By Regina Hinkley
Murder on the Orient Express, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Thursday November 13, 2025
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is perhaps one of the British author’s more well known intellectual properties. Sitting as the most translated author of all time with 66 novels, the best selling book of all-time (And Then There Were None with over 100 Million copies sold), and the longest initial run of a stage play ever recorded (The Mousetrap, with 27,500 performances since it opened in 1952) in her repertoire or work, the English mystery novelist is often associated with her fictional character, Hercule Poirot, a famous detective who seems almost mystical in terms of intelligence and capability. Any theatre that takes on the beast that is Murder on the Orient Express has its work cut out for it, and any actor who dons the mustache and Belgian accent certainly has a heavy burden to carry. Nebraska Repertory Theatre takes this challenge head-on.
The first thing to be struck by is the set, designed by JD Madsen and slowly revealed throughout the course of the play. The train cars, moved by a crew of students who are swift and focused, help immerse the audience in the world of a train stuck on its way to London, and the costumes, designed expertly by Breeanna Pierce, help transport us to the world of Europe in 1934. As we are pulled into a story that rewards you greatly for your patience, we are treated to a cast of characters that are never quite what they seem and never play their full hand.
The most prominent (and perhaps the best) thing about their show is the cast, which is comprised of characters who are so interesting, you can hardly look away . We meet Mary Debenham and Colonel Arbuthnot (played by Harper Allen and Grady Mathews respectively) early on and are immediately enraptured by their chemistry and the mystery surrounding their clandestine meetings and cryptic exchanges. The two Americans, Helen Hubbard (Emerson Mattson) and Hector MacQueen (Brenden Dodds) are energetic and electric in their performances, with phenomenal character voices and engaging personalities. Princess Dragomiroff and Greta Ohlsson (Jordan Gabrielson and Annie McClory) arrive on stage together and immediately take their rightful place, with their wit and eccentricities allowing them to make a good comedy duo as well as compelling characters on their own. The hapless Monsieur Bouc (Robbie Exstrom) and ever professional Michel (Diego DiPasquo) both provide a great deal of humor and heart to the production, with each getting to show off their impressive comedic side as well as their dramatic. Countess Andrenyi (Sydney Kwasa) is intelligent and passionate about everything that she does, and Samuel Rachett (Aaron Harrel) easily terrifies the audience with his general slimy demeanor and threatening presence. The cast of eclectic individuals (with phenomenal accents) is rounded out by the previously mentioned world-famous detective, Hercule Poirot, played to great success by Kurt Zischke, a union actor working with the Repertory Theatre. It is evident the amount of time and effort that Zischke has put into the character as he stands among the greats who have portrayed the character and holds his own expertly, promising a performance not soon to be forgotten.
I left the show having cried, laughed, and ultimately, questioned what it means to believe in justice. Whether you’re a fan of the book, the play, the character of Poirot, or even just the Repertory Theatre itself, the show is worth the watch. Brush up on your detective skills before you go, and remember, trust no one but your own instincts and be sure to pay attention to everything you can. You never know what you might discover.
“Examine your heart and tell us what you want.”
If you go: Murder on the Orient Express runs from November 13-16 and 19-23 at 7:30 pm (the 16th and the 23th are matinees at 2 pm) in the UNL Nebraska Repertory Theatre at the Temple Building Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for adults and can be purchased at https://nerep.squarespace.com/murder-on-the-orient-express
Regina Hinkley is a theatre student at the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film at UNL. She is a playwright, performer, and avid enjoyer of theater of all kinds.
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