‘Murder’s in the Heir’ at Naperville Central
Krissy Ludlam’s acting credits at Naperville Central High School began with a role that didn’t exactly grab the spotlight.
A supporting part with just a couple lines?
Nope.
She played a dead man in “Figments” during her junior year.
Now a senior, she’s quickly evolved from backstage tech and prop crews to understudy roles to a lead actress in the school’s major productions.
As president of Theatre Central, Ludlam also is directing the drama club’s annual experimental show, which opens April 19 and continues at 8 p.m. April 20 in the school’s Black Box theater.
Ludlam says she had to come up with a twist from the typical high school production to test her actors’ skills.
She discovered a witty murder mystery with an inherent twist built into the script. In “Murder’s in the Heir,” aged billionaire Simon Starkweather decides to clone himself and leave his fortune to his clone. So, of course, he’s murdered after announcing his stingy plans.
Sounds familiar. Rich man murdered. Crime sets off a whodunit guessing game.
What’s the twist?
The audience will vote during intermission for the culprit, with students tallying ballots in programs minutes before the cast returns for Act Two.
That means each suspect must be prepared to perform a three-page monologue in the final scenes.
“There are times when you have to cover when somebody drops a line,” Ludlam says. “But this … they have to be a lot more on their toes.”
If that wasn’t challenging enough, the cast and crew has had only about two dozen rehearsals to learn lines and blocking and build an intimate set. Ludlam says rehearsals typically last two to three months, but spring break, prom and graduation created a time crunch.
“It’s been stressful,” Ludlam admits.
But she says her cast can handle the pressure.
At the beginning of the process, Ludlam and her cast decided all the characters should “play guilty” instead of merely insinuating their motives.
“We had to start as convincing as possible,” says sophomore Amy Ross, who plays Starkweather’s niece.
But the production will still have the audience on the edge of its seat, Ludlam says, because viewers won’t know how people voted on their secret ballots.
“You’re a little drawn to everybody,” she says.
While Ludlam is directing the cast, she’s getting some feedback and guidance from faculty adviser Thomas Ulbrich.
She ultimately hopes the ensemble production will yield more experience for the cast than her own stint as a dead man.
“You want to do an experiment, but you don’t want it to fail,” Ludlam says. “As director, I have that pressure of making an experiment work. But I think this one will definitely work out.”
If you go
What: Theatre Centrals production of Murders in the Heir
When:8 p.m. today
Where: Naperville Central High Schools Black Box theater, 440 W. Aurora Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $5 at the door
Info: schools.naperville203.org/central/