The cast and crew of Emmaus High School’s production of “Murder on the Orient Express” is hard at work preparing for their upcoming shows premiering on Halloween night in the EHS auditorium.

“Murder on the Orient Express” is a thrilling play adapted by Ken Ludwig based on a novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie. It is centered around the murder of an American, Samuel Ratchett, which occurs on the Taurus Express on the way to Istanbul. The main character, Hercule Poirot, is a detective hired to investigate the gruesome crime.

Senior Abby Gruber, who is working as sound crew lead for the play has different experiences as a part of the fall play in comparison to the spring musical.

“I think in the fall it’s a lot more of getting to know everyone and building community so that in the spring there is the possibility for it to be bigger and for more to happen,” Gruber said.

While the cast remains small with 10 actors, the crew members continue to do their part behind the scenes to ensure that the show runs smoothly. The crew is composed of set, costume, lighting, sound crew members, as well as overall production assistants.

Junior Charles Kenney, who plays the lead, Detective Hercule Poirot, feels that the cast and crew’s balance is crucial to producing an entertaining show.

“There’s a nice balance between casual, like knowing all these people as friends, and also as a sort of pseudo-job,” Kenney said. “Everyone here is clearly invested in what they’re doing so when you have so many different people from so many different corners of expertise coming together to create this one cohesive show for a bunch of people to just sit down and enjoy, it’s a really nice experience to know that you’ve been able to create such a big deal.”

All are invited to see the show, and it is expected to be a riveting night of theater. Students specifically are encouraged to attend and support their fellow peers as they have been rehearsing since the beginning of the year.

Theater, broadcasting, and film teacher at EHS, Jill Kuebler, has been directing the plays and musicals at Emmaus for 19 years. With the help of Christopher Kollar in charge of building and painting and a geometry and set design teacher, and Assistant Director and English teacher Diane DiDona, she puts the vision in motion and works with the actors and crew to bring the production together.

“The cast is very dedicated to analyzing the text and developing characters fully. This is a very character-driven play, so they’re really dedicating themselves to doing a great job with showing these different characters,” Kuebler said.

Theatergoers should expect a dramatic yet comedic performance that captures the audience with many special effects ranging from lighting to sound to plot twists. Sales began on Oct. 16 and tickets can be found on the EHS website. Audiences have the choice of three showtimes, 7 p.m. on Oct. 31, 7 p.m. on Nov. 1, and 7 p.m. on Nov. 2. While tickets are available for purchase at the doors, it is recommended to buy online ahead of time to guarantee seats.

Described by the cast and crew as thrilling, intricate, chaotic, and mysterious, “Murder on the Orient Express” aims to intrigue all audiences.