“Clue” leads off an exciting year of Lees-McRae Theatre Arts productions

Lees-McRae students will face the challenge of bringing new perspectives to classic stories as they perform in “Clue,” “The Glass Menagerie,” and “James and the Giant Peach” during the 2022−23 academic year.

Preparations for the season will begin shortly after the first day of classes, with fall auditions being held Thursday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. This session will audition actors for both fall shows, and any necessary callbacks will be held the next evening on Friday, Aug. 19.

The fall season will kick off with “Clue,” the funny and spooky play based on the ’80s film and the timeless board game of the same name. The show will play Thursday, Sept. 29−Sunday, Oct. 2, including two performances during Homecoming.

Set in a lavish remote mansion, a murder mystery begins to unfold when six party guests─ Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Colonel Mustard─ discover that their host has been killed and set off to find the culprit. With fun sound effects, a live pianist, and goofy humor, “Clue” is sure to be a favorite for the whole family.

“There’s a lot of physical comedy in ‘Clue,’ so timing will be really hard,” Program Coordinator and Professor of Theatre Arts Michael Hannah, who will direct the show, said. “I think it’s going to be fun for the student actors to learn how to set up a joke.”

Following “Clue” in the fall will be “The Glass Menagerie.” This classic memory play by Tennessee Williams will pose a different challenge for the actors. Often taught in theatre courses, “The Glass Menagerie” has a small cast of four complex characters and will require students to shift from the exaggerated physical comedy of “Clue” to a quieter, more introspective performance.

The play is based on the memories of its narrator Tom Wingfield, a semi-autobiographical character based on Williams himself. While “The Glass Menagerie” is often classified as a realism play, Director and Assistant Professor of Theater Arts Josh Yoder, who will direct the play, said that in reality it brings a true sense of wonder and magic to the stage.

“The Glass Menagerie” will run from Wednesday, Nov. 9−Saturday, Nov. 12. Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes work for the spring semester show will already be underway after a mid-October audition session for “James and the Giant Peach.”

This larger-than-life musical is based on the much-loved children’s book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The play will bring whimsy and childlike joy to the Lees-McRae stage with life-sized bug characters, magic, and—of course—a giant peach.

When James, a young boy tormented by his wicked aunts, discovers a giant peach, he is whisked away on an adventure just as large. He soon finds himself inside the peach among human-sized insects who he befriends as they set off on a journey across the ocean.

“’James and the Giant Peach’ is a very big production, it’s very theatrical. Roald Dahl has this approach of putting children as the central character, and the children are faced with all these adult issues, yet James finds his family with these insects,” Hannah said. “That’s what Dahl does, he puts the children front and center and allows them to make the world right, at least for themselves.”

“James and the Giant Peach” will run from Thursday, Feb. 23−Sunday, Feb. 26. Performances of all shows throughout the 2022−23 academic year will take place in Hayes Auditorium and Broyhill Theatre on the Lees-McRae College campus.