded out by Marisol Gonzalez Flores, Luca Castellano, Faith Poulton and Mia Jeffery.

“Set in the world of the popular board game, Clue: On Stage is both a suspense thriller and a comedic romp,” “This production will keep you on the edge of your seat while doubled-over laughing at the same time.”

Clue: On Stage will mark the high school’s first theater production since the dramatic play Radium Girls was performed in the fall of 2019.

“Radium Girls is a drama, so I wanted to bring back the theater’s production with a light comedy,” said Skopowski, a theater veteran who is directing his first stage production at Kennett High School, and who is being assisted by his parents Frank and Mary. “Everyone knows about the board game and the movie so it will definitely be a draw. The cast and crew have worked tirelessly to come back from their two-year hiatus in a matter of two months to bring this two-hour whodunit to the stage.

“It’s good to see all of these kids together again, and while we’re taking all of the protocols to keep everyone safe, it is wonderful to see theaters reopened, and in the face of COVID-19, to be able to bring some of that light back.”

Clue: On Stage will be performed at the Kennett High School Auditorium on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m, and on Dec. 11 for two shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. All tickets are $8 each and available at the door, and those in attendance are required to wear protective masks during their time at the school.