S76 - Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig - 5m, 5w
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer - in case he or she decides to strike again.
Labels: adaptation, classic
posted by Jim Vogel at 3:54 PM
5 Comments:
From Keven related to tech challenges:
Well, nothing is IMPOSSIBLE if you are clever enough, and Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of MOTOE is one of the good ones as far as Agatha Christie goes. The script certainly offers a number interesting challenges to presentation in the round at TRP.
Scene Breakdown:
Act I
1 - Off Stage Dialogue / Poirot Spotlight
2 - Dining Room Tokatlian Hotel
3 - Train Platform
4 - Dining Car
5 - Sleeping Compartments
6 - Corridor
7 - Observation Deck
8 - Sleeping Compartments
Act II
1 - Dining Car
2 - Corridor
3 - Dining Car
4 - Corridor
5 - Dining Car / Flashbacks / Poirot Spotlight
The beginning settings, the Hotel Dining Room and the Platform preceding to boarding the train, could be rocky, set change wise. To my mind these changes could be avoided by combining the two, preset onto the “platform”, which could exist outside of the train car set already set up across the length of the stage. The dining room accoutrement could be removed as part of the boarding business by stagehand “porters” avoiding a break in the action.
The balance of Act I presents the challenge of several shifts back and forth between the Dining Car and the Sleeping Compartments. Could these two locales coexist as two ends of the same car so that changes are not needed? I think possibly, yes. Trains are cramped and narrow by nature. I can also see the Corridor and Observation Deck scenes being staged at either end of the central and ubiquitous train car set (which I would love to see slightly elevated and contained on a single, long, shaped platform)
The Sleeping Compartments set business is clearly the most challenging as it really wants the sort of partitioning, isolation and door business that is so hard to accomplish in the round. (Insert great directing here.)
IF you have successfully solved Act I, you’ve solved Act II which is just more of the same. Also, I say “Thank You!” for the flashback motif in Act II Sc. 5 which I feel lends permission to the impulse to stylize the production throughout.
All this being said, the other element that gives me pause is the level of opulence and style that is demanded by the setting. Along with whatever else MOTOE might be, it is a style piece that demands to be provided with the highest possible level of the Art Deco ideal, with the “gleaming elegance and romance, fittings of gold and cushions of red plush” asked for by the script and demanded by the setting. Is the budget up to it? I can’t imagine anything more disappointing than a production of this play that seemed a bit threadbare.
I fully understand the desirability of doing this one. I’m sure that whatever choices were made, TRP would provide the artists involved in the production with a satisfying experience and that the regular audience would embrace the material. With the right creative team and appropriate level of resource support, I think this could also have a chance of being a creative success at TRP. That’s my quick thumbnail analysis.
I enjoyed the Ludwig script. It was especially nice to have one of the characters come from Minneapolis. The previous productions I have seen have been relatively ornate and on a proscenium stage. My major concern has been technical. I worry about getting an experienced director/technical team together to deliver a successful production.
I think this is a very funny and entertaining adaptation. It read much easier for me than a lot of the Christie scripts we have read. But yes, it would be challenging. If I was directing, I would solve the problem by having the cars of the train painted on the floor. Almost as if it was a board game like Clue - gorgeous painting, but 2 dimensional. Make a big show of squeezing by each other on the cars, when there are no actual walls. The sleeping car is the the piece that makes it harder. Unless we had a wall built in Tunnel vom with fold down bunks...no matter which way you sway it - it would be challenging. But, the technical concerns are very large.
I really enjoyed this script. The dialog is very funny! The only way I can envision it being done is with a TON of lighting and sound cues. Perhaps the modesty panels could represent the different compartments with spots to change from room to room. There are a number of set changes that would quickly have to be transitioned. Voms and stairs could be used for the opening scene and the calls to Zagreb. It would be a challenge! With the Minnesota connection, I'd hold onto it for S75 with further discussion with directors and tech staff.
I usually get tired reading the AC options, but this one kept my attention (but I am a fan of KL's style). I have never seen a production (sadly missed it at the G a few years ago), but recognize this would be a huge ask for our audience to accept creative low budget solutions. That being said - I am energized to try to make it work. I like Larisa's suggestions, but know that a good design team would embrace the challenge. I say we keep it on the list, ask for proposals and see how Directors solve the issues.
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