Murder most foul has never been more clever than in the hands and mind of the venerable Dame Agatha Christie. Ken Ludwig’s brilliant adaptation of Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” combined classic intellect with modern production in some fresh perspectives on a classic.
Hercule Poirot (Anthony Cochrane) is looking forward to some relaxation after solving a most puzzling case. Alas, his respite is short. While his old friend Monsieur Bouc (Evan Zes) gives Poirot Bouc’s own compartment on the train, there is malign mischief and suddenly the game is afoot. There’s an all-star cast here including Paper Mill favorites Karen Ziemba (Helen Hubbard) and Donna English (Princess Dragomiroff) as well as Gisela Chípe (Countess Adrenyi), Leanne Antonio (Mary Debenham), Stephanie Gibson (Greta Ohlsson), Alex Mandel (Hector MacQueen), Graham Stevens (Michel/Headwaiter) and Mark Jude Sullivan as both Colonel Arbuthnot and the benighted Samuel Ratchett. This cavalcade of true characters plays with both (melo)dramatic canards and physical comedy and Ken Ludwig’s adaptation performed on Beowulf Boritt’s set with Charlie Morrison’s lighting design guides the eye while Matt Kraus sound design sets the mood further with Jason Lee Courson’s projections that provide motion and depth. The gifts of the actors combine to take us from the idyllic Millburn brookside deep into the heart of the hills between Istanbul and Paris as well as into the Heart of Darkness. Come experience the thrill for yourself, while you still can.
Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” makes its final run on May 14, so visit papermill.org NOW and get your ticket for a thrilling ride.