Arts & Science Center to Present AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS This Month

There's been a murder aboard a luxury passenger train - and it may prove to be the most difficult case yet for detective Hercule Poirot.

"Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express" is the latest theatrical production at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. The adaptation of one of the mystery writer's most famous stories is slated for performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 27-29, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, at ASC's Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater at ART WORKS on Main, 627 S. Main St. (The Sunday performance is already sold out.)

The production is sponsored by Simmons Bank.

It's 1934 and Hercule Poirot (Bryan Altstatt) is called back from Istanbul to London on urgent business. He intends to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express, and finds that it is run by his former friend and colleague, Monsieur Bouc (Jonathan R. Hoover). While aboard the train, Poirot meets a host of peculiar characters: the impatient Princess Dragomiroff (Kionti Small); the princess' odd, Swedish companion, Greta Ohlsson (Susan Carolan); a Hungarian beauty, Countess Andrenyi (Jessica Persons); an outspoken and flamboyant American from the Midwest, Helen Hubbard (Susan Harris); a disagreeable American businessman, Samuel Ratchett (Kasey Rowland); the tightly wound Hector MacQueen (Keiren Minter); an English governess, Mary Debenham (Teanna Williams); the handsome Col. Arbuthnot (Rowland), and the train's conductor, Michel (Jeff Persons).

As a snowdrift halts the Orient Express in its tracks in Yugoslavia, one of the passengers is found stabbed multiple times. Poirot is tasked by Monsieur Bouc to solve the murder, as the killer could still be in their midst. Conflicting clues and convoluted alibis lead Poirot to dead ends. With only 48 hours, will Poirot be able to solve the case of the Murder on the Orient Express?

Martin Carty - who has been involved in more than 30 shows at ASC - directs. His previous show was the 2021 murder-mystery-comedy "You Have the Right to Remain Dead" - which he directed and appeared in.

"This is a 'whodunit' and it's a good story," Carty said. "If you've never read the book or seen the movies, you're going to be guessing until the end about how this took place and who did it."

The intimacy of the black box theater and the proximity of the audience to the action is another great aspect of the show, Carty explained. "The seats are down on the floor and the actors are just right there. They're not three feet away from you. It's like you're immersed in the story along with everyone else."

Bryan Altstatt of North Little Rock steps in as the mustached detective from Belgium. Poirot is his first lead role. A native of Pine Bluff and White Hall High School graduate, Altstatt's first show at ASC was in 2000 in "Macbeth" (which was adapted and directed by Carty). This is his first live on-stage role at ASC since 2008; he appeared in ASC's virtual production "Clue: At-Home Version" in 2020. Altstatt is pursuing a bachelor's degree in theater at the University of Central Arkansas, and recently joined the Red Octopus Theater Co. sketch comedy group in Little Rock.

The cast and crew also include Raymond Wallace, Arin Bell, Kaleigh Persons, Zay Branch, April Hernandez, Kayla Earnest, Rory Lake, Lindsey Collins, Jayson Miller, Matthew Howard, Pam Holcomb and Crystal Jennings. Tracy Sutherland is the assistant director.

Ken Ludwig adapted "The Murder on the Orient Express" book for the stage; the script was commissioned by the Agatha Christie estate.

Tickets are $13 for ASC members and seniors; $18 for nonmembers; and $10 for students. A limited number of "First Class" tickets are also available for $20 per ticket. Those seats, with tables, are located on the catwalk for a balcony view of the performance. "First Class" ticketholders can also have their food and drinks brought them so they can avoid the concession lines.

Tickets may be purchased online at asc701.org/theater/murder-on-the-orient-express or by calling 870-536-3375.

Audience members are encouraged to dress in costume, and there will be a costume contest.

For more information about the show, contact ASC Theater Programs Manager Lindsey Collins at lcollins@asc701.org or 870-536-3375.

About ASC

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC), 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, is accredited with the American Alliance of Museums. ASC presents programming in the visual arts, performing arts, and the sciences through exhibits, performances, classes and local partnerships. Gallery admission is free. ASC is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. In 2021, ASC opened two additional facilities as part of its "ARTx3" campus - The ARTSpace on Main and ART WORKS on Main, at 623 and 627 S. Main St. For more information, visit asc701.org or call 870-536-3375.

Support for ASC is provided in part by the ASC Endowment Fund, the City of Pine Bluff, the Pine Bluff Advertising & Promotion Commission and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional operating support is provided in part by the Windgate Foundation, Ben J. Altheimer Foundation, Kline Family Foundation, Relyance Bank and Simmons Bank.