{"id":124585,"date":"2026-04-14T11:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-students-overcome-challenges-and-come-together-to-stage-clue-murder-mystery-show\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:32:13","slug":"cortez-students-overcome-challenges-and-come-together-to-stage-clue-murder-mystery-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-students-overcome-challenges-and-come-together-to-stage-clue-murder-mystery-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez students overcome challenges and come together to stage \u2018Clue\u2019 murder mystery show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MCHS
MCHS theater students will present \u201cClue\u201d on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. (Photo courtesy of Evaristo Ruiz)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Montezuma-Cortez High School will present \u201cClue: The High School Edition,\u201d a comedic murder mystery based on the classic board game, on Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.<\/p>\n

The production, written by Sandy Rustin and based on a screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, unfolds on a \u201cdark and stormy night\u201d at Boddy Manor.<\/p>\n

Guests arrive using the aliases of Miss Scarlet (played by Grace Noyes), Professor Plum (Preston Tanner), Mrs. White (Mayra Rascon), Mrs. Peacock (Hannah Ford), Mr. Green (Troy Yoder) and Colonel Mustard (James Hall) for a dinner party hosted by Mr. Boddy (Max Hatch), who becomes the center of the mystery.<\/p>\n

With champagne, murder weapons and a growing body count, the story delivers twists and turns that keep audiences guessing until the surprising reveal at the end, the team behind the show said.<\/p>\n

The show features 24 students supported by an eight-member crew. Auditions were held Feb. 19, followed by six weeks of rehearsal.<\/p>\n

Directors Lon Simmons and Carter Cox have guided the students as they prepare the play. Stage managers Emma Story and Evaristo Ruiz, along with head crew member Elsa Hamerschlag, have coordinated transitions and production logistics.<\/p>\n

\"The
The story takes place on a \u201cdark and stormy night\u201d in the manor of Mr. Boddy. (Photo courtesy of Evaristo Ruiz)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis show has had a plethora of memories that I am certain all of us will carry for a long while,\u201d Story said. \u201cOne of our members mentioned the days of construction with Mr. Cox and watching him help us all out so much, she endearingly mentioned him burning himself on a freshly placed screw, although I\u2019m not too sure how endearing it was for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The production faced early hurdles in recruiting participants and building momentum after the departure of former director Nicholaus Sandner. Students stepped up, however, to ensure the show could proceed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of this year, nobody was expecting to be where we are now,\u201d Yoder said. \u201cWe have gone through arguments, miscommunications, quitting and many more obstacles that made it seem almost impossible to put on this show. \u2026 Everyone was on the brink of giving up, but I watched my fellow students try, time and time again, to make this program work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Stage
Stage manager Evaristo Ruiz, head crew member Elsa Hamerschlag and stage manager Emma Story. (Photo courtesy of Evaristo Ruiz)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ruiz emphasized how proud he is of the cast and crew and what they have accomplished leading up to the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have pushed the limits of what\u2019s possible on stage to create a very fun show,\u201d Ruiz said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for the community to see the scale of what we\u2019ve built. I\u2019m sure the community will be on the edge of their seats by the end of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors and free for children five years old and under.<\/p>\n

Community members are encouraged to attend what students described as a new beginning for the theater program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe humor is quaint and the drama is picturesque,\u201d Story said. \u201cAnyone who comes and sees it will be laughing one second and gasping the next. It\u2019s truly full of artistic designs and choices, sensory engagement that transport the audience into the story we are telling and authentic acting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

be held in May<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6404],"tags":[363,1060,155,60,36,216],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-124585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment-2","tag-arts","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-education","tag-montezuma-county","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-school-district-re-1"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124585"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=124585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}