Shippensburg University Acting Group (SUAG) brought “Murder on the Orient Express!” to campus last week with four showings. Memorial Auditorium was buzzing on Saturday, April 19, for the play adapted from Agatha Christie’s murder mystery novel.
The production was directed by Seamus Landis and Stephen Good. The plot is a classic “whodunit,” a murder mystery on a train with the detective Hercule Poirot, played by Lydia Lyman, piecing together the crime.
The Orient Express is the train owned by Monsieur Bouc, played by Daniel Wintersgill. Wintersgill brought laughs to the theater with his portrayal of the stressed-out train owner. Samuel Ratchett, a wealthy American businessman played by Chase Garrison, is killed in his train car, but slowly the audience learned about his character’s dark past and the motives of the killer.
Lydia Lyman plays Hercule Poirot in the ‘Murder on the Orient Express!’
A standout performer was Lyman. Lyman delivered hard hitting interrogation scenes and brought intensity to the stage. Wintersgill provided the comic relief, and Lyman’s intensity took the audience on a roller coaster of emotions, making the duo a great fit together on stage.
The cast of suspects were all excellent. Each character had a connection to the victim that makes them all tied into the overarching story. If SUAG continues with performances like this, it will not be long before they perform on bigger stages with bigger productions.
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