For this large mainstage production of an Agatha Cristie clssic – adapted by Ken Ludwig and directed by Michael Lugering – the challenge for me was to introduce the show without spoilers, so I ended up with a rather tongue-in-cheek dramaturg’s note (also in the Know Before You Go Audience Guide), that offers questions and clues rather than definitive answers:
Puzzling over Murder on the Orient Express
When dramaturgs write an accompanying note for a show it is assumed that they will enlighten the audience by explaining certain patterns, ideas, or hidden meanings. However, with that pompous, know-it-all Belgian detective Hercule Poirot around, the poor dramaturg just cannot compete. In other words, dear spectators, this time I engage YOU to find as many answers as you can to questions you maybe didn’t even know to ask.
Spoiler alert: some of the following could lead you to solve the murder mystery before Poirot, others are just to make you think, others still… just to throw you off the scent 😉. Here we go!
– Who’s the little girl and who’s that “hulking man” in the shadows?
– Why does the Orient Express travel from “the exotic city of Istanbul” to Western Europe and not vice versa in this play?
– Do you believe that this case was the most difficult of Poirot’s career or is he just exaggerating to boast of his achievement?
– Why does Colonel Arbuthnot identify Poirot as likely a “damned foreigner who probably doesn’t even speak English”? How is Poirot dressed or otherwise signaling his “foreignness” if several other characters are also foreigners?
– Why is it that the Orient Express’s first class is suddenly sold out?
– Why does Poirot sense that something is wrong, that one of the passengers doesn’t fit in, and something fatal is about to occur?
– Why do both the Countess and Poirot agree on the time of the murdered man’s death, but then something doesn’t add up in the timing?
– Why does Bouc state that the passengers “are all characters”?
– Why are there at least four Shakespearean references in the play?
– Why does Greta reminisce about an African train trip when she found herself sitting beside an old goat? Does the goat remind you of any sacrificial rites?
– Why does Poirot decline Mr. Ratchett’s case even after his offer goes from 5,000 to 10,000 dollars?
– Why does Poirot ask for a plan of the coach and everyone’s passports?
– Why is it important that Poirot speaks several foreign languages?
– Why does Poirot need to switch gears from psychology to science to find the solution to the mystery?
– Why is the snow so important for Poirot’s resolution of the case?
Thus, put on your detective spectacles and watch the show with your eyes peeled! And, sorry, don’t expect me to fill in the blanks: if you cannot find a clue, ask Poirot (if you can catch him), or the director, or the actors or someone else, just not this puzzled dramaturg!
