While walking to take his seat in the middle of the auditorium, the director spoke.

“All right, from the top – Act 1, Scene 1,” said Jim Foley.

The room went dark, and gave way to a spotlight that illuminated only the middle portion of the Lucille Ball Little Theater’s stage.

Then, in an elated way, cast members began their rehearsal of Murder on the Orient Express, Ken Ludwig’s stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s whodunnit tale.

Timothy Miller as Colonel Arbuthnot, and Alyssa Porter as Mary Debenham practice their lines during a rehearsal for Murder on the Orient Express. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

According to lbltj.com, it’s 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.

Foley said he decided to direct the play because he is a long-time fan of the author.

“I have been a long-time Agatha Christie fan. I suppose it’s a guilty pleasure of mine that I like to read her books.

“I love her murder mysteries. I love to try to solve them, and I am rarely successful,” Foley said. “So this was one of my favorites of her books. And when I knew that this was on (the list for) the season, I just thought it would be a lot of fun to try to bring it to life on stage.”

Andrew Garvey, who portrays Poirot said he had to grow a mustache for the performance, and likes his character.

“I really like Poirot – his intelligence, his precision,” Garvey said. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near as smart as him, but it’s fun to pretend to be. I’ve had a lot of fun with that.”

Garvey said he did research to make sure he could act the part. Because Poirot has a thick French accent, Garvey had to rely on his college French classes to approximate Poirot’s accent.

“I read the book, and then I read the play, and then I watched a couple of the movie versions, just to try to see which one I like the best,” Garvey said.

The rest of the cast includes Zander Chase as Constantine Bouc, Alyssa Porter as Mary Debenham, Michael Giambelucca as Hector Maqueen, Earl Rothfus as Michel, the conductor, Adrienne Reuss as Princess Dragomiroff, Rachael Davis as Greta Ohlsson, Christine Panebianco as Countess Andrenyi, Lyn Schaffer as Helen Hubbard, Timothy Miller as Colonel Arbuthnot, Ed Anderson as Samuel Ratchett, and Colin Drayer as the Head Waiter.

Drayer said it’s fascinating to be able to have the audience guess, and try to figure out what’s happening on stage as the play moves along.

“It feels almost interactive to be able to try and piece together who you think was the killer,” Drayer noted.

Like other cast members, Panebianco enjoys murder mysteries.

“I really enjoy Agatha Christie and the various adaptations of her stories,” Panebianco said. “And it’s sort of fun being the character that you know, it’s like, everyone’s a suspect, but like to be able to assist, borrow anyway, just sort of being in the middle it’s, it’s a fun play. It’s like a little double sided.”

The performances are scheduled for April 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 7 p.m., and April 19 and 26 at 2 p.m. For ticket information please visit lbltj.com or call (716) 483-1095.