Review | ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ at SBCC

All aboard for an entertaining ride from the SBCC Theatre Group as they present Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit Murder on the Orient Express. With a capable cast and a very cool moving set, this play, directed by Katie Laris, brings intrigue and light camp to the stage. 

Detective Hercule Poirot (Matthew Tavianini in an exquisite mustache) is on a vacation that turns into a work trip when a man is murdered in the train cabin next to his. A handful of clues are left in the dead man’s compartment, and Poirot jumps on the case. Being that the train is stuck in a snowdrift in a mountain pass far from the next town, Poirot deduces that the murderer must be someone on the train. There is a roster of potential suspects, none of whom seem quite motivated or capable of committing the heinous crime … or are they?

This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on August 13, 2024. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Notable aspects of this production include the use of video clips on a screen above the stage interspersed throughout the action as a supplementary storytelling device. The set (designed by Patricia L. Frank) is a pair of train cars, a dining car, and a sleeping car that roll on and off stage right and left at every change in scene location. Both cars feel opulent while remaining efficient and providing a sense of tight quarters. Despite some pacing issues in the second half as the solution to the puzzle comes to the fore, the action feels very well-orchestrated for the space.

Murder on the Orient Express runs through March 19 at the Garvin Theater. It’s a decent adaptation produced with style, making for an amusing night in the theater. 

Support the Santa Barbara Independent through a long-term or a single contribution.