Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Faith Lutheran breaks in new theater with mystery

Clue

Heather Cory

Faith Lutheran’s stage crew is busy at work completing the set of the upcoming production of “Clue.”

Clue

Callae Waller, left, and Sasha Vancura work on the two-story set of Faith Lutheran's upcoming play, Launch slideshow »

Clue

Faith Lutheran Jr./Sr. High School's production of "Clue" will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 20-21 and 27-28; and at 2 p.m. Feb. 22 and March 1 in the chapel/performing arts center at the school, 2015 S. Hualapai Way.

Tickets prices vary and are available online or at the school the day of the show.

With pencils behind their ears and drills in hand, the students scurried around setting 2-by-4 boards and mock doorways in place on the stage at Faith Lutheran Jr./Sr. High School.

A massive wooden stairway, complete with a decorative banister, took center stage and led the way to a number of yet-to-be finished rooms in the set's 1950s New England-style mansion.

The huge intricate wooden structure, which students and adult volunteers have spent weeks perfecting, will soon play host to the cast of a stage adaptation of the movie "Clue."

The show, which is directed by Emily Ball, will run Feb. 20-22; 27-28 and March 1 in the schools chapel/performing arts center.

Technical Director Erik Ball said that while the construction of the two-story set, which will feature secret passageways, may have been a little daunting, it was a necessary endeavor.

"Everyone who plays the game knows there are eight rooms," he said.

Being that this is the high school's first play in the school's chapel/performing arts center, which opened in October, Ball said the stage crew was a little green when it came to utilizing all the space and technology provided by the new building, but that the crew members have all done really well.

"We went into this thinking we would confront adversity," he said. "We're wonderfully surprised to see how it's all going."

And the surprises aren't going to stop once the set is constructed and the cast takes the stage.

During each performance, the audience will be given a game card and will be able to follow the show and guess the identity of the killer.

"We're turning all the audience members into little sleuths," Ball said.

At the very end of the show, attendees will find out if they were correct in their guess.

A different game will play out each night as the play will feature six different suspects and six different endings.

"A half hour before the show we'll pick a name out of a hat," Ball said.

The name chosen will be the killer for that performance.

"It's our way of tipping our hats to the game," Ball said.

Not only has the theater department raised the bar for technical people, but it's also expecting a lot from the actors, he said.

Senior Paul Mlynarek, who will play Colonel Mustard, said he and his fellow cast mates have been memorizing the lines for a few months now and that learning the various endings wasn't the easiest of tasks.

"At first it was very difficult, but as we kept on doing rehearsals and going through the endings over and over we started picking it up," he said.

Even if it has been a little tough, Mylnarek said he appreciates what the varied endings will add to the performance. "It adds a sense of mystery to the show when they (the audience members) don't know what to expect," he said.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected].

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