The Powhatan High School Theater Company is back with a production of Clue! on April 28th, 2022; the PHS auditorium will be full of laughter as the murder mystery unfolds.

For those who don’t have a clue what Clue! is about, theatre teacher, Mrs. Firda describes it as having “stupidly, funny physical humor.” There’s a lot of actors crashing into each other and pretending to be blind. “Yes, it’s a murder mystery but you still want to find the silliness in the moment.” It’s based on the classic mystery board game, Clue.

After the original production was shut down due to Covid, the theater has been anxiously awaiting a time where they could get back to live shows. That time has finally arrived, with some changes. The original decision to produce Clue was made because they felt they had a good set design idea and a great cast. However, many of the original cast members graduated between 2020 and 2021. This has not crushed the department’s excitement about the play. “It’s been kinda fun to redo everything with the new faces,” says Mrs. Firda. 

Among all the changes there has been one person who Mrs. Firda believes has really stepped up, the stage manager, Molly Christiansen. Firda praises Molly, stating that she is “one of the most effective stage managers that I’ve ever worked with.” According to some of the cast, she’s been great managing both the experienced and inexperienced cast members. 

This year is many of the cast member’s first year in theater. Of the newcomers, there are many who got cast in a main role. Freshman, Ella Kinker is playing Yvette and seniors, Jax Hall and Lindsay Freeman are playing Professor Plum and Mr. Green. There are three cast members who are participating in their first ever play. Senior Colin Weinhardt, who plays Colonel Mustard, and Freshman Joanna Raychouni, who plays The Cook.

Along with the newcomers, there are a number of returning students in main roles. Juniors Nikki Ward and Bethany Gilman are cast as Miss Scarlet and Mrs. Peacock and seniors Meridian Stiller, Naomi Pike, and Owen Franklin play Wadsworth, Mrs. White, and Mr. Boddy. 

All of the cast members have been working very hard to make this show the best it can be. Break a leg!