Tippecanoe High School students brought to life Ken Ludwig’s stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery on November 22-24.
The talented cast and crew told the story of a famous detective, Hercule Poirot, who is called back from Istanbul to London on urgent business. He intends to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express, run by his former friend and colleague, Monsieur Bouc. The train is surprisingly full, but Bouc manages to secure Poirot a spot in the first-class cabin. While aboard the Orient Express, Poirot meets a host of peculiar characters - an aging Russian princess, her Swedish companion, a Hungarian countess, a Minnesota housewife, a Scottish colonel, an English governess, a French conductor, a disagreeable American businessman, and his anxious secretary. While aboard the train, the angry businessman, Samuel Ratchett, corners Poirot and demands Poirot to investigate a series of ominous letters that have been sent to Ratchett, threatening his life.
As a snowdrift halts the Orient Express in its tracks, Ratchett is found stabbed multiple times in his locked train compartment. Monsieur Bouc tasks Poirot to solve the murder, as the killer could still be in their midst. As Poirot investigates, conflicting clues and convoluted alibis lead him to dead ends. Over the course of 48 hours, Poirot solves the case of the Murder on the Orient Express.
Cast
Zane Haas (Hercule Poirot)
Chaz Richards (Monsieur Bouc)
Elizabeth Richards (Mary Debenham)
Wesley Morse (Hector MacQueen)
Eve McCormick (Michelle the Conductor/Head Waiter)
Penny Bathgate (Princess Dragomiroff)
Ava Sowry (Greta Ohlsson)
Amelia Wiggerhaus (Countess Andrenyi)
Callie Battson (Helen Hubbard)
Lucas Maxfiled (Colonel Arbuth)
Samuel Ratchet (Lincoln Elrich)
Stage Crew
Ellie Bundenthal
Chris Preece
Toni Carmichael
Drew Withem
Ava Wallace
Aria Tomb
Naomi Sharpnack
Maddie Cook
Lily Fine
Mary Waibel
Katie O’Mera
Katelyn Beeson
Ray Hood
Tech Crew
Colin Behm
Gwen Bailey
Brightson Sears
Jake Seger
Tech Coordinators
Colin Behm
Drew Withem
Brightson Sears
Production Team
Director - Mrs. Jasinski
Technical Director - Ms. Dix
Assistant Director - Connor Czapor
Stage Managers - Brynna Sears and Hailey Everhart