Murder on the Orient Express playbill

John Sipes (Director) John was bestowed the title of Professor Emeritus in the Department of Theatre at the University of Tennessee upon his retirement. Before joining the UT faculty, he was a Director and the Resident Movement Director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for fifteen seasons. Prior to his residency at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, John was a Director and Movement Director for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival for twelve seasons and served as the Festival’s Artistic Director for five seasons. Directing credits include productions at the Clarence Brown Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theater, The Acting Company, the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and others.

Terry D. Alford (Musical Director) Terry is a Distinguished Lecturer in Theatre and teaches Musical Theatre Performance and Honor’s Introduction to the Theatre and Acting. Prior to joining the UT faculty Mr. Alford held the positions of Director of Musical Theatre at The University of Tulsa, and Director of Musical Theatre at The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. He has worked professionally as a performer, director, musical director, and composer at theaters across the country, including the California Theatre Center, Madison Repertory, Omaha Playhouse, Augusta Barn, Fireside Theatre, Light Opera of Oklahoma, and the Clarence Brown Theatre. Terry has directed or musically directed numerous productions and has created the scores for four original musicals and a variety of chamber and vocal music pieces. He is a member of the Clarence Brown Professional Company and regularly directs and musically directs for the Clarence Brown Theatre. Terry is the director of the CBT Summer Acting Workshop and serves as co-facilitator of Outreach and Education hosting Theatre Tours and Talk Backs.

DJ Pike (Scenic and Projection Designer) is from Clinton, Utah and has earned his BS in Theatre at Weber State University in Ogden, UT. DJ is a third year graduate candidate at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he is earning his MFA in scenic and projection design. Recent scenic designs include She Kills Monsters, Stinney: An American Execution, The Winter’s Tale, The Revolutionists, Everyman, Sunday in the Park with George and Hedda Gabler. Recent projection designs include The Magic Flute for UT Opera, Sunday in the Park with George, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Sense and Sensibility, Orchesis Dance, and Weber State’s Presidential Inauguration. DJ’s work is on display at djpike.com.

M.J. Hromek (Costume Designer) is from Baltimore, Maryland and received a BA in Theatre Design and Production from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. They are a third year MFA Candidate in Costume Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express will be their second show with the Clarence Brown Theatre. Previous work includes She Kills Monsters, and Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka.

...

Josh J. Mullady (Lighting Designer) is a third year MFA Candidate with a focus in Lighting Design and Technology. Originally from Iowa, he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA, with a BA in Theatre and was the first student to graduate with all three emphases offered: Performance, Design and Production, and Drama for Youth. After that, he moved to Omaha, NE, where he spent the next 12 years using all those emphases working on over 100 productions and teaching hundreds of workshops. He is excited to be playing through this journey as Lighting Designer for Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, and collaborating with his fellow designers. Enjoy the show.
..

Joe Payne (Sound Designer/Composer) heads the Sound and Media Design MFA for the Department of Theatre. He has designed sound, projections, and/or composed music for more than 250 professional productions throughout the United States, including twenty-one seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Riverside Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Syracuse Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pioneer Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and others. Favorites at the CBT include Hamlet, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A Christmas Carol, Candide, and King Charles III. Joe is a member of United Scenic Artists USA Local 829 and the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association.

Thom Miller (Voice and Text Coach) is an actor, vocal coach, and Associate Professor at Syracuse University. As an accent coach, Miller has worked on Off-Broadway, regional productions, and film sets with internationally acclaimed performers. A proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA, Miller has acted Off-Broadway and in some of the best regional theaters across the country as well as in independent films and commercials. Love to Kate and Forrest.

Patrick Lanczki (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back for his ninth season at the CBT and his seventh as Production Stage Manager. His regional stage management credits include five years as resident stage manager at Asolo Repertory Theater, as well as multiple seasons at Arkansas Repertory Theater, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Northern Stage, and several Off- Broadway productions. As an actor, starting at age 16, he has appeared in numerous national and international tours, including seven tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, television, movies and voiceovers. A special thank you to my Stage Management team Emily, Joseph, Blake and Mayson for all of their hard work on this production. Patrick has been a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association since 1984 and dedicates his work on this production, as always, to his late father Alex. AHFOL to Katie, my best friend, favorite actress, and wife.

