As Cru wrapped up its three-week Battle of the Bands on Feb. 11, the first twist of the many promised took place.
Before they could announce the winner, someone was murdered.
The fake death of Nick De La Torre of the Paper Robots started Cru’s six-week segment of “Clue” titled “The Ultimate Game of Whodunit.” As the true winner between the bands the Paper Robots and the Jehosaphats is still unknown, rumors are beginning to circulate about who won the battle.
Jonathan Shaffer, the lead singer of the Jehosaphats, thought his band should have won, but now his mind has shifted to something more important: who killed De La Torre?
Shaffer, along with seven other people from the two bands, is a suspect in the murder.
“If you ask anyone ‘who is the murderer?’ they’ll all tell you they don’t know,” Shaffer said, “but one of us is the murderer.”
That’s where the twist comes in. Every week, part of Cru is dedicated to this game of clue. This past week, there was a video interview of the Paper Robots that revealed their feelings and how they were handling this tragic incident. However, it also revealed potential motives from different members.
Following the interview came an intense interrogation on stage of every Jehosaphats member.
After the video, students were encouraged to text who they thought the murderer was based on what they had seen. The band member with the least votes is removed from the suspect list, bringing students one step closer to finding the true murderer.
Producer Josh Coy and MC Ben Hartley are the brains behind this whole production. They chose to incorporate text in voting because they felt it was “easy and relevant.”
The two are very secretive, barely letting the suspects in on what is going on.
“The band knows what they need to know, but that’s it,” Hartley said.
The two got together and planned the entire six-week program, but outside the two of them, no one knows which turn the plot will take next. The writing for the show each week is done based on the voting, but Hartley and Coy say they still have some tricks up their sleeves.
“This thing has more twists than a Scorsese film,” Coy said.
Outside of the general fun of the production, the event is very special to Coy and Hartley.
“Through technology, through acting, through stage, how fun it is to see people able to use their gifts for something like this,” Coy said.
Hartley and Coy encourage everyone to attend Cru over the next few weeks and participate in this game.
“Cru is a place to be connected and challenged and have a blast,” Coy said. “We invite and encourage everyone to come out.”