Most theatrical performances come with a high degree of predictability-the boy gets the girl, the bad guy gets what coming--the sun does come out tomorrow.

But the Highline High School production of "Clue, The Musical" only has one predicable premise-someone is dead. And that someone is Mr. Boddy, owner of the Boddy Mansion and the scene of the crime.

After that, any one of 216 possible outcomes can happen. And throughout the evening, the audience is a participant, keeping track of the action to try and solve the crime set before them.

Highline's drama department is presenting the play Jan. 28 through Jan. 31 at the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St. Tickets are $20. Senior citizens and Highline High students with an associated student body card can get in for $16. The performances begin at 7 p.m.

An avid fan could attend all four performances at Highline High School and never see the same play twice.

The performance, based on the popular board game "Clue," features a cast of iconic characters such as Colonel Mustard and Mrs. Peacock.

There is a toolbox of classic murder weapons including the rope, the knife and the candlestick. Then there are a number of those well-known places where the dastardly deed might have happened; the parlor, the library and the kitchen.

Director and Highline drama teacher Bill Morrison says that this particular production is a great choice for the Highline company for a number of reasons.

"It is well known, but not overdone," he said, referring to the frequency that chestnuts of the American musical theater appear in high school theaters.

"'Clue, The Musical' also opens the drama experience to more students," he continued. "I was able to expand the cast to 32 students as well as those involved in all the other aspects of production."

The production stretches the dramatic capabilities of the cast and crew, requiring acting, but also singing, dancing and some sleight-of-hand stagecraft.

"The sets appear to be quite sophisticated and somewhat complicated," said Morrison. "But that is the magic of good stagecraft-it isn't as complex as it looks."

It also involves an amazing transformation of high school students into society sophisticates who are old enough to be their grandparents. It is a theatrical alchemy that lets what appear to be doddering elders step lively and belt out musical numbers to accompany a classic "whodunit".

To achieve that level of convincing production, cast and crew have been putting in countless hours in set construction, staging, costuming and rehearsing since October.

Another milestone of this production is that it marks the return of Highline High drama's production to the PAC stage after a number of years in other venues.

'Clue, The Musical' premiered as an off-Broadway production in December of 1997. It has become a popular choice of community and student drama companies with every performance having the possibility of a different outcome.