Emily Searles (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be making her CBT debut. Regional: Lempicka, Bhangin' It (La Jolla Playhouse); On Your Feet (Moonlight Stage); Anything Goes, My Fair Lady (Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre). Other select credits: peerless, Prepared, Uncle Vanya, Letters From Cuba, Much Ado About Nothing, Balm in Gilead (UC San Diego); Brigadoon, Ubu Roi, How I Wonder, Salome (Muhlenberg College). MFA UC San Diego, BA Muhlenberg College.

Danny Kuenzel (Assistant Stage Manager Understudy) – Danny is positively giddy to be back at the Clarence Brown Theatre.  Previously she managed Hamlet (which was forced to close early due to the onset of the pandemic) and King Charles III (which is feeling very relevant these days).  She returns by way Saugatuck, MI where she recently completed her nineteenth season as production stage manager at Mason Street Warehouse.  Other regional credits include: Gulfshore Playhouse, Pioneer Theatre Company, Northern Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, the Alley Theatre, and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.  2022 marks Danny’s 20^th year as a member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Kenneth Martin (Department Head, Artistic Director) Ken comes from the University of Missouri, at Kansas City, where he was the Patricia Mcllrath Endowed Professor and Chair of the Theatre Division.  His 26-year career in academia also included nearly 18 years serving as chair of the theater departments of Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and Ashland University in Ohio. Tremendously successful as an administrator at both institutions, Martin navigated curricular revisions and development, managed resources effectively and efficiently, created innovative collaborations, cultivated significant enrollment growth, and forged international partnerships. A member of United Scenic Artists, his designs have been seen at theatres across the country including Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, New Theatre, Ohio Light Opera, Cleveland Ensemble Theatre, Ocean State Theatre and many others. He has also designed shows for many colleges and universities including Marquette University, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Coastal Carolina University, Cuyahoga Community College, and The Ohio State University. Martin has actively served his profession as a respondent for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, as a consultant for several regional theaters and through active participation in organizations like the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Educational Theatre Association and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.

Tom Cervone (Managing Director) has dedicated most of his professional career (and life) advocating for and working in the best interests of the arts and culture industry, 25 years (and counting) serving proudly as the managing director for the Clarence Brown Theatre/Department of Theatre at UTK. He previously served as the first executive director of the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation and the executive director for Dogwood Arts. Cervone spent many years on the board of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Greater Knoxville, and currently serves on the boards of the WordPlayers, the Knoxville Children’s Theatre, Department of Theatre and recently appointed to the Board of Governors of West Liberty University. Cervone remains active within the UTK community as a member of the Exempt Staff Council and Chancellor’s Commission for LGBTQ people. He received the Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Service to the University in 2010. He is a longtime member of the Actors’ Equity Association. Cervone holds his undergraduate degree in Speech and English Education with an emphasis in Theatre from West Liberty University in West Virginia and an MFA (1993) and MBA (2010) from UTK. He is a graduate of and was selected as the Class Representative of the Leadership Knoxville class of 2011.  Cervone is a member of his undergraduate alma mater’s class of 2015 Alumni Wall of Honor.

Susan L. McMillan
(Production Manager) is in her ninth year as Production Manager at CBT and UT Department of Theatre. In addition, she teaches Stage Management. Prior, Susan was the Production Manager and Stage Management Instructor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for 6 years. Susan is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and was a Stage Manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 years. Additionally, she has stage managed at the Guthrie Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, PCPA, Rogue Valley Opera, Portland Civic Theatre, and has toured to the Kennedy Center. Through science and music (B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Biology from Oregon State University), Susan found her passion in theatre. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunities and adventures, inspirational mentors, artistic and talented colleagues, amazing students, and the love and support of her family and friends.

