MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Comes to Jefferson Performing Arts Center Next Month

An adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express will be brought to the Jefferson Performing Arts Center stage by Jefferson Performing Arts Society from March 10 through 19, Fridays through Sundays. There are a total of six performances, with Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

The show will be directed by Janet Shea and feature local actors Helen Blanke, Leon Contavesprie, Margaux Fanning, Kris Shaw, and others (see full cast list below).

Murder on the Orient Express is widely regarded as one of Agatha Christie's greatest literary achievements. This theatrical adaption by Tony-nominated playwright Ken Ludwig is a stylish, suspenseful murder mystery about an unlikely cast of potential suspects aboard the luxurious Orient Express. The murder of a man in his cabin forces famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot to investigate and interview everyone aboard.

Ludwig, whose play A Comedy of Tenors concluded the JPAS Spring 2021 season, was approached by the Agatha Christie estate to adapt the novel, resulting in what has now become the most highly produced comedy-mystery in the world.

Janet Shea (Director) is marking her 68th year in local theater. She has acted in over 300 productions including dramas, comedies, musicals, dinner theater, and operas, and has won awards for both her acting and her directing. She has performed in Paris, Moscow, and several U. S. states as well. Her directing work at JPAS includes Deathrap, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, and several productions with JPAS Theatre Kids. Some of her favorite roles over the years include Mrs. Lovett, Mrs. Potts, Miss Daisy, Emily Dickinson, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Blanche Dubois, Googie Gomez, Mary Tyrone, Flo Goforth, Queen Gertrude, and many, many others. She has taught theater classes at NOCCA, U.N.O, and Loyola University.

CAST LIST OF JEFFERSON PERFORMING ART SOCIETY'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS:

Kris Shaw HERCULE POIROT

Earl Scioneaux MONSIEUR BOUC

Alison Logan MARY DEBENHAM

Leon Contavesprie HECTOR MACQUEEN

Bob Scully MICHAEL THE CONDUCTOR/HEAD WAITER

Helen Blanke PRINCESS DRAGOMIROFF

Margeaux Fanning GRETA OHLSSON

Reagan Lincoln COUNTESS ANDRENYI

Kathryn Talbot HELEN HUBBARD

Jimmy Murphy COLONEL ARBUTHNOT/SAMUEL RATCHETT

Tickets are $25-$63 and can be purchased at www.jpas.org or by calling (504) 885-2000. Parking is free in the Jefferson Performing Arts Center lot at 6400 Airline Drive.

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