September 22 – October 7, 2023
Adapted For the Stage by
Ken Ludwig
All Aboard!
PTC kicks off its 62nd season with the spellbinding excitement and intrigue of one of Agatha Christie’s greatest whodunits. Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated, and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer — in case they decide to strike again.
Dates
Monday–Thursday 7:00 PM
Friday & Saturday 7:30 PM
Saturday 2:00 PM
ASL-interpreted performance: Saturday, October 7th @ 2 PM
Sponsors
Overview
Cast
Creative Team
KEN LUDWIG (Playwright) has had six shows on Broadway, seven in London’s West End, and many of his works have become a standard part of the American repertoire. His 28 plays and musicals have been performed in over 30 countries in more than 20 languages and are produced throughout the United States every night of the year. Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical. In addition, he has won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater. His plays have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins and Hal Holbrook. His stage version of Murder on the Orient Express was written expressly at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate, and his latest play, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, won the 2020 Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play of the Year and is optioned for Broadway. His book How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin Random House, won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year, and his essays are published in the Yale Review. He is a graduate of Harvard and Cambridge and is a frequent guest speaker for groups as varied as The Oxford-Cambridge Society, The Jane Austen Society of North America, The Folger Shakespeare Library, and The Baker Street Irregulars. For more information, see his website at www.kenludwig.com.
MELISSA RAIN ANDERSON (Director) Selected credits: the Regional Premiere of The Play that Goes Wrong and The Wolves at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis; Macbeth, Big River, and The Cocoanuts at Utah Shakespeare Festival; A Christmas Carol at Denver Center Theatre Company; In the Heights, HAIR, La Cage Aux Folles, A Funny Thing…Forum, Spamalot, and Spelling Bee at Geva Theatre Center; All is Calm at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; The Wolves and The Little Mermaid at Syracuse Stage; RII at Santa Cruz Shakespeare; The Book of Will at Phoenix Theatre Company, Romeo and Juliet at Rehouse Arts Center and most recently Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Dial M for Murder at Theatresquared. Upcoming work includes A Christmas Carol at Syracuse Stage and The Play That Goes Wrong at Cleveland Playhouse. Melissa lives in New York City with her husband, actor Jim Poulos. Melissa is a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity Association. Please visit MelissaRainAnderson.com
JASON SIMMS (Scenic Designer) is a designer for plays, musical theatre and opera. Simms is honored to return to PTC after designing Sweat, The Lion in Winter, The Glass Menagerie, and An Inspector Calls. Work in other regional theaters includes: Berkshire Theatre Group, Weston Playhouse, George St. Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Co., People’s Light and Theatre (Philadelphia), Bristol Riverside Theatre (Bristol, PA), Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Chautauqua Theatre Co. (Chautauqua, NY), The Old Globe (San Diego), TheatreWorks (Silicon Valley), Two River Theatre Co. (Red Bank, NJ) and many others. NYC venues include The Public Theater, The Cherry Lane, 2nd Stage Uptown, Ensemble Studio Theatre, SoHo Playhouse, The Juilliard School, The Wild Project, The Ohio Theatre, New Ohio Theatre, The Bushwick Starr and more. Jason is an assistant professor of design at Cornell University.
PHILLIP R. LOWE (Costume Designer) is PTC’s Costume Studio Manager and Resident Designer. His recent credits include What the Constitution Means to Me, The Lion in Winter, and the world premiere of Ellen Simon’s Ass. Before joining the staff at PTC, Phil spent five seasons as Costume Director for Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre where some of his most notable designs include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oklahoma!, How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and Seussical!. Phil is an MFA graduate of Utah State University and was the Kennedy Center’s 2002 recipient of the National Barbizon Award for in costume design. He continues his work with the Kennedy Center today by serving as a Design, Technology and Management respondent for the American College Theatre Festival, presenting workshops and providing input on the design work of aspiring theatrical designers across the country.
JAYMI LEE SMITH (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to be making her debut at Pioneer Theatre Company. She has been designing around the country for the last 30 years at theaters such as Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Repertory, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Alley Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Pasadena Playhouse, Hartford Stage, Alliance Theatre, Getty Villa Theater, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Lookingglass Theatre Company, among others. Her work also has been seen in China, Italy, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland. She is currently a professor of Lighting Design and the Associate Dean for Student Success at the University of California, Irvine. Her website is JaymiSmith.com.
ELTON BRADMAN (Sound Designer) Everett Elton Bradman’s 2022-2023 composer/sound designer credits include Twelfth Night at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, three premieres (Lear at Cal Shakes, Mindplay at the Geffen Playhouse, and A Distinct Society at Pioneer Theatre Company and TheatreWorks), six productions for Oakland Theater Project, as well as shows at the Pasadena Playhouse, Z Space, South Coast Rep, UC Riverside, and Aurora. He’s also a longtime music journalist, music doula, Grammy-nominated bassist, and co-composer for a musical based on Giraffes Can’t Dance. Stop by and say hello at EltonSounds.com!
