All Are Welcome Aboard the Orient Express at Le Mars Community Theatre

(Le Mars) – The first show of the 2020 Season at the Le Mars Commmunity Theatre Postal Playhouse is almost ready to leave station. Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” opens Friday, February 21st and runs through Thursday the 27th.
This story, adapted for stage by playwright Ken Ludwig, is full of zany characters, clues and witty dialogue that grabs the audience and keeps them guessing throughout.
The show opens as 11 people board the luxurious train “The Orient Express.” The year is 1934 and the costumes, put together by Audrey Scholten, reflect the time perfectly.  Hours into the journey a man is murdered and we’re left in the hands of the illustrious detective Hercule Poirot to gather clues and help make sense of what happened.

Poirot is played by Plymouth Country’s very own Judge Jeffrey Neary, who lends a beautiful Belgian accent and thoughtful lightheartedness to the lead character.  Here’s a little interview I snagged with the detective himself.

 

The other cast members joining Neary on the Orient Express are:
Shawn Starr as Monsieur Bouc, who is in charge of the train.
Tina Laskie as Mary Debenham, an English beauty.
Pete Laskie plays a double role as American business man Samuel Ratchett as well as Scottish military man Colonel Arbuthnot
Raquel Hansen as Hilda Macqueen, assistant to Samuel Ratchett.
George New as Michel, the conductor of the train.
Kimberly Ross plays Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff.
Angela Riedeman as Greta Ohlsson, a Swedish Missionary.
Melanie Sailer as Hungarian Countess Andrenyi.
Jill Young plays Helen Hubbard, a rich woman from Minnesota with a history of many husbands.
And before we board the train, Wayne Marty serves as the Head Waiter.

“Murder on the Orient Express” at Le Mars Community Theatre is under the direction of Danna Schuster and Margaret Britton serves as producer and stage manager.

Show dates are Friday February 21st- Thursday the 27th with a 7:30 start time daily.  The Sunday performance is a 2pm matinee. Tickets are on sale now and can be reserved online at www.lemarslive.org or by calling or visiting the box office from 11-1 on weekdays. The number is 546-5788.