Get a clue
Did you know the weekend of March 16-18 was the final performance for 13 Marion High School thespians? Of a total cast of 20, 13 were seniors. For some of these seniors, this was their first time ever with a leading role.
"This is the first time anyone has ever clapped for me," said Emma Banning, who played the part of Mrs. Peacock in Matthew Schuler's "I Haven't a Clue: Sheerluck Holmes Case 23," a hilarious melodrama complete with three separate endings and a "who done it" cast of three possible murderers.
Kari Tajchman, who played the part of Lavender Plumb, decided to try out for the MHS spring play for the first time as a senior. "I wish I would have done this as a freshman. I had so much fun," said Tajchman.
A seasoned senior veteran, Tedra Eis, portraying the part of Miss Scarlet, has performed in 13 productions on the Marion City Auditorium stage, beginning with the children's summer theater in 1999.
A standing ovation goes out to all the students who spent two months and many long hours preparing for opening night.
Community members would have benefited greatly by attending "I Haven't a Clue" and participating in the audience hoopla of cheering for the good guys, booing the bad guys, and laughing at all the antics and play on words.
The Bible says a "merry heart doeth good like a medicine" and those attending the performance certainly left in a better mood than they arrived. The local talent of the MHS theater students went unobserved by many that third weekend in March.
Rave reviews also are extended to Janet Killough, director of the Marino High School theater department. Killough has invested 27 years of her life as an English teacher at MHS and 18 years as the director of the yearly musical and play. Much of the Marion community has not recognized the talent and skill Killough has brought to the theater department at MHS. With a new fine arts center under construction, it is a shame the years of experience and commitment Killough has brought to MHS may soon be lost to the halls of retirement.
The next round of applause goes to Matthew Schuler, a 2001 graduate of Marion High School. Schuler has written and co-directed three of the last four plays performed by MHS, "It's Greek to Me" in 2004, "Buccaneer Billy and the Luxurious Lilly" in 2006, and his latest work, "I Haven't a Clue."
It is only a matter of time before the playwright efforts of Schuler might well be seen on the stages of Broadway. When that happens, many Marionites will be scratching their heads and saying, "You know, I had the opportunity to attend the debut of that show back in 2007, right here in Marion, but I 'didn't have a clue' there was that much talent, skill, inspiration, and determination right in my own back yard."
If you have not yet experienced the thrill of attending an opening night performance of a Marion High School theater production then "get a clue" and try something new. It will be an experience you will never forget.
HATS OFF to the students and staff of the MHS theater department.
Danette Eis
Marion
