An attentive and appreciative crowd welcomed the return of live, maskless theater to Gorham High School with the fall play, “CLUE.” No one left the McCormack Auditorium disappointed by the spirited and lively performance.

As director, Josie Tierney-Fife, welcomed the audience, she stated, “Clue is set in 1955, ten years after the war and at the height of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. American citizens were being accused of being communists and traitors. “Clue” is a comedy that makes fun of the very serious topics of political division and murder.”

The show was double cast to extend the number of students who could participate. In Saturday night’s presentation, Aera Hyson performed the pivotal role of Wadsworth; in other performances, Nick Tinkham played the role. Hyson’s comedic timing and acting were flawless, and one of the highlights of the show was her recap of all the action of the show up to the dramatic conclusion, through physical humor and imitations of the other actors.

The entire cast was skilled and well-rehearsed. The CLUE “game characters” of Colonel Mustard (Zackary Waters), Miss Scarlett (Lauren Pierce), Professor Plum (Libbie Merrill), Mrs. Peacock (Sofia Andrade), Mrs. White (Kaci Mollison) and Mr. Green (Paige Fowler) all delivered solid performances. In alternate shows, the roles of Miss Scarlett, Mrs. White and Mr. Green were played by Emma Smith, Ally Gossen and Cecelia Dellosso, respectively.

The supporting cast of Lila Soleki, Abby Fiore, Autumn Booth, Alauna Worden, Nick Tinkham, Emma Smith, Ally Gossen and Cecelia Dellosso all provided strong performances. Each of these supporting characters entered the story and then quickly became murder victims in the ongoing mystery, with the perpetrator using the familiar game weapons including a lead pipe, a dagger and a rope.

The set design by Ms. Tierney-Fife and construction by Peter Tierney-Fife and volunteer Ben Scott provided a well-structured and simplified maze of eight rooms for the cast to visit and travel through with relative ease.

Ms. Tierney-Fife had this to say about her cast, “This was such an incredibly hard working, creative, and fun group to work with! They put so many hours into everything from developing their characters and learning lines to painting the set. It was so rewarding to see their growth as theater artists and to watch this show come to life because of their hard work!”

GHS continues to provide opportunities for the talented students and a venue for audiences to see quality theater performances. Many students were in attendance and appeared to fully enjoy the show. In February, GHS will present the musical, “Mary Poppins,” as well as a one act play to compete in the state-wide drama festival. Don’t miss the opportunity to see these productions.