by Kara Thompson ‘20 and Christianna Tran ‘20

Sherwood’s spring play, “Clue,” brought a new and exciting addition to the school’s history of productions. The show is adapted from the classic board game in which players gain clues in order to solve a mystery, finding who the murderer is, where the crime took place, and which weapon was used. Sherwood’s C.A.S.T. did a splendid job at bringing this board game to life.

The play begins with the arrival of six strangers with colorful pseudonyms to the mysterious Boddy manor, where they are introduced to the eccentric butler Wadsworth. Confused as to why they are there, they fumble through an awkward dinner before finally meeting Mr. Boddy, the owner of the estate. It is then revealed that each of the six guests have a shady past and are now being blackmailed by their host. With the police due to arrive at the mansion less than an hour later, the guests must scramble to find and destroy the evidence Boddy holds against each of them, as well as deal with a murderer on the loose somewhere in the house.  

The play featured two casts, each performing two shows, with one cast acting in the first two shows and the other acting in the latter two. The play’s casts did a wonderful job and each actor portrayed their role exceedingly well. Senior Greg Lin played an awkward, unsure man named Mr. Green who seemed very unthreatening. However, as the play went on, Lin made an excellent transition into an entirely different persona as his character revealed who he really was–an FBI agent that was actually collecting evidence on everyone in the house to arrest them. Lin’s counterpart, sophomore Dylan Campbell, played Green the other days with much success. Junior Nick Rossi, who performed all four shows, was spectacular as the smirking butler. He was able to depict a character who was creepy, entertaining and intriguing, laced with bits of humor throughout. The rest of the cast was comprised of strong actors, who were able to perfectly illustrate their characters. Each of the characters’ bold and unique personalities were expressed throughout the performance and brought an added humor with each line. Everyone on stage interacted and worked well with each other as they tried to determine who the murderer really was. Each character was quirky and entertaining, and there were witty one-liners scattered throughout the duration that made the performance enjoyable until the very end.

The show has many parallels to the board game that creates a sense of nostalgia throughout. C.A.S.T. referenced several iconic parts of the board game in their set design. Secret passageways, a feature of the game, were cleverly represented as the characters opened up parts of the set to reveal other rooms. In addition, references back to the game’s characters, weapons, and rooms successfully tied in the objective of the game into the play. To add to this, the lighting and sound effects were perfectly in sync with the characters gestures and lines at each scene.

“Clue” kept the audience excited and intrigued the entire time, but the play was more than just suspenseful. Sherwood’s performance of “Clue” was done superbly and brought a night of entertainment to everyone who had the chance to see it.