Clue debuts in Washington Friday night

WASHINGTON — March 10 is opening night for the Harp Players’ production of Clue, a play based on the movie based on the board game of the same name. The plot follows a frantic cast of monochromatic characters desperate to solve a murder they might otherwise be framed — or caught — for committing.

The play is performed by the Harp Players, a nonprofit group of actors who donate their share of every performance’s proceeds to a local charity, in this case, student supply funds at Highland, Mid-Prairie and Washington.

Director (and actor) Greg Wiley said the show was comedy gold.

“The more I’ve gotten to know this play, the more I’ve liked it,” he said. “There’s a lot of humor in this play, there’s a lot of little funny things happening, which we’re still finding … there’s nothing better than being onstage and having an audience laugh. You know that you’ve done your job well, and it’s because you’re doing it well that they’re laughing.”

The production’s set design relies on unusual mechanics. Every room in the Boddy Mansion, where the story takes place, moves like a drawer from backstage into the spotlight, sometimes with the actors still performing inside.

Such a set makes for some technical challenges.

“There’s a lot of technical stuff that has to go on,” Wiley said. “There’s light queues that go for just a room, movement in the hallway, movement to the other room … I think people are going to be amazed when they see those rooms open up.”

The situation is a logistical hurdle for the actors as well, but one cast members said they were happy to take on.

“This is a different show, it’s really crazy,” said Tom Dawson, who plays the role of Col. Mustard. “It’s a wild set, as you can see, with rooms that come in and out. We’ve never done it before, I think it’s going to be quite interesting. And learning where to be, when, is kind of challenging too.”

Nicole McClenahan plays the part of Yvette, a maid whose character is not in the game, but is part of the story. She said the complexity was not harder to work with per se, just different from a typical set.

“It’s just been a learning curve on timing, and that sort of thing,” she said. “Our backstage crew members will be really important for this show.”

Costuming for the production, on the other hand, was less complicated. Designer Lisa Hughes said the characters were iconic enough for recognition.

“We’re going by the colors of the characters,” she said. “That was a challenge, sort of, to find the right costumes for that, but otherwise this has been a fairly simple show to do the costumes.”

The show is scheduled to run at the Washington Community Center at 7:30 p.m. March 10, 11, 17 and 18, as well as 2:30 p.m. on March 19.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com