WELLSVILLE — If you’ve seen the movie, you will definitely enjoy the Starlight Theatre Company’s production of “Clue,” says Director Brian Keib.
He is having a great time, along with cast members getting the “Who Dun It?” ready for the June 6, 7 and 8 production in the Nancy Howe Auditorium at the David A. Howe Library on Main Street. The play will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday.
Even if you are an aficionado of the 1985 movie, it doesn’t mean you know how the play will end. Like the popular board game itself, anything can happen.
“We’ve wanted to do ‘Clue’ for a while now,” Keib said. “Both our actors and our audience have asked for it. It’s a wonderful, campy performance featuring both veteran Starlighters and new actors and actresses. Each time we do a show, our ensemble and our audience grows.”
While the Starlight Theatre Company’s performances usually take place at the former Christian Temple Church, “Clue” will be presented at the library.
“With all the restoration and what’s been done in the Nancy Howe Theater, the auditorium is the perfect venue for this production,” Keib said. “We’ve wanted to do some crossover with the library for some time now. ‘Clue’ in the library are symbiotic. We’ve already done a live game version of ‘Clue’ at the library, and it was great. The grandeur of the library and the auditorium really fit with this production. It is truly a hidden gem, and we want to do more crossover programming with them.”
This production is a melting pot, merging new actors like Jonathan Young of Jamestown as the butler and veteran Starlighter and one of its founders Heidi Lawton as Miss Scarlet. It’s truly an ensemble with 13 thespians and 11 support staff working behind the scenes, Keib said.
Starlight is also working with The Shop At Main to promote the show. The boutique coffee shop is hosting a “Clue”-vent leading up to opening night. Customers win “Clue” cards and have an opportunity to win prizes throughout the week if they solve the mystery.
Keib said we really wanted to offer the community a “Clue” event and we’re hoping to include more downtown activities like that with our future productions. (The players will be producing the “Carol Burnett Show” in September.)
Keib, who himself is a veteran Starlighter, is wearing the director’s shoes this time and says it is a role he also enjoys. “I like collaborating with the actors,” he said.
The cast is as follows:
Wadsworth — Jonathan Young
Professor Plum — Jeff Apple
Colonel Mustard — Jesse Beaton
Mrs. White — Alexa Frank
Mrs. Peacock — Maddie Hogue
Mr. Green — Benjamin Lawton
Miss Scarlet — Heidi Lawton
Yvette — Bella Wenslow
Mr. Boddy — Keenen O’Connor
The Cook & Singing Telegram Girl — Izzy Tinder
The Unexpected Cop — Molly Green
Ensemble: Genevieve Green, Marah Mellinger
The 90-minute show will have no intermission. Audience participation is a part of the performance, and Keib hopes the audience will “lean into” the performance as if they are playing their own version of the popular Who Dun It? board game.
The cost of a ticket is $10 across the board. Tickets will be available at the door. They can also be purchased ahead of time at L’ITALIA and at The Shop At Main and online at www.zeffy.com/ticketing/clue
The Starlight Theatre Company has been in existence for more than a decade at its official home in the former Christian Temple Church on Maple Avenue. The community theater group attracts thespians from across Western New York and routinely offers both adult and children’s programming throughout the year.
Look on Facebook for more information as to what’s happening with the Starlight Theatre Company.
