In The News: NHS changes tack with comedic whodunit

Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic 

Performances of 'While the Lights Were Out' begin Thursday at the high school

Just about anything can happen in few seconds of darkness, even murder.

Finding out how is the fun part, as Newberg High School students have come to realize in preparing over the past two months to stage Samuel French's murder-mystery "While the Lights Were Out."

For several years, the high school troupe has staged murder mystery projects during summer break, so there has been a sense of excitement ahead of the opening show, which hits the stage in the Drea Ferguson Auditorium at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"I'm enjoying the different feeling of it because we've not done a murder mystery under our director," senior actor Tatianna Lessaus said. "It's definitely odd to have it as a winter play, but it's a good kind of weird because it feels like it's coming together a lot more."

Student director Letha Clark said the theater council voted for this particular production over a different murder mystery because of its comedic bent.

"There were a lot of roles so we could fit in a lot of people and have it double casted, which is really nice in some aspects," Clark said. "It's just easy going. Even though I've heard the jokes many times, they're still funny."

The story centers on the Wickenham estate, to which the numerous characters have been drawn one stormy night.

As the title would lead one to expect, someone cries out in agony after the lights go out. When they come back on, someone is standing over a dead man with a bloody dagger.

Detective Benjamin Braddock starts the whirlwind journey to discovering the truth by postulating that everyone's eyes and ears are deceiving them when it comes to the cause of death.

"I think the love triangles make it really interesting for the audience to actually have to solve it, rather than murder mysteries that push it so you already know it," Lessaus said. "There is foreshadowing in the show that I don't think everybody picks up, though."

Not only are 13 of the 15 roles double cast, with sophomore Matt Goodbody and junior Alex Martin splitting the role Braddock, but most, if not all, are on stage at the same time for a majority of the show.

"It was a challenge at first trying to fit that many people on stage at one time," senior Kendelyn Thomas said. "With all of the snow days, we've had to postpone rehearsals, which was also difficult. It really helps that the set was designed to have different levels to even it out a bit and make it easier."

Thomas, who is playing Braddock's assistant, Alma, along with junior Tess Hartley, has also enjoyed the chance to give a murder mystery the full treatment it can only get if done during the school year.

"Our casts really jive and we have a lot of fun on stage," Thomas said.

Helping to make the production a little more unique, the troupe has added tracks of music to accent its choice to go more physical with the comedy.

Lessaus, who shares the role of Mimosa, the Whickenham's maid, with freshman Mayi Nadora, said the cast has also come up with creative ways to avoid running into each other in the dark, while also adding subtle twists to poke fun at the notion that so many things can happen in the space of five seconds.

"For example, I chug a bottle of alcohol," Lessaus said. "It's an odd idea to down that entire thing in five seconds while someone else is doing their makeup. The lights were out, so how are you doing your make up?"