After several years of forgoing a fall theatrical performance, for a variety of reasons, Josh Martin, director of the Garden Spot Performing Arts (GSPA) upcoming production, chose a family-friendly adaptation of a show he called "fun, funny, and suspenseful in a comedic way."

"Clue" - based on the Hasbro board game and the 1985 movie - will be presented in the Stan Deen Auditorium at Garden Spot High School (GSHS), 669 E. Main St., New Holland, on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. each night. One-price general admission tickets to the play will be available in the lobby one hour before showtime.

The GSHS National Honor Society will hold a catered dinner, featuring Cantonese cuisine including egg rolls, a beverage, and dessert, in the cafeteria prior to the Nov. 22 show from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Tickets to the dinner will be discounted if purchased ahead of time at https://tinyurl.com/BoddysTable. Children under 5 may eat free.

While the board game offers players multiple endings, the play does come to a complicated, but plausible, conclusion. "All the characters are assembled in a creepy mansion on a dark and stormy night, and they are trying to figure out who killed Mr. Boddy, (played by Ashton Martin)," explained Josh. "It's hysterical."

Set in the 1950s, the classic whodunit brings together six guests invited by Mr. Boddy. In an isolated New England location, the strangers are each given false names - Miss Scarlet, played by Lila Albertson; Mrs. Peacock, played by Jenna Zueno; Mrs. White, played by Morgan Watt; Colonel Mustard, played by Sean Sexton; Professor Plum, played by Hunter Moua; and Mr. Green, played by Jack Harmer. The guests are joined at the mansion by Wadsworth, the butler, played by Luke Canales; Yvette, the maid, played by Alida Gauthier; and the cook, played by Bri Remlinger. Other cast members include the motorist, played by Andre Ramirez, and the chief of police, played by Ryan Miller.

According to Josh, many of the 16 cast members were familiar with the game or the movie. Challenges of staging the play have included encouraging cast members to play adults who may be two or three times the students' ages, along with transporting themselves back to the late 1950s while in character. The pace of the action is a challenge as well. "There is a lot of physical comedy, and it's fast moving," noted Josh, who added that the large stage crew will be very busy throughout the show. "I think there are 14 scene changes in 90 minutes," reported Josh, adding that the action moves from the hall to the lounge to the billiard room. "There's a choreography to dragging corpses around the stage," he explained.

"It's a good parody," Josh noted, pointing out that the "almost campy" mystery is not short on laughs. "It knowns what it's imitating, and it does it really well," he said.

Josh predicted that audience members will find enjoyment in the one-act comedy, saying, "There is no moral. It's a night of good fun."