The Jena High School Drama Club brought the dangerously funny murder mystery “The Game’s Afoot” to the stage, with hundreds in attendance over the course of the weekend.
This Holmes for the Holidays whodunit was presented by the small student cast in the Jena High School auditorium on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, December 6-8. With the Drama Club’s quirky and clever rendition of Ken Ludwig’s play, local audiences were never short of gasps and laughs.
The cast featured Tanner Boyett as William Gillette – the Broadway star whose cast party turns deadly – who embraces his Sherlock Holmes persona to track down a killer. Joining Boyett to make up the cast were students Brayden Hood as Felix Geisel, Sophie Reaves as Aggie Wheeler, Callie Davidson as Madge Geisel, Greyor Harris as Simon Bright, Iris Bradford as Martha Gillette, Raylee Guillory as Daria Chase and Ava McGuffee as the Inspector Harriet Goring.
Off-stage vocals were provided by understudies Dalen McDowell, Mallory Courtney, Zaylee Walker, Hope Pennington, Natalie Rollins and Makayla Bradford.
The crew included JHS Drama Club Director Tracy Joy, Technical Directory Blake Joy and Acting Coach/ Stage Combat director Luke Goudelock. Student members of the crew included Hair and Makeup Artists Haiden Carroll, Mallory Courtney and Jessica Smith, Sound Technician Arin Ashley, Lighting Technician Denver Green, Stage Manager Jillian Parke and Stage Crew Makayla Bradford and Nova Smith.
The JHS Drama Club’s presentation of “The Game’s Afoot” would not have been possible without the following sponsors and supporters: Ace Family Hardware, Cliff Williams Memorial Foundation, Hardtner Medical Center, Jena Pharmacy, Justiss Oil Company, Universal Plant Services, Jena Band of Choctaws, Gamer’s Pair-a-Dice, McCartney Oil, MWJ Services, Southern Heritage Bank, Womack and Sons Construction, Dorroh & Kendrick, Office Linx, Pam Price Insurance, Clerk of Court Steve Andrews, Assessor Tom Kendrick, LaSalle General Hospital, Four M Oil Company, Brisket House, LaSalle Florist, Superintendent Jonathan Garrett, Supervisor Tish Taylor, Principal Adam Powell, Assistant Principal Jennifer Peters, Administrative Assistant Rae Lindsey, Chad Girlinghouse, Mandy McKeithen, Samantha Manning, Michele Bradford, Holly Grant, Robyn Miller, The Jena Times, Blake Phillips, Renee Loe, John & Marty Joy, Mike Adams, the LaSalle Economic Development District and all JHS Drama Club parents – thank you!
To keep up with future productions by the JHS Drama Club, follow their Facebook page “Jena High School Drama Club”.
