About the Play:

Murder on the Orient Express is a full-length dramatic comedy adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig from the classic edge-of-your-seat murder mystery by Agatha Christie. One of the most well-known detective thrillers ever published, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is the gold standard for whodunits the world over-particularly those involving a confined room full of plausible suspects, all under investigation by a brilliant sleuth. Ken Ludwig adds humour into the mix, for an all-out murder mystery adventure! Especially recommended for school and contest use.

Murder on the Orient Express combines the talents of two literary giants in the retelling of this masterful mystery. The exotic Orient Express is hurtling down the tracks… to a murder! It is 1934, and while on holiday in Istanbul, the world's greatest detective receives a telegram pleading for his quick return to London to work on a new case. He manages to snag a last-minute ticket to board the ultra-luxe, otherwise fully-booked railway. Once aboard, all is status quo until an American tycoon is found dead in his compartment. Everyone on board is a suspect, each with a seemingly ironclad alibi, and the dapper detective Hercule Poirot must solve the case before another passenger meets the same fate. Wax your moustache and hold on to your passport! This exciting play will take audiences on a suspenseful, thrilling ride aboard the legendary Orient Express! Don't go off the rails – All aboard!

Murder on the Orient Express premiered in 2015 at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey and subsequently transferred to Connecticut's Hartford Stage in 2018. Since then the play has been produced widely at professional theatres across the US and has been mounted by high schools, colleges, and community theatres.

Cast: 5 female, 5 male

What people say:

"The fast-moving, powerful theatrical locomotive Murder on the Orient Express will get you to a better place, and slay you merrily en route." — Hartford Courant

"Agatha Christie is not the bestselling novelist in history for nothing, and Ken Ludwig's adaptation strikes the perfect balance of the cerebral and the comic. Get on board – it's a great ride." — Houstonian Magazine

"I felt myself leaning in with the entire audience when detective Poirot tells us he's figured out who did it. What a climax! When the train whistle blows in the theater, all we need to do is sit down, shut up and enjoy." — The Houston Chronicle

"A love letter to the original material, with a swift moving script adaptation by Ken Ludwig. ... [E]verything you could want - broadly drawn characters, exotic settings, and a spectacular murder with no shortage of suspects." — BroadwayWorld.com

"Playwright Ken Ludwig has hit the jackpot again with his fast-paced, over-the-top farce A Comedy of Tenors." — Beacon Journal

About the Playwright:

Ken Ludwig is an internationally acclaimed American playwright whose work is performed throughout the world in more than thirty countries in over twenty languages. He has written twenty-five plays and musicals, with six Broadway productions and seven in London's West End. He has also won two Laurence Olivier Awards and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.