A good old-fashioned whodunit will be solved this weekend at Palmerton Area High School when the drama club puts on its production of “Clue.”

Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie, which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, “Clue” is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery.

Performances are held Thursday through Saturday in the high school auditorium at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. They are available online at https://phsdramaclub.ludus.com/index.php, or at the door.

Adviser Brent Harris said the drama club was looking for a production that would allow students to have a little more fun on stage. “Clue,” with its murder-mystery theme and chilling surprises, fit that bill.

“For the longest time, we had been doing pretty heavy plays with lots of dialogue and significant themes,” Harris said. “We found those shows to be very rewarding and saw some great performances from those casts, but with everything that has been going on, we just wanted to have a little more fun. ‘Clue’ never takes itself too seriously. We’ve had a great time with it.”

The tale begins at a remote mansion, where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth - the butler, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard race to find the killer.

“The audience will find themselves guessing to the very end which guest at the party is really the culprit,” Harris said. “Most of all, they should expect to have a great night back in the theater with students performing live on stage. To us, there is nothing better.”

While some plays leave the roles open for interpretation, Clue’s script is very specific as to who the characters are.

“Much like ‘A Christmas Story,’ this also has a film that many people have seen as well as the original game and its characters,” Harris said. “So, it was a bit more important to us to have accurate representations of who those characters were.”

While the cast has been working hard in preparation for opening night, Harris said, equal recognition goes out to the stage crew and production crew behind the scenes. They were cast into unfamiliar roles last year when the production of “Radium Girls” was taped and then made available to a streaming audience at home.

“Those students learned how to operate cameras, edit film and link sound to video,” Harris said. “We never would have even had a show to present to our audience if it weren’t for their willingness to go above and beyond for the sake of the show. This year is no different as they spend countless hours building set pieces, painting, organizing props, taping out furniture spiking, organizing microphone layouts, and designing the lighting for the show. There are really no words to describe all that the stage crew does for our shows.”

Flowers, T-shirts, candy-grams, and show posters will be available in the lobby prior to all performances courtesy of the Palmerton Drama Parents Club.

Snacks and light refreshments can also be purchased prior to the show and during intermission at the school store. All proceeds benefit the drama club.

Per Palmerton’s policy, a mask covering the nose and mouth must be worn at all times while on district property. This includes while the audience is seated during the performance. All audience members are required to follow these guidelines in order to be admitted to the production.