“I’m really excited for people to get a chance to play detective alongside Hercule Poirot, who is, of course, one of the world’s greatest detectives,” said Kaufman. “It’s a show that is surprisingly funny and moving, but also like any good murder mystery, it is full of surprises and twists, and some very important props.”
Kaufman, who is from the Chicago area, is studying theater and creative writing with a minor in education.
“It has been fun in rehearsal to get to build a story that is going to keep audiences engaged,” he said.
Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig, is set against the backdrop of the opulent Orient Express stranded in a snowdrift.
The story unfolds when a passenger is found murdered, stabbed eight times in a compartment locked from the inside — and a detective must find out who did it before they strike again.
“When world-famous Detective Hercule Poirot boards the opulent Orient Express, he plans to vacation, and take some time off from being a detective, but of course, his work follows him. And soon enough, he finds himself in the middle of a case where a man has been murdered on the train, in his locked compartment, and he is asked to try to figure out who aboard the train committed the murder,” Kaufman said.
He described Poirot as an “eccentric man, but he also someone who really loves what he does.”
“When it comes to solving crimes, looking at clues and interrogating suspects, he’s having a good time, and for me, there’s a parallel to being on the stage. That’s something I enjoy a lot. It’s fun to get to play a character, who loves what they do,” said Kaufman.
The show also stars Preston Angus as Monsieur Bouc; Hope Stines as Mary Debenham; James Covarrubias as Hector MacQueen; Ian Dewey as Michel the Conductor; Alex Olson as Princess Dragomiroff; Sophie Wertz as Greta Ohlsson; Elena Malott as Countess Andrenyi; Dylan Marshall as Helen Hubbard; Sam Vendramin as Colonel Arbuthnot and Parker Hamrick as Samuel Ratchett.
“This has been such a fun cast to work with. Poirot is the detective, but it is an ensemble show, and every character is big and bold and unique, and it’s been really fun to get to perform with all of these people, who are now my friends, and see how our big characters push against each other, and the situations that creates,” Kaufman said. “We have a fantastic crew and directing team, who have been working with us and keeping us on the tracks.”
The design and production team features scenic designer Gion DeFrancesco, costume designer Lisa Martin-Stuart, lighting designers Sarah Finke and Marly Wooster, sound designer Caitlin McWethy, stage manager Aisling Morse and assistant stage managers Siena Jackson and Caelyn Tisinger.
MORE DETAILS
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19-21 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22-23. Gates-Abegglen Theatre is located at 420 S. Patterson Avenue in Oxford. Tickets range from $16-20 and are available at the Miami University Box office, or online at www.etix.com/ticket/online/viewPerformanceGroup.jsp?group_id=2922.
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