CRT Presents Regional Premiere of Stage Adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”

For the fourth production in their 50th Anniversary season, Cortland Repertory Theatre proudly presents the regional premiere of a new play based on a classic novel: Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted by one of America’s premiere playwrights, Ken Ludwig. Performances at the Little York Pavilion in Preble will run from July 20th – 30th with evening shows at 7:30 PM.  Matinees are available on July 22nd, 24th, and 27th at 2:00 PM.  Tickets may be purchased by calling 800-427-6160 or by visiting the CRT Box Office at 24 Port Watson Street in Cortland. Tickets are also available through CortlandRep.org with ETIX, for a small additional charge. CRT cautions that ETIX is the only approved online ticket service; others charge significantly higher rates for tickets and are not approved by CRT. The GPS address for the Little York Pavilion is 6799 Little York Lake Road in Preble.

This imaginative stage adaptation of Christie’s most popular mystery takes the audience on an elegant but ill-fated train trip. On a winter’s evening in 1934, a snowdrift stops the luxurious Orient Express literally in its tracks. By morning, it is one passenger less; an American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed, his door locked from the inside. With a long list of suspects, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer before they strike again. While the novel has seen film and radio adaptations, this is the first stage version, which is being produced across the country in many regional theatres.  Whether the story is familiar or not to the viewer, surprises are in store for everyone.

Murder on the Orient Express is directed by CRT’s Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson, who previously won SALT awards for directing Our Town and Saturday Night Fever. He has directed two other Christie plays – Cards on the Table, Appointment with Death – as well as Mamma Mia!, Million Dollar Quartet, and 1776. Stage Manager Anna Vu leads the creative team comprised of Darin V. Himmerich as Scenic Designer (CRT’s La Cage Aux Folles, Saturday Night Fever) and Costume Designer Wendi Zea, who has designed for many of  CRT’s Christie productions. Frequent CRT designer Seth Asa Sengel returns to create the sound landscape, and Lighting Designer Matthew Webb (Saturday Night Fever, Our Town) also returns. Taylor Barr joins the CRT team as Props Designer,with Technical Director Dana White, Jr. and Assistant Stage Managers Carli Shapiro and Tess Vocalina completing the creative team.

Michael Antico, previously seen at CRT in Born Yesterday and Newsies, takes on the pivotal role of detective Hercule Poirot. Other returning CRT actors are Nicholas Wilder (The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged, The 39 Steps) as Orient Express owner Monsieur Bouc, Catherine Gaffney (Over the River…, Our Town) as boisterous American Helen Hubbard, Bill Coughlin (Over the River…, Born Yesterday) as shady businessman Samuel Ratchett, and Mikey LoBalsomo (Hair, Kiss Me Kate) as his long-suffering assistant, Hector MacQueen. Also returning from Over the River… earlier this summer are Cara D’Emanuele portraying Princess Dragomiroff and Alice K. Johnson as Mary Debenham. In their CRT debuts are Anna Gion as Countess Andrenyi, Danny Adams as Colonel Arbuthnot, Rebecca Tucker as Greta Ohlsson and Brennan Lowery as Michel the train conductor.  Completing the cast is Performing Intern Weston Pytel as the head waiter.

CRT offers a “Friday Night Talk Back” after the evening performance on July 22nd, at which a Q & A session with the actors, director, designers and crew takes place. Tickets are available for CRT’s final summer production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, and for The Bright Star Touring Theatre’s productions of The Little Mermaid on July 28 and Upcycled Cinderella on July 29, both at 10:00 AM. Visit www.cortlandrep.org for more information.

Photo (L–R): Catherine Gaffney as Helen Hubbard, Anna Gion as Countess Andrenyi, Michael Antico as Hercule Poriot, Nickolas Wilder as Monsieur Bouc and Brennan Lowery as Michel in Cortland Repertory Theatre’s regional premiere production of “Murder on the Orient Express”, running July 20-30.