The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

VWCT announces cast for new musical

VW Civic Theatre information

The internationally popular game Clue is now a fun filled musical that brings the world’s best known suspects to life and invites the audience to help solve the mystery: who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room and with what weapon?

Clue the Musical, Van Wert Civic Theatre’s latest production, has an interactive feature in which three audience members randomly select cards that determine which suspect committed the murder, which weapon was used, and in what room the murder took place. Based on the cards drawn, the show has 216 possible endings!!

Cast members for Clue the Musical include (from the left) Joe Warnement (Professor Plum); Chris Lybold (Mr. Green); Jamie Allen-Ream (Ms. Scarlet); Jerry Zimmerman (Mr. Boddy) and Harold Poppe (Colonel Mustard). (photo by Tracey Sterling/Van Wert Area Photography Club)
Cast members for Clue the Musical include (from the left) Joe Warnement (Professor Plum); Chris Lybold (Mr. Green); Jamie Allen-Ream (Ms. Scarlet); Jerry Zimmerman (Mr. Boddy) and Harold Poppe (Colonel Mustard). (photo by Tracey Sterling/Van Wert Area Photography Club)

Jerry Zimmerman takes on double duty in this production as director and in the role of Mr. Boddy.  Boddy acts as the host inviting the audience to play “The Game” during which he introduces each of the other characters.

He then brings three audience members onstage to choose one card each from one of three stacks, representing six suspects, six rooms and six weapons. These selected cards, unseen by the selectors, cast, or the audience, are placed in an oversized envelope marked “Confidential,” which is displayed on stage for the duration of the musical and opened to reveal the cards near the end. Mr. Boddy instructs the audience on how to play along.

Between scenes throughout the musical, Mr. Boddy gives rhyming clues, which provide the audience with information they may jot down on a form supplied to them and use to solve the mystery.

In the kitchen, Mrs. White, portrayed by Mary Ann Falk, prepares dinner and argues with Boddy over her forced servitude to pay debts.

In the ballroom, Col. Mustard (Harold Poppe) engages in an affair with Mrs. Peacock (Nancy Shuffle) and is caught by Mr. Boddy.

Over drinks in the lounge, Ms. Scarlet, played by Jamie Allen, and Mr. Green, portrayed by Chris Lybold (both fresh off their roles in the last VWCT production Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille) are revealed to have been former lovers double-crossed by Boddy.

In the study, Professor Plum (Joe Warnement) recounts how Mr. Boddy ruined his family fortune.

In the conservatory, Mrs. Peacock makes a plan to add Boddy to her growing list of dead husbands while, In the billiard room, Mr. Green clashes with Boddy over some missing funds.

After dinner, Boddy invites his guests and staff to fulfill their destiny — to murder him! As they search for the right combination of room and weapon, Mr. Boddy is found dead.

Only one hard-nosed female detective, played by Amy Boley, is qualified to unravel the merry mayhem. Comic antics, witty lyrics, and a beguiling score carry the investigation from room to room. Even after the culprit confesses, a surprise twist delights the audience.

Musical selections include, “Once a Widow,”” Foul-Weather Friend” and “She Hasn’t Got A Clue.”

Don’t miss out when hilarity ensues on the VWCT stage May 7-17.  The VWCT Box Office opens to the general public on Monday, May 4.  Hours are 2-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All seats are $12.

POSTED: 04/28/15 at 7:02 am. FILED UNDER: Arts & Entertainment, News