Review: AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS at Murry's Dinner Playhouse

If you are looking for intrigue, laughter, and a tasty meal, then get onboard and solve the mystery of AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS now through Saturday, May 27, at Murry's Dinner Playhouse. This tale has a lot of twists and turns that will have you guessing to the very end. The cast is amazing, and the food is themed to fit the play.

Before the show, it was time to feast. The wonderful Devon took care of our drinks, and then we headed to the buffet. On the bar for this performance is salad with all the fixings, rice, peas, squash, scalloped potatoes and some pretty spicy green beans. For the entrees, there is Asian Orange Chicken, smothered pork loin, baked cod and vegetarian pasta. And, if you have a sweet tooth, there is bread pudding with peaches and dried cranberries, brownies, Oreo fluff, and peanut butter mousse. The yellow squash, baked cod, and the bread pudding were pretty delectable. I may have added a little too much dressing to my salad, but that was my fault.

Seldom do I read novels, so it was fun trying to guess who the murderer was. With a stage adaptation by Ken Ludwig, they open the play with the murder of a small child. After a brief introduction by Detective Poirot, the mystery begins. As people are loading onto the Orient Express, Monsieur Bouc (Tom Cooper) insists that the famous detective Hercule Poirot (Tim Cooper) ride on his train. Though the conductor Michel (Roger M. Eaves) insists that the train is full, the Monsieur insists that Poirot takes his room. On board is Princess Dragomiroff (Leigh Anne Ralston), who is traveling with missionary Greta Ohlsson (Drew Reynolds). Hector Macqueen (Quinn Gasaway) is assisting his boss Sanuel Ratchett (Mark Hanson). The Countess Andrenyi (Katherine Yacko) is traveling alone, as well as midwestern Helen Hubbard (Laurie Pascale). Then after secret romancers Mary Debenham (Paige Reynolds) and Colonel Arbuthnot (Mark Hansen) are on board, it's time for the train to take off. Sometime in the night, Ratchett is killed. Who did it and why? If you know the answer, sssshhhhhhhh! Don't give it away!

Directed by Roger M. Eaves, this is a wonderful ensemble cast. MDP always picks the best people for their characters. I loved the different accents, the way they responded to each other, and the way they told the story. Each person had their defining characteristics, so when the twist in the story happened, I didn't see it coming.

Real life father/son duo worked well together. Cooper's Poirot and Cooper's Bouc did a great job leading the story along. Another real-life family tie is mother/offspring Paige and Drew Reynolds. Though their characters didn't have too many scenes together, it was still neat to see how they interacted.

I loved Gasaway's nervous tics for Hector. It was quite endearing. Hansen's Ratchett was extra slimy; Pascale's Hubbard was loud and obnoxious, which I'm sure was intended; Yacko's Countess was beautiful and confident; and Ralston's Princess was commanding and regal.

Broadway World understands that it takes a small army to get a show produced. Guiding the play is: Artistic Director- Glen J. Gilbert; Stage Manager/Props/Lights/Sound- Keylan Alderson; Set Design Roger M. Eaves; Costumes-Katie Greer; Set Construction-Mark Carlisle; Set Decoration-Elaina Petroukhina; and Choreographer-Moriah Patterson.

We would like to give a big THANK YOU to photographer extraordinaire Warren Mccullough for the use of these wonderful pictures. For all of your photography needs, email Warren at warmacsocialmedia@gmail.com.

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