It's a dark and stormy night, and you've been invited to a very unusual dinner party. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well . . . dead. So whodunnit? Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard as they race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up. Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Clue is a madcap comedy that will keep you guessing until the final twist.
Based on the Paramount Pictures motion picture inspired from the classic board game. Written by Sandy Rustin, based upon the works of Jonathan Lynn.
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TICKET INFORMATION
Massachusetts performance venues are now sanctioned at full capacity. Vaccinated individuals will be permitted to sit without distancing or masks, and this will be our standard seating policy moving forward. For a mask, distancing, or medical accommodation, please email jennifer@americanatheatrecompany.org and we will do our best to work with your needs. We look forward to seeing you at the theater!
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Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.
July 8 - 25, 2021
$35.00 adults $30.00 seniors | students Spire Center for the Performing Arts
Court Street, Plymouth, Mass.
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Eric Harrell (Director) hails from Virginia Beach, VA where he teaches on the graduate acting faculty at Regent University. During his 16 years with the university, he has served as Head of the MFA Acting Program, Chair of the Theatre Department, and as the Producing Artistic Director of Tidewater Stage, the university’s professional theatre company, which he founded in 2012. Outside of Regent, Eric stays active as a professional actor, director and dialect coach. He is a 20-year member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. He also enjoys teaching acting classes in the military community through the Armed Services Arts Partnership. After directing Boeing Boeing in 2019, he is thrilled to be back at Americana this summer for a round of Clue. The loves of his life are his wife, Holly, and his two kids, Naomi and Judah. He’s also pretty fond of a rowdy little Chihuahua named Hamlet.
Returning Artist | Director
Virginia
Americana Theatre puts the ‘Clues’ together in Plymouth
By Robert Knox Globe Correspondent, Updated July 2, 2021, 12:56 p.m.
BOSTON GLOBE
Plymouth’s Americana Theatre Co. wants audiences to reenter the live theater world laughing. “We had a really strong desire post-pandemic to bring people together and let them have an evening of theater and let them laugh,” said Jennifer Martin, the company’s associate artistic director. “We thought it was really important to offer this to our patrons after a really tough year.” The vehicle the company chose for its return to the live stage is the popular American comedy “Clue,” its cast of colorful characters — Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, to name three — broadly familiar from the popular family board game.
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The company describes the play’s setting as “the most unusual dinner party you will ever attend … It is seven strangers coming together and not knowing why.”
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The six characters of “Clue”— with surnames matching the colors of game board pieces — discover that one of the party’s participants has been murdered, but they do not know the motive, said Americana’s artistic director Jesse Sullivan. “The host informs them they’re all being blackmailed, each for a different reason. The host is killed. More murders follow.” Initiating the company’s 10th season, the show will open at the Spire Center for Performing Arts in downtown Plymouth on Thursday, July 8, and run through July 25.
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A regionally based professional theater company, Americana Theatre Co. was founded by Carver native Derek Martin in 2011. Its first production was “Private Lives” by Noel Coward. “We had no idea whether it would succeed or not,” said Sullivan, who joined the company for its first show. “People came to the shows. The company attracted a donor. Other theater artists found their way to our door.” The company’s last production before the pandemic was a radio theater staging of “It’s a Wonderful Life” performed at the Plymouth Center for the Arts.
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The company chose “Clue” for its return in part because the play requires close, intertwined stage work by an ensemble cast. “One of the things we value is we always give our members a chance to get on stage,” said Sullivan, who performs the role of Professor Plum, a recently disgraced psychologist. Making broad use of the board game’s characters and setting, the play adds a murder mystery plot and a few additional characters — including a host for the dinner-party setting and the always-suspicious butler. Characters move quickly from room to room, driven by events and — whoops — the discovery of another body. More important than the unraveling of the play’s murder plot is “the fun the characters are having playing off each other. It’s a fast-paced show,” Sullivan said.
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Characters dash from room to room, discovering the weapons employed in the board game, “chasing people, opening doors and slamming them. It’s murder mystery mayhem,” Sullivan said. In addition to casting its own members, Americana holds auditions in New York and California. “We bring in the best people we can find,” Sullivan said. “We love introducing actors from out of state. And we love showing off our town to them.” Company members in the cast include Derek Martin as the butler Wadsworth and his wife Jennifer Martin as Miss Scarlet (the Martins live in California and summer in Plymouth); David Friday of Plymouth as Colonel Mustard; and Erin Friday of Carver as Mrs. Peacock. Payton Gobeille of New York plays Mrs. White.
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The production is directed by Eric Harrell. Tickets are $35 and $30 for seniors and students. They are available at americanatheatre.org/tickets.
