author: Kenny SigalÂ
Whodunnit? Whodunnit? By golly whodunnit?!? That is exactly what you will find out at the end of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (directed by Joey Hellman) at the Dundalk Community Theater. This murder mystery is chugging down the tracks with an amazing cast for your enjoyment that is sure to keep you entertained throughout the entire show.
The show revolves around Hercule Poirot (Greg Guyton) who’s commanding stage presence was strong enough that even I almost confessed to the murder! We follow him through the entire show as he investigates the murder of…you will see who…and we get to witness all the unique fellow passengers he meets along the way. By far one of the loudest, boldest, most straightforward, and one of the most memorable is the divine Helen Hubbard (Holly Pasciullo). From the beginning and all the way through her last appearance on stage Pasciullo’s charm and humor brings this character to life in a way that can not help to bring a smile to your face. Not unlike the smile I felt watching Hector MacQueen being brought to life by the talented Albert J. Boeren. Boeren has a certain charm to his acting that can only be described as that “classic feel-good TV charm.”
What murder mystery would be complete without the wealthy aristocrat and naive traveling companion? This is where we find the duo of Princess Dragomiroff (Kendra Keiser) and Greta Ohlsson (Jennifer Otero). Keiser has a strong and commanding stage presence that perfectly offsets the timid and reserved character portrayed by Otero, but when you combine the two of them on stage together, they go together like a snowball goes with a scorching summer day!
On the note of interesting and unexpecting (yet suspect) pairings are Mary Debenham (Laura Weiss) and Colonel Arbuthnot (Brian Boys). Their on stage (or train) relationship is interesting, but I do not want to give any more of that away, so you will just have to see it for yourself! This talented cast is joined by Monsieur Bouc portrayed by the talented Randy Dalmas and Sam Ratchett being played by the legendary Bill Kohlhoff. Finally for this talented cast, ALL of which are making their DCT Debut, Head Waiter portrayed by Kyle Nolla, Countess Andrenyi portrayed by Ashley Gerhardt, and Michel the Conductor portrayed by David DeFrank.
While there are a million good things that can be said about this incredible cast, nothing can compare to the moment the curtain rose, and the audience finally got a glimpse of the set. The best way to describe it is that the Orient Express had been brought to life, in near actual size, in near perfect detail, and cross-sectioned so that it could be put on stage for our viewing pleasure. The incredible work put in by Technical Director Marc Smith and his crew on this set is nothing short of breathtaking. From the depth of the set having actual hallways that the cast could walk down and rooms to go in and out of, to it “snowing” throughout the show”, all the way down to the fine detail work by the truly amazing Properties Designer Amy Vickers (who was kind enough to give us an up close look at this amazing set) you can truly tell that this crew put quite a bit of work into this one.
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
Murder on the Orient Express plays through March 15th 2026 at Dundalk Community Theatre located on the campus of the Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk in the John E. Ravekes Theatre— 7200 Sollers Point Road in Dundalk, MD. Tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at (443) 840-2787 or by purchasing them in advance online.