TAMI LEE THOMPSON (Hair & Makeup Designer) Previous credits include: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose and A Christmas Story (Barter Theater), Jelly’s Last Jam, The Underpants, A Christmas Carol, Bluish, Intimate Apparel, Moonlight and Magnolias, Tick, Tick…. Boom!, and The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Alliance Theater), A Flea in Her Ear, Da, Born Yesterday, Twelfth Night, Inherit The Wind, and The Philadelphia Story (Asolo Theater); Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, and King Lear (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Bertolt Brecht’s The Life of Galileo (University of Notre Dame), and 42nd Street (Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts).
ADRIANNE MOORE (Dialect Coach) is very happy to be returning to Pioneer. Previous productions here include Charles III, Dracula, The Heiress, and My Fair Lady. She has also served as dialect, voice and text coach at American Players Theatre (Once Upon a Bridge, Stones in His Pockets, An Improbable Fiction, A Doll’s House, and Our Country’s Good), Utah Shakespeare Festival (Dracula, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Sherlock Holmes, and Boeing, Boeing), for Salt Lake Acting Company (over 20 productions including, The Cake and Hand to God). She also coaches regularly for Tuachan Center for the Arts and the Lyric Repertory Company. Film and TV includes The Corps (Netflix), Galyntine (AMC pilot), and The Saving of Sarah Cain. Adrianne is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.
TAMI LEE THOMPSON (Hair & Makeup Designer) Previous credits include: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose and A Christmas Story (Barter Theater), Jelly’s Last Jam, The Underpants, A Christmas Carol, Bluish, Intimate Apparel, Moonlight and Magnolias, Tick, Tick…. Boom!, and The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Alliance Theater), A Flea in Her Ear, Da, Born Yesterday, Twelfth Night, Inherit The Wind, and The Philadelphia Story (Asolo Theater); Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, and King Lear (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Bertolt Brecht’s The Life of Galileo (University of Notre Dame), and 42nd Street (Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts).
JAMES O. HANSEN* (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be making his debut at Pioneer Theatre Company! Recent credits include: Clue (starring Sally Struthers), The Wedding Singer, and A Christmas Carol at The Gateway Playhouse. Joseph…Dreamcoat (starring David Archuleta), Mary Poppins, and Wonderland at Tuacahn Amphitheatre. James earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts Management from Dean College. Special thanks to his Mom, Family, and Ostie for their love and support! DHH.
EMILY NACRISSA GRIFFITH* (Stage Manager) This is Emily’s eighth season with Pioneer Theatre Company. She graduated from UVU with multiple awards for her work, including the Kennedy Center’s Meritorious Achievement Award. She has also managed Sundance’s Summer Theatre for the past two seasons.
BOB CLINE (Casting) is the founder of Bob Cline Casting in New York. He has cast film, TV, commercials, over 75 national tours, and numerous regional theaters across the country and has been associated with the casting for PTC for many years. Cline is currently a proud faculty member in Pace University’s theatre program, in charge of the senior BFA musical theatre majors. He is the Associate Director of Broadway Artists Alliance, enjoys working with The Open Jar Institute, and often teaches through The Growing Studio and The Actor’s Loft.
PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY (PTC) Now celebrating its 62nd season, the award-winning PTC is Utah’s premiere professional theatre company and leading arts organization of the West. Led by Artistic Director Karen Azenberg and Interim Managing Director Diane L. Parisi, PTC presents world-class productions that celebrate diversity in culture and society and serve as the connecting bridge between art and scholarship as an affiliate of the University of Utah.
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA) Founded in 1933, AEA represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers nationwide. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actor’s Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. #EquityWorks
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Publicity
Preview Coverage
Good Things Utah
“Opulent” Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express takes stage at Pioneer Theatre Company
@theU
A season opener to die for
Artists of Utah/15 Bytes
Pioneer Theatre Company Opens 23/24 Season with Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
BroadwayWorld
Pioneer Theatre Company to Open 23/24 Season With AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
City Weekly
Theater Preview: Pioneer Theatre Company’s Murder on the Orient Express
The Place (Fox-13)
New mystery play features comedic moments
Salt Lake Tribune
Here’s what Utah’s major performing arts groups are staging this fall
Stage Whisper Podcast
Stage Whisper: Amy Bodnar
Reviews
Front Row Reviewers
Grab Your Ticket and Climb Aboard for Pioneer Theatre Company’s Production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
Utah Theatre Bloggers Association
PIONEER THEATRE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS IS FIRST CLASS
Gephardt Daily
Pioneer Theatre’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ a first class ride
Q Salt Lake
PTC exquisitely stages adaptation of whodunit by the sleuth queen — who’s not Angela Lansbury
BroadwayWorld
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS at Pioneer Theatre Company Whisks Away the Audience
Daily Utah Chronicle
PTC’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’: It’s not Spooky Season Without a Little Murder
SLUG Magazine
PLAY REVIEW: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
The Utah Review
Season opener review roundup: Pioneer Theatre Company’s Murder on the Orient Express…
Media
Study Guide
Content Advisory
Advisory: Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
SYNOPSIS: Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case they decide to strike again.
LANGUAGE: Mild language
VIOLENCE: While the murder occurs out of sight, there is visible blood shown in the aftermath of the murder scene.
FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?: Due to some adult themes—specifically, references to the kidnapping and murder of a young child, as well as the murder of a person on board a train, this production may not be suitable for children. If this were a film, it would likely be rated PG-13.
