The Old Globe Announces Second Renewal of Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

The Old Globe announced that its hit production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Tony Award-nominated playwright Ken Ludwig (Broadway’s Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy for You) and directed by Peter Amster (Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express at Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sense and Sensibility at Indiana Repertory Theatre), has been given a second week extension due to popular demand. The crowd favorite, which opened last week, will play through October 20, 2024, in the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage at the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center at the Globe in Balboa Park in San Diego. Tickets for the second week of the extension are on sale now at www.TheOldGlobe.org.

Prepare for a glittering and thrilling journey in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s masterpiece. On a train across Europe, a wealthy American tycoon is found dead in his compartment, the door locked from the inside. Enter the world-famous detective Hercule Poirot, who must avoid the train full of suspects and solve the murder before the killer strikes again. With humor and romance, audiences will experience the thrill of a spectacular production whose stunning designs and innovative staging are a real knockout.

“Ken Ludwig is a great friend of The Old Globe and we are thrilled to welcome him back with his absolutely stunning new adaptation of one of the great detective stories,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Murder on the Orient Express is an Agatha Christie masterpiece and in Ludwig’s hands it delivers fresh infusions of emotion, suspense and surprise.” Edelstein added, “Peter Amster’s production brings the train to the stage with extraordinary invention and breathtaking imagery, and the cast is top-notch. Murder on the Orient Express is simply a spectacular evening of theater: entertaining, funny and exciting. I look forward to bringing it to San Diego.”

The cast of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express includes Sam Ashdown (Jane at Lamb’s Players Theatre, Sense and Sensibility at People’s Light) as Colonel Arbuthnot; Rajesh Bose (Life of Pi on Broadway, Pygmalion Off Broadway) as Michel and Marcel; David Breitbarth (Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Rhinoceros at Asolo Repertory Theatre) as Monsieur Bouc; Karole Foreman (Jelly’s Last Jam at the Pasadena Playhouse, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill at the Cygnet Theatre) as Princess Dragomiroff; Marquis D. Gibson (Fat Ham on Broadway, Wig Out at the Studio Theatre) as Hector MacQueen; Maya Gimbel (Peter Pan, Frozen at Kids on Stage Productions) as Daisy Armstrong; Mylinda Hull (Broadway’s Mr. Saturday Night, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) as Helen Hubbard; Ariella Kvashny (The Old Globe’s Destiny of Desire, Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas!) as Countess Andrenyi; Helen Joo Lee (Goodman Theater Penelopiad, Asolo Repertory Theater Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express) as Mary Debenham; Giancarlo Lugo (Ababa in the Tall Grass Tour at La Jolla Playhouse, Urinetown the Musical at San Diego Musical Theater) as ensemble; Sophia Oberg (The Age of Innocence at The Old Globe, San Diego JFest’s Hereville) as Greta Ohlsson; Matthew Patrick Quinn (National Tours of Hadestown, Finding Neverland) as Samuel Ratchett; Larissa Ryan (Crimes of the Heart at Patchwork Theatre, Man-in-the-Moon) as the ensemble; Andrew Sellon (The Grapes of Wrath at Asolo Repertory Theatre, Romeo and Juliet at The Curtain Theatre) as Hercule Poirot; Addison Smyres (Madame Butterfly at San Diego Opera, Peter Pan at Kids on Stage Productions) as Daisy Armstrong; Maya Sofia (Star of Ocotillo at OnStage Playhouse, Rent at San Diego Musical Theatre) as the ensemble; and Samuel Young (Kagitingan at Blindspot Collective, Return to Scripps Ranch Theatre) as the ensemble.

The cast of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express includes Alyssa Anne Austin as Mary Debenham and Ensemble; Christine Hewitt as Princess Dragomiroff and Helen Hubbard; Giancarlo Lugo as Hector MacQueen; Larissa Ryan as Greta Ohlsson; Maya Sofia as Countess Andrenyi; Ben Williams as Colonel Arbuthnot and Samuel Ratchett; Eddie Yaroch as Hercule Poirot and Monsieur Bouc; and Samuel Young as Michel and Marcel.

Joining the creative team for the Globe’s production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express are Paul Tate DePoo III (set design), Tracy Dorman (costumes), JAX Messenger (lighting), Matthew Parker (sound), Greg Emetaz (projection design), Gregg Coffin (composer), Emmelyn Thayer (dialect coach), Tara Rubin Casting/Claire Burke, CSA (casting) and Anjee Nero (production manager).

This production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express was originally performed at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in January 2020.

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express will play the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage at the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. The production has received a second extension and will play through October 20, 2024. Tickets start at $34 and are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or in person at The Old Globe Box Office in Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). The Post-Show Forum will be held on Wednesday, October 2 (evening performance). An Open-Caption Performance is scheduled for Saturday, October 5 (afternoon performance). This performance contains mild language and violence. Visit www.TheOldGlobe.org for a complete schedule and additional information.

Following the performance, there will be an opening night reception where the cast and donors will be invited to a reception in Hattox Hall, located in the Karen and Donald Cohn Educational Center, part of the Conrad Prebys Theater Center.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the nation’s leading professional, nonprofit regional theaters. Now in its 90th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution and serves a vibrant community by creating theater that lives offstage. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on three Balboa Park stages, including the world-renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend the Globe’s productions and artistic and engagement programs. Its nationally recognized Arts Engagement Department provides a range of participatory programs that make theater relevant to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. The liberal arts programs at the Globe and throughout the city expand the community’s understanding of the arts in all their forms. The Globe also offers a variety of new arts development programs with professional and community writers, as well as the renowned Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—including the 2014 Tony Award-winning Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have enjoyed great success on Broadway and in regional theaters across the country.

Photo credit: Jim Cox

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