On Friday, Feb. 3, La Salle’s theater department held the opening night of their winter show, “Clue.” The murder mystery has been in the making since the fall and is completely student-run, put on by the Advanced Acting and Production class. 

Going into opening night, director of the play senior Avery Marks specifically mentioned being really proud of how much the actors evolved through the process. “They portray their characters better than I ever could’ve imagined,” Marks said. 

Marks wasn’t the only one who thought that. “I think that everyone has really found their character,” sophomore and assistant director Sayre Albert said. “I think that they really do know what to do and they have found their timing very well.” 

Marks explained how stressful opening night was for many of the cast and crew. Four hours before performing, senior Isabella Simonutti volunteered to fill in for a member of the cast who was out sick and plays the character Ms. White. Simonutti had to learn all her lines in the few hours she had before the show began and sent her mom out to get a dress from Goodwill to use as her costume. 

“I do not play a part in the play at all,” Simonutti said. “I am not an understudy, I’m just on crew, but of course, I said yes.” 

Marks had many things she was proud of, but really emphasized how incredible she thinks the set is. “I can’t wait for everyone to see all the moving pieces and the things you might not exactly expect when you first walk into the auditorium,” she said. 

Stage manager junior Ashley Nelson, who calls all the technical queues backstage, was mostly concerned about the set going into the opening night because it wasn’t completed until the sixth period that day. 

Senior and set designer William Clem, who is head of scenic design and construction, set running, and painting crews, began designing the set in early December, but the set crew didn’t start building it until early January.

“I did not design an easy set to build, but I am proud of how everybody has really worked together, especially this last week,” Clem said. “I’m just really grateful for everybody that has stayed late.” 

Gratitude was also expressed for the theater teacher, Mr. Michael Shelton, by the Advanced Acting and Production students who decided to include a painted portrait of him as a set piece. They enlisted the talent of senior Charlie Dougherty and kept it hidden in the Makerspace so they could surprise Mr. Shelton the day before opening night. 

The decision was made collectively as a way to show appreciation and include Mr. Shelton in the show even though he’s not directing this particular production.

Throughout the development of the production, one of the most difficult things for Marks was the casting process. The talent presented by many people at the auditions made casting decisions harder than Marks expected. “It came down to who was best for the specific way we wanted to see the role played during this production,” Marks said. “Which is something I never really thought about before when I was the one auditioning.”

Auditions for the play were led by Marks, as well as Albert, Nelson, and senior Anna Lacine. “We talked a little bit afterward, and we did some callbacks,” Marks said. “We were not expecting how many people came to auditions; it was insane.” 

One challenge the theater department encountered was having to move the show from Saturday, Feb. 4 because of the school dance. “It’s just extremely disheartening when I’ve put in countless hours of work,” Marks said. “Everyone involved has put in countless hours of work.”

Regardless of the things that didn’t go as planned, this was La Salle’s sixth year of doing a student-run play, and overall, most of the cast and crew were pleased with how everything turned out. “I feel like the performance was incredible,” Marks said. “I could not be more proud with everyone and how they pulled through.” 

The Clue production will have its final showings on Feb. 10, 11, and 12.