On November 22-23, the Orient Express arrived at the Fallston High Theatre.
The drama company put an amazing production on this fall. I have never been to one of the productions before, and it really showed me how hard our student actors and tech crew worked, day and night, to put on a show for our community.
There were about 350 people in attendance to follow Hercule Poirot (Everett Pfiefer), and the rest of the passengers: Monsieur Bouc (Lillian Shoobridge), Mary Debenham (Elizabeth Mcarthy-Gibson), Hector MacQueen (Eric Vanderbeek), Michel (Hailey Courtney), Princess Dragonmiroff (Lex Courtney), Greta Ohlsson (Gabriella DePaolo), Countess Andrenyi (Liv Querns), Helen Hubbard (Madelyn Kelly), Colonel Arbuthnot (Lawrence Acevedo), Samuel Ratchett (Zack Patton), and the Head Waiter (Violet Schwartz).
Tensions were high between the passengers on their way to Paris and got even worse when the train was trapped in a snowstorm. That is when tragedy struck on the train, and Samuel Ratchett was murdered in his sleep. It was Hercule Poirot’s job to find out who the killer – or should I say killers – were before the train made it to the next station.
Throughout the play, relationships were developed, tensions arose, friendships formed, and tragedy struck. There were many significant moments throughout the play that I feel should be highlighted.
The accents for this play were top tier. You could tell the cast members really took the time to get into their character. There were two that stuck out the most to me, though, and those were Madelyn Kelly and Everett Pfiefer. Madelyn portrayed a loud and enthusiastic Midwestern woman; you could really tell that she practiced and made sure her accent sounded true to a midwestern accent. Everett portrayed a quiet and almost secretive Belgian detective; now I don’t know what a Belgian accent is supposed to sound like, but I know he did an amazing job.
Relationships between the passengers also developed, specifically Mary Debenham and Colonel Arbuthnot. Elizabeth and Lawrence showed a strong connection between their characters, while also keeping things professional. In the audience you could see how much Colonel Arbuthnot cared for Mary, and that is all because they had great actors telling their story. I couldn’t imagine anyone else but Lawrence and Elizabeth for these two roles.
While some had romantic relationships on the train, others had lots of tension between passengers on the train. At the beginning of the show, Samuel Ratchett and Countess Andrenyi had a little run-in, which led to Mr. Ratchett being slapped. I really couldn’t have seen anyone else playing the roles of Samuel Ratchett and Countess Andrenyi than Zack and Liv. Zack and Liv are strong members in the drama company, playing many versatile roles, and that showed in this play. Samuel Ratchett seemed to be a very stubborn and angry man, and Zack showed that when he would yell at the other passengers and frighten them off. Countess Andrenyi seemed to be a tough woman who could stand up for herself, which is exactly what Liv portrayed her character as, even when her character was being yelled at by Mr. Rachett. At one point, she went up and slapped him to set him straight. When this happened, I gasped and couldn’t believe it, but I was also very supportive of her actions. Liv and Zack got many reactions from the crowd during their time on stage, and I believe that it is important to have developed those connections with the audience.
Not only did the cast do an excellent job, but the tech and stage crew had an incredibly important role in making the show what it was. The sets were very detailed and made you feel like you were riding on the train with the actors. Lighting and sound effects also helped create the illusion of being on the train. They used different sound effects like one for when the train was moving, and another one for when the train got stuck in the snow. The lighting also helped portray the emotional rollercoaster that happened throughout the play. They used blue lights for flashbacks when the actors were being interrogated after Samuel Ratchett’s death, and they used red lights for when they found Mr. Ratchett’s body, and for when the killers were identifying themselves.
Overall, I have to say this show was phenomenal, and if you see any of the cast, tech and stage crew, and directors, Mr. Houck and Ms. Partin, in the hallways make sure to congratulate them on their amazing performance.
I feel like the drama company has me hooked on their performances now, and I am very ready for the spring musical, which will be… Anastasia! Make sure to stay tuned for more information about auditions and show dates.
