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Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
Old Globe Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center
September 7 – October 13, 2024
Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
Old Globe Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center
Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Peter Amster
Get ready for a glamorous and enthralling journey in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s masterpiece. On a train traveling through Europe, a wealthy American tycoon is found dead in his compartment, the door locked from the inside. Enter world-famous detective Hercule Poirot, who must navigate a train full of suspects and solve the murder before the killer strikes again. With humor and romance, Tony Award–nominated playwright Ken Ludwig takes audiences on a thrill ride in a spectacular production whose gorgeous designs and innovative staging are a true knockout.
This production includes mild language and violence.
Total running time: Two hours and 15 minutes (two acts with one intermission).
more info
Vicki and Carl Zeiger Insights Seminar: Tuesday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
BIPOC Theatre Night: Friday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Open-Caption Performance: Saturday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m.
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is supported by lead production sponsors Terry Atkinson, Paula and Brian Powers, Evelyn Mack Truitt*; major production sponsors Diane Berol in memory of John Berol*, Irwin Jacobs in memory of Joan Jacobs*, United; production sponsors Ann Davies, Pamela Farr and Buford Alexander, Les J. Silver and Andrea Rothschild-Silver, Philip and Margarita Wilkinson; and artist sponsors California Bank & Trust (for director Peter Amster), and The Donna Van Eekeren Foundation (for Andrew Sellon as Hercule Poirot).
This production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express originally appeared at Asolo Repertory Theatre in January 2020.
Ken Ludwig (Playwright) may well be the most performed playwright of his generation. He has had six productions on Broadway and eight in London’s West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged around the world and throughout the United States every night of the year. They have been produced in over 20 languages in more than 30 countries, and many have become standards of the American repertoire. His first play, 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, on the West End for three, and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical. It has been revived in London twice. His play Murder on the Orient Express is currently on a yearlong tour of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and China. In addition, he has won the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theatre, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Charles MacArthur Award, and the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year. He also won the Samuel French Award as Playwright of the Year, and he was nominated for an Emmy Award for writing the Kennedy Center Honors. He has had three world premieres at The Old Globe: Baskerville; Sherwood, the Adventures of Robin Hood; and The Gods of Comedy. His other plays include Shakespeare in Hollywood, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Twentieth Century, A Fox on the Fairway, A Comedy of Tenors, The Game’s Afoot, and Moriarty. His plays have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shalhoub, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. 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 has just been released in a new, expanded edition. His essays on theatre are published in The Yale Review, and he gives the Annual Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship at The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. His first opera, Tenor Overboard, opened at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2022. His most recent world premieres were Lend Me a Soprano and Moriarty, and his newest plays and musicals include Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley, Beginner’s Luck, and Easter Parade. His latest plays include Death on the Nile, which opens in December at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, which premieres in January at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. For more information visit www.KenLudwig.com.
Peter Amster (Director) Directing and choreographing theatre and opera for over 50 years. Asolo Repertory Theatre: Artistic Associate, regular guest director. Chicago credits: Goodman Theatre, Court, Northlight, Apple Tree, Route 66, Live Bait, Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Steppenwolf. Regional credits: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Peninsula Players, Weston Playhouse, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Syracuse Stage, Laguna Playhouse. Other: taught theatre, opera, performance studies at Northwestern University, Louisiana State University, California Institute of the Arts, Roosevelt University, Columbia College.
Paul Tate dePoo III (Scenic Design) Award-winning Cuban American scenic, projection, and production designer based in NYC. Broadway: The Great Gatsby (Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), Spamalot, The Cottage (OCC nomination). The Old Globe: What We Talk About…. Kennedy Center: resident designer; Nine, tick, tick… BOOM!, Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard, Guys and Dolls, Tommy, The Music Man, Footloose, Next to Normal, 50 Years of Broadway. Additional highlights: Titanic, Dear World (City Center Encores!), Usher: My Way – The Vegas Residency (Park MGM, Caesars Colosseum), Cynthia Erivo & Friends (Kennedy Center, PBS), Dancing with the Stars: Live! (2023, 2024), Così Fan Tutte (Santa Fe Opera), Turandot (Oper Im Steinbruch, Austria), Titanic, Sweeney Todd (OD Company, Seoul), Grand Hotel (Helen Hayes Award), Titanic, A Little Night Music (Signature Theatre). pauldepoo.com.