Americana Theatre Company is comprised of professionals who have worked from the highest quality regional theaters across the country from L.A. to NYC We are proud to present you actors of the highest professional caliber.
SUMMER 2021
CAST & CREW
Company Member | Executive Director | Wadsworth | Set Designer
California
DEREK G. MARTIN
Derek G. Martin originally hails from Carver, Massachusetts and has been making a living acting, choreographing and directing professionally around the country for the last 20 years. He has performed with notable companies such as Connecticut Repertory Theatre, The York Theatre Company, Musical Theatre of Connecticut, Virginia Musical Theatre, Virginia Stage, The Palace Theatre in Manchester NH, The Broward Stage Door Theatre, The Round Barn Theatre and many others. ATC Credits include Padre (Man of La Mancha), Vinnie Di Ruzzio (Lucky Stiff), Aramis (The Three Musketeers), Victor Fleming (Moonlight and Magnolias), Clown 2 (The 39 Steps), Elyot Chase (Private Lives), director for ATC’s inaugural production of And Sarah Laughed and choreographer for Grease. Derek is the department head for William Jessup University’s B.A. Theatre program in Rocklin, CA and is passionate about telling transformative stories and empowering the next generation of artists.
Company Member | Managing Director | Colonel Mustard
Massachusetts
DAVID FRIDAY
As a company member David has enjoyed roles as Governor in Man of La Mancha, Mr. Sipos in Parfumerie, Vince Fontaine in Grease, Porthos in The Three Musketeers, Watson in Hound of the Baskervilles and many parts in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. A graduate of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, David has performed on stage, television, radio and film, in NYC, New Jersey, Indiana, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and is happy to have settled down in Carver with his wonderful wife, Erin and 2 beautiful girls, Karly and Lexi. In the past, David has served as Technical Director for The Company of Pittsburgh and
appeared in productions of Oklahoma!, Man of La Mancha, Passion, and many others. He can also be seen in the film Love the Coopers. “Autism awareness rocks!”
Company Member | Artistic Director | Professor Plum
Massachusetts
JESSE SULLIVAN
Americana: Bernard (Boeing Boeing), Dr. Carrasco (Man of La Mancha), George Horvath (Parfumerie), George Bailey (It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play), Athos (The Three Musketeers), Selznick (Moonlight and Magnolias), Richard/William (The Cottage), Michael Hosea (Redeeming Love), Inspector (An Inspector Calls). National Tours: Miss Saigon, and Coupeau/Fight Captain (The Scarlet Pimpernel). NY credits include Scandalous People, Clarence (NY Fridge), Gregory (Battleship Potemkin with the York Theatre Co.), Ben Hecht (Moonlight and Magnolias), and Jeff (Map to Buddha with Remote Theatre Co.). Training: BFA in Musical Theatre from University of Hartford, The Hartt School.
Company Member | Associate Artistic Director | Miss Scarlet | Costumer
California
JENNIFER MARTIN
Jennifer has enjoyed working from east to west with theatres such as Theatre for Humanity - NYC, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Virginia Musical Theatre, Richmond Shakespeare, The Round Barn Theatre, Pirate Dinner Adventure, Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage and is a founding member of Americana Theatre Company. Americana: Amanda Prynne (Private Lives), Woman (The 39 Steps), Sylvia (The Cottage), Angel (Redeeming Love), Milady de Winter (The Three Musketeers), Marty (Grease), Dominique DuMonaco (Lucky Stiff), Amalia Balash (Parfumerie), Gabriela (Boeing, Boeing), Mary (It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play). MFA Acting, Regent University. She is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at William Jessup University in Rocklin, CA.
Company Member | Educational Director | Ms. Peacock
Massachusetts
ERIN FRIDAY
Erin Friday is thrilled to serve on Americana Theatre Company’s executive team as the Director of Education. Erin has a degree in Elementary Education with a focus on Fine and Theatre Arts from Stonehill College. ATC credits include Berthe (Boeing Boeing), all of the female roles (It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play), Ilona Ritter (Parfumerie), Housekeeper (Man of La Mancha), Ms. Lynch (Grease), Woman 1 (Lucky Stiff). Regionally, she has performed with companies such as The Round Barn Theatre, The Comtra Theatre, McKeesport Little Theatre, Gemini Children’s Theater and others. Erin has been a board member of ATC since 2011. Enjoy the show!
