Sigourney Puts on Murder Mystery Play

SIGOURNEY – Last weekend, Sigourney High School put on three performances of the play “Clue,” an adaptation of the classic murder mystery board game. The play was directed by Devin Dailey and student director Cera Hahn and starred Carter Wyatt as Wadsworth, Jodi Wehr as Yvette, Lana Thomas as Mrs. Peacock, Ella Bahlman as Colonel Mustard, Ava Fineran as Professor Plum, Sadie Greiner as Miss Scarlet, Amiya Smallwood as Mrs. White and Mason Clarahan as Mr. Green. The play also featured Hannah Williams, Darby Mitchell, Cooper Hammes, Addison Richardson, Chris McLennan and Reegan Telegram as various murder victims and cops. The backstage crew was comprised of Cera Hahn, Nolan McLaughlin, Addison Yates, Ellie Yates, and Ellie Ireland.

Sigourney previously attempted to put on “Clue” in 2020. Unfortunately, all performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The seniors this year didn’t get to perform it, so it was kind of a fun twist on that, and it’s just one of my favorite plays,” said Dailey. “I think all of the seniors that were in it were background characters, and now a lot of them are leads, so that’s kind of an interesting dynamic.”

“Clue” is the third play Dailey has directed at Sigourney, following last year’s “You Can’t Take It With You” and 2022’s “The Game Is Afoot.” “It’s been very hectic this year,” said Dailey. “We’ve had a lot of sickness and a lot of snow days, but it’s been coming together, I think, within the last couple of weeks...It’s been super fun. I am lucky because we have a small rough school that, a lot of the time, the cast is usually carried over from the last year and the year before that. And so it’s been fun to see these guys start as sophomores and now seniors to see their character development and what I can throw them into. We have a senior, Ava Fineran, her and Lana Thomas too, their Sophomore years they didn’t want a role at all. They were like, ‘keep me backstage,’ and now they’re two of the biggest personalities on the stage. It’s kind of fun to see them grow.”

The play focuses on six people invited to a dinner party by their mysterious blackmailer, Mr. Boddy. When Boddy suddenly dies, the conniving cast of characters work to figure out which among them is the killer, aided by Boddy’s overdramatic butler, Wadsworth. “This year, my character is like really dramatic and kind of all about the dun-dun-dah type of scenes and I really like that,” said Wadsworth’s actor, Carter Wyatt.

Wyatt, a senior, has only been doing drama for two years and decided to branch out his senior year. “It was my second year being in the play, this year,” said Wyatt. “My first year was super fun, and I just decided to come back. I’m kind of branching out, my senior year. I’m doing a lot of stuff I wouldn’t usually do...Last year was my first year and I kinda just got thrown into a role. It was a super fun role, but it was like the main role and it had a lot of lines and I wasn’t really used to doing all that. But then it kind of just came together at the end. It doesn’t really matter  how many times you go over your lines at home. It’s kinda weird to explain, but you never really have them memorized until like the day of the play, and then it just kind of happens.”

Lana Thomas, who played Mrs. Peacock, has worked on three plays, although her first one she worked backstage. “My Freshman year, I did background stage, and then my brother graduated and I decided to actually do the play. I’ve done the last three years,” said Thomas. “My first year, I wasn’t actually casted, but then things happened and last minute I had to fill in and that was super fun. I didn’t want to give that up for the rest of them. I found them really interesting. I enjoy doing the play and people that are in it. It makes connections with people so I just decided to do it.

“The plays are small, so there’s not really a lot of roles that aren’t really main, especially the last few years,” continued Thomas. “This year, there is a bigger cast, so there’s a lot of half-roles...Memorizing your lines just really comes together. It doesn’t matter how many times you practice, it’s just like repetition and getting it in. Just going through it is what helps you. I get nervous, five minutes before we perform, so it’s a little difficult, but I get over the second I step on stage and everything flows nice.

Thomas noted the fact that she had previously played men for Sigourney plays and the tendency for her characters to be harmed. “This year, I finally get to be a female, Miss Peacock, and she’s super crazy and screams a lot. Every year I just fall on the ground or get beat up, so I like that that’s continued throughout my whole career of being in the play,” Thomas said, laughing.