Tracy Dorman (Costume Design) Theatre/opera: Asolo Rep, Syracuse Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Play House, Geva, Milwaukee Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Drury Lane Chicago, Kansas City Rep, Gulfshore Playhouse, Maltz Jupiter, Pittsburgh Public, Manhattan School of Music, Virginia Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Omaha, Chicago Opera Theater, Glimmerglass, New York City Opera, more. Other: associate costume designer on the CBS daytime drama “As the World Turns” (Emmy Award for Costume Design). tracydorman.com.
JAX Messenger (Lighting Design) Lighting designer for opera, theatre, dance, and themed environments. Second production with Peter Amster. Selected credits: Santa Fe Opera, Danish National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, National Center for Performing Arts Beijing, Minnesota Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Austin Lyric Opera, Bard SummerScape, Boston Lyric Opera, Washington Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Black Grace Dance, Wanda Cultural Group. Other: frequent collaborator with stage directors Thaddeus Strassberger, Joel Ivany, RB Schlather, Christopher Alden. As associate designer: hundreds of productions in London’s West End, Broadway, San Francisco Opera, Kennedy Center, and other major theatres around the world.
Matthew Parker (Sound Design) Head of the sound department and designer at Asolo Repertory Theatre since 1993. Musical scores (writer and performer): The Count of Monte Cristo, Nicholas Nickleby. Sound design: The Crucible, Eureka Day, The Three Musketeers, Inherit the Wind (Asolo). Video design: Sweat, Syncopation, The Gift (Asolo). Show control design: Livingstons Amusements’s award-winning Bazooka Ball arena. Web: art expositions (NWS). Education: B.F.A. in Theatre Production Design and Technology from Ohio University.
Greg Emetaz (Projection Design) Theatre: Joseph, All Shook Up, Footloose, Singin’ in the Rain (The Muny), Mamma Mia!, Newsies (TUTS), Man of La Mancha, The Three Musketeers (Asolo Rep), The Vagrant Trilogy (The Public Theater). Opera: Champion, Fire Shut Up in My Bones (The Metropolitan Opera), La Fanciulla del West (NCPA Beijing), M. Butterfly, Tristan, The Righteous (Santa Fe Opera). Concert: Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville Tour. Film: feature film Camp Wedding; short films Bowes Academy, Spell Claire, Get the F K Outta Paris, Death by Omelette. Behind-the-scenes documentaries: Julie Taymor’s The Tempest, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. MINORapocalypse.com.
Gregg Coffin (Composer) Off Broadway: Five Course Love (book/music/lyrics; Minetta Lane Theatre). Regional: Alley Theatre, American Players Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Asolo Rep, Berkeley Rep, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theatre Company, Geva Theatre Center, Guthrie Theater, Human Race Theatre, Indiana Rep, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, PCPA Theatrefest, Pioneer Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Unicorn Theatre; the Alabama, Georgia, Great River, Oregon, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, St. Louis, Utah Shakespeare Festivals. International: Stratford Festival, Tarragon Theatre, National Arts Centre, Manitoba Theatre Center, CanStage (Canada), ChungMu Art Hall (Seoul). Other: member of Dramatists Guild, Society of Composers & Lyricists, American Federation of Musicians.
Emmelyn Thayer (Dialect Coach) The Old Globe: Henry 6, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B, Ride, Cabaret, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dial M for Murder. Regional: Noises Off, Sweeney Todd, Man from Nebraska, Private Lives (Cygnet Theatre), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (North Coast Rep), The Glass Menagerie (Diversionary). The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Voice and Speech faculty; The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cloud 9, Measure for Measure, Mother Courage and Her Children, more. USD Department of Theatre: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia, more. Honors: Horrigan Award, Craig Noel M.F.A. Fellowship. emmelynthayer.com.
Tara Rubin Casting (Casting) The Old Globe: Cabaret, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Dancin’, Scrooge, Despereaux, Gods of Comedy, Life After, Heart of Rock & Roll, Much Ado, Tempest, Guys and Dolls, Othello, Two Gentlemen, Dog and Pony, Room with a View, others. Selected Broadway: The Outsiders, Water for Elephants, The Wiz, Heart of Rock & Roll, Back to the Future, Here Lies Love, Bad Cinderella, Dancin’, KPOP, Mr. Saturday Night, Six, Ain’t Too Proud, Band’s Visit, Dear Evan Hansen, Cats, Falsettos, School of Rock, Aladdin, Billy Elliot, Shrek, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys, Phantom of the Opera. Selected Off Broadway: Dead Outlaw, Sing Street, Between the Lines, Gloria: A Life. Film: Here Today.