Returning Artist | Mrs. White | Company Manager | Box Office Manager
California
PAYTON GOBEILLE
Payton Gobeille is delighted about returning again to the Americana stage. ATC: Boeing, Boeing (Gretchen), Parfumerie (Stage Manager), Grease (Costume Design). Regional: Evermore (Maria Clemm) Curious Theatre Works, The Wolves (#7) Capital Stage, and Wit (Susie) Big Idea Theatre. B.A. in Creative Arts/Theatre from William Jessup University. Choose joy. @paygobeille
Returning Artist | Mr. Green | Poster Design / Artwork
California
JESSE WINTON
Jesse Winton is an actor and musician excited to be returning to Americana after appearing in their 2018 production of Man of La Mancha. Other past credits include Clue (Wadsworth), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Gaston), The Importance of Being Earnest (Algernon Moncrieff), The Secret Garden (Neville Craven), and Disaster! (Scott). He can next be seen appearing RIGHT BEHIND YOU.
Guest Artist | Mr. Boddy
Massachusetts
RICARDO FOSTER
Born and raised in Boston, Ricardo has been involved with the entertainment industry for over 10 years. Using his special talents as a dancer, choreographer, performer, actor, comedian, and model, he has single-handedly made a name for himself amongst many of today’s popular artists. Working and performing with artists ranging from Jay-Z, Usher, Britney Spears, NSYNC, En-vogue, Uncle Cracker, and Beyonce to old school classics like Naughty by Nature, Wu-Tang clan, and RUN DMC, he has seen it all. Due to his performances, choreography and works being showcased on different platforms of entertainment Ricardo has been recognized and dubbed a world-renowned choreographer and performer
Guest Artist | Yvette | Sound Designer | Production Assistant
California
SYDNEY SCHULTIS
Sydney Schultis is currently getting her B.A. in Theatre at William Jessup University. She was recently seen as Martha in The Secret Garden (WJU). Notable roles include Alice - Seven Brides (WJU) and Dorothy - The Wizard of Oz (Candlelight Pavilion). Previously Sydney was a seasonal performer at Legoland CA and Merida in HK Disneyland’s Mickey and the Wondrous Book. @sydneyschultis
Guest Artist | Cook | Singing Telegram | Production Assistant
California
BRIDGETTE KINSELLA
Bridgette Kinsella is a recent graduate of William Jessup University and a soon-to-be resident of New York! Past roles include: Lily in The Secret Garden, Belle in Beauty and the Beast with William Jessup, and a vocal booth singer in Oklahoma! with Sacramento Music Circus.
Returning Artist | Cop | Motorist
Massachusetts
SHEILA KELLEHER
Sheila works with most of the local theatre groups as both performer and director. Recent favorite roles include Countess Charlotte Malcolm in A Little Night Music, and Masha in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Sheila holds a master’s degree from Emerson College in Theatre Education.
Guest Artist | Stage Manager
California
CIERA MILLER
Ciera is a recent graduate with a B.A in Theatre and a specialization in Tech and Design from William Jessup University. She is Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Curious Theatre Works in Rocklin, CA. Later this summer she is relocating to New York to continue to stage manage, direct and produce. When she's not doing theatre, she is usually getting lost in the mountains and trying to find all the magic the world has to offer. cieramiller.com
Returning Artist | Lighting Designer
New York
HEATHER M. CROCKER
Heather is a New York City based lighting and projections designer and is thrilled to be returning to Americana Theatre Company. She received her MFA in Theatre Design and Technology (Lighting/Projections Design) from the University of Missouri, Kansas City in 2015. Past lighting design credits include; Hound of the Baskervilles and Man of La Mancha (Americana Theatre Co.), Deathtrap (Winnipesaukee Playhouse, NH), Murder For Two (Lyric Stage Company of Boston),The Master Builder (Colby College, ME), Disenchanted, Over the River and Through the Woods, West Side Story (City Theatre, ME), End Days (Voice Theatre, NY), The Nether, Kimberly Akimbo, Vigils, The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Mad Horse Theatre Company, ME), The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Almost Maine (UMKC Theatre), Little Women (UMKC Conservatory of Opera), Number the Stars (Coterie Theatre, KC), Projections design credits include: Freedom Rider (UMKC Theatre), Ragtime, and Chess at Gallery Players in Brooklyn, NY.
Guest Artist | Dramaturg
California
ANNA-ROSE DAVIS
Anna-Rose is a current student at William Jessup University, and is studying Theatre Design and Tech. At Jessup, she has worked on The Secret Garden (Party Guest), Clue (Wardrobe Manager), Bethlehem (Dance Ensemble), Much Ado About Nothing (Conrade), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Wardrobe Assistant).
She is so excited to step into the role of dramaturg, and hopes you enjoy the show!