This is a stage adaptation, written by Ken Ludwig, of the classic Agatha Christie novel of the same name. The story details famous detective Hercule Poirot on a train ride that gets interrupted by a snowdrift and the murder of one of the passengers. Poirot must go through the eclectic cast of characters to find the culprit.

The play is directed by Buzz Powers, a longtime director for Hawkeye Community Theatre. When discussing what drew him to tackling the literary classic on the stage, Powers said, “We saw the show before in Sioux City and enjoyed the show a lot. It’s a mystery of course, like a lot of Agatha Christie, so it has twists and turns. There’s a little more comedy in this than some things.”

Powers said he chose it mostly on the thought of what Fort Dodge would enjoy, adding, “It’s just an enjoyable show and we thought it would be nice to bring it to the community.”

Running a show for the Hawkeye Community Theatre, especially one based on such a well-known story, has many moving and difficult-to-control parts.

-Submitted photo
Josh Tuel, as Hercule Poirot, acts out a scene in the Hawkeye Community Theatre’s production of “Murder on the Orient Express.”

“This is technically a very difficult show to run,” Powers said. “It takes place on a train and we have limited space. Train cars can be pretty small so that’s where a lot of the technical difficulty can come in. Because it is Agatha Christie, you want to do it the right way and we are doing our best. We’ve got a very good cast.”

That cast consists of Josh Tuel, Brad McIntyre, Heidi Nelson, Mari Newman, Jeff Bluml, Jake Shelton, Mike Shoopman, Ann Powers, Rex Daisy, Jess Barkhaus, Kayla Harlow, Jennifer McAtee, Heidi Ingram, Elya Petersen, Daisy: Etta Petersen, and Tom Nelson.

“It can be difficult sometimes to work our schedule around their schedule, but they are a very good, hardworking group,” Powers said. “They all have quite a bit of experience in community theater and they know what work needs to be done.”

The community is one of the most important aspects of community theater.

“I would like for the community to come out to a show,” said Powers. “I feel they would love to see live theater.”

-Submitted photo Brad McIntyre, acting as Monsieur Bone, and Josh Tuel, playing the part of Hercule Poirot, rehearse a scene in Hawkeye Community Theatre’s upcoming production of “Murder on the Orient Express.” The show will run from Wednesday through Saturday this week.

“Over the last 30 years or so I’ve done quite a few shows with Hawkeye,” he added. “I really enjoy it, I enjoy the people. Theater people are a unique type of people, and I’ve really met my people.”

The show will run from Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. showing on Saturday.