Anjee Nero (Production Stage Manager) The Old Globe: Ride, Cabaret, Come Fall in Love, Almost Famous, The Gardens of Anuncia, The Heart of Rock & Roll, Bright Star, Allegiance, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Benny & Joon, October Sky, Rocky Horror Show, Life After, The Wanderers, Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show, A Room with a View, Kingdom, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, Be a Good Little Widow, more. Broadway: Bright Star. Regional highlights: Bright Star (Kennedy Center), Fly, Sideways, Ruined, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Herringbone, The Seven (La Jolla Playhouse), Ruined (Huntington Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Kiss Me, Kate (Hartford Stage), Venice (Center Theatre Group), Antigone (SITI Company).
Kendra Stockton (Assistant Stage Manager) The Old Globe: Henry 6, The Age of Innocence, The XIXth, Come Fall in Love, The Taming of the Shrew, Trouble in Mind, Hair, Almost Famous, As You Like It, The Gods of Comedy, Familiar, Looking for Christmas, Much Ado About Nothing, Benny & Joon, October Sky, Bright Star, Dog and Pony, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Regional: House of Joy (San Diego Rep), Home of the Brave, #SuperShinySara, Guards at the Taj, The Orphan of Zhao, The Who & The What (La Jolla Playhouse), The Loneliest Girl in the World (Diversionary Theatre), miXtape (Lamb’s Players), White Christmas (San Diego Musical Theatre).
Stefania Giron Zuluaga (Assistant Stage Manager) (she/her) The Old Globe: Destiny of Desire. Regional: Something’s Afoot, Songs of the Moon, Into the Woods (The 5th Avenue), Quixote Nuevo, Fat Ham, The Tempest, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Seattle Rep), Quixote Nuevo, Seussical (South Coast Rep), A Christmas Carol (ACT), Little Shop of Horrors, Mamma Mia!, The Book Club Play (Village Theatre). Education: Seattle University.
Marie Jahelka (Stage Management Swing) The Old Globe: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B, Crime and Punishment, A Comedy, The XIXth, The Taming of the Shrew, Shutter Sisters, The Underpants, Native Gardens, The Wanderers, Red Velvet. Regional: The Ballad of Johnny and June, SUMO, Put Your House in Order, Hollywood, Ether Dome (La Jolla Playhouse), The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse), Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), A Chorus Line (Moonlight Stage Productions), The Humans, Aubergine, Evita, Violet (San Diego Repertory Theatre), The Last Five Years, HIR, Shakespeare’s R&J, Mistakes Were Made (Cygnet Theatre Company). Education: B.A. in Theatre Arts from University of San Diego.
Evelyn G. Myers (Stage Management Swing) (she/her) The Old Globe: Fat Ham, Globe for All’s The Comedy of Errors, Henry V. La Jolla Playhouse: The Garden, POP Tour (Hoopla!), POP Tour (Pick Me Last), POP Tour x National Disability Theatre (Emily Driver’s Great Race Through Time and Space). North Coast Repertory: Sense of Decency, Pippin. Grand Central Art Center: Savage in Limbo. Hollywood Fringe Festival: The First and the Last (Encore Award). Young Theatre: Bell, Book, and Candle (Kennedy Center Excellence in Stage Management Award).
Asolo Repertory Theatre (Co-Presenter) In its 65th season, Asolo Repertory Theatre is recognized as one of the premier professional theatres in America and located in Sarasota, Florida. Operating in true rotating repertory, its skilled actors and craftsmanship breathe life into this distinctive method, allowing audiences to enjoy multiple productions within days. Presenting up to six annual shows, from classics to contemporaries and bold musicals, Asolo Rep thrives as a self-contained theatre district. Collaborating with top industry artists and nurturing emerging talents through FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, the theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director Peter Rothstein and Managing Director Ross Egan, crafts innovative performances and inclusive community programs, securing its legacy. Explore more at asolorep.org.