It doesn’t take long for the drama to hit in Grand Finale’s 2025 competition show “Whodunit”. The show is based on the popular board game Clue and immerses the audience in a world of mystery as the students bring the classic characters Colonel Mustard, Professor Peacock, Mrs. Scarlet, and more to life.
Grand Finale, Rome High School’s award-winning show choir, staged the show for elementary school students this week in preparation for the start of their competition season. For those unfamiliar with show choir, the group of students perform several songs over a 20-minute span, singing and dancing. The show typically has an overall theme. Those shows are often thought up and put together well in advance of the season.
As for this season’s theme based upon the popular board game, Grand Finales Director Dr. Cody Goss says it was a joint effort.
“The kids came up with it. The students started advocating for a Clue-themed show. Sometimes they advocate for things, and I don't like the idea, but I loved this idea,” he said. “Some of them submitted PowerPoints with some ideas. We took that to our show designer in Chicago, and we put it all together from there.”
While the competition season typically runs from late January to mid March, the students start working months in advance to prepare.
“We started planning the show last April. We started working on it during in-service in July. We've had a good five to six-month run working on it so far. It takes a long time,” Dr. Goss says.
The troupe begins the competition season this weekend at the Diamond Classic in Albertville, Alabama and will also visit Nashville and Tift County for competitions. Grand Finale is used to hitting the road for competitions as few schools in Georgia even have show choirs. Although there is a twist this year as Rome high will play host to a show choir competition for the first time.
The competition is set for Saturday, Feb. 22 and will have 16 different show choirs coming to compete in the all-day event.
“We hope a lot of people come to our contest. We have 16 show choirs coming in,” Goss says. “We hope people come buy a ticket, watch, and make a day of it. I think they will enjoy what they see. There's a lot of good stuff happening.”
Both Grand Finale and Grand Illusion, Rome Middle School’s show choir, will perform at the event, but since it’s their contest they are not competing but performing on exhibition.
As for the show, the audience of school kids cheered loudly several times during it, and the students on stage wore big smiles on their faces throughout the entirety, showing how much fun they were having.
“We tell them all the time that part of the show is to look like you're having a great time. It is exciting. We always tell them to amp the energy up because that's what judges want to see as well,” Goss says. “Hopefully, we're moving in the right direction with that.”
Goss also mentions that that Grand Finale will also have one last performance in Rome on March 13 at the city auditorium.
Another cool part about the show is that a different cast member will be revealed as the murderer each time they perform. This has forced cast members to learn extra songs, but also adds a fun element, meaning audience members get to see a slightly different version each time they see the show.