David Brian Alley (Colonel Arbuthnot) David appeared last season as Ed in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. David first became a CBT Company member in the Fall of 2000, performing in The Woman in Black, and has appeared in over 55 CBT productions including Hamlet; Madwoman of Chaillot; King Charles III;  The Santaland Diaries; The 39 Steps; The Trip to Bountiful; Noises Off; Kiss Me, Kate; Fuddy Meers; It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Moonlight and Magnolias; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Amadeus; Copenhagen; Major Barbara; A Flea in Her Ear; Stones in His Pockets; ‘ART’; The Rainmaker; and The Glass Menagerie among others. Regional: Playmaker’s Repertory; The Mark Taper Forum; Hollywood Actors’ Theatre; The iO Theatre Chicago; and Chicago TheatreWorks. Film: Light from Light; Something, Anything; Prison Break-In; The Heart is Deceitful; Gina: An Actress, Age 29; and The Sleep Seeker. TV: Women of the Movement (ABC); Snapped; Fatal Attraction; Storm of Suspicion; Vengeance; Unsolved Mysteries; and It’s A Miracle. David is a Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. davidbrianalley.com  For Jill, Abby and Ethan.

Rachael Allion (Mary Debenham) is thrilled to make her main stage debut at the Clarence Brown Theatre. Her previous roles include Tilly in She Kills Monsters, Catherine Donohue in These Shining Lives, and Edith in Blithe Spirit. Rachael is a senior at UTK and will be graduating this Fall with a BA in Theatre. Afterward, she hopes to continue pursuing her desire to be on the stage in Atlanta, GA. Rachael sends her gratitude to all the faculty at UTK. And her love to her friends and family, who have shown their continued support throughout the years.

Guthrie Butler (Michel the Conductor/Head Waiter) Guthrie is so excited to be working on another CBT production. He is a theatre major at the university and is heading into his last semester here after four years. He is grateful to be working with so many wonderful performers and he hopes you enjoy the show!

.....

.....

Katie Cunningham (Mrs. Helen Hubbard) has been acting at Clarence Brown Theatre since 2013 and teaching at UTK since 2018. She joined the full-time faculty in 2020 and specializes in voice and speech. Previous CBT roles include: Noises Off (Brooke/Vicki); Spamalot (Lady of the Lake); The 39 Steps (Annabella/Pamela/Margaret); Outside Mullingar (Rosemary); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), and Blithe Spirit (Elvira) among many. Other stage credits include multiple seasons at Utah Shakespeare Festival (Lady Macbeth, Emilia, and Maria among others) and Asolo Rep; the Resident Acting Company (NYC); TACT/The Actors’ Company Theatre (NYC); NY International Fringe Festival; and a long list of regional theaters across the country. She holds an M.F.A. in acting from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a graduate certificate in vocology from the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at Lamar University. Katie is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 2010, SAG-AFTRA, VASTA, and PAVA (Pan-American Vocology Association)

Rachel Darden (Greta Ohlsson) Rachel came to UTK from her home state of Colorado and is in her final year of graduate training. After receiving a BA in musical theatre, she spent time in New York City before taking time off acting to explore such interests as yurt living, hitchhiking through New Zealand, and making pie. She spent the four years before grad school honing her craft in the Denver area where she was an active member in the education department at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. You may have seen her as Agnes in She Kills Monsters in the Carousel Theatre as well as Miss Ortle in A Christmas Carol. Rachel is an avid puzzler and the proud aunt of two cats.

Jed Diamond (Samuel Ratchett) has been Head of Acting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville since 2005. The UT MFA in Acting program has been ranked among the top-25 programs in the U.S., U.K., and Australia for the past five years, reaching #8 in 2020. Jed has appeared in many roles at the CBT, most recently in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He has also acted at Wheelhouse Theatre Co; The New York Shakespeare Festival; Roundabout Theatre; The Acting Company; Signature Theatre; Arena Stage; Syracuse Stage; etc. Prior to UT, he was founding faculty of the New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare Lab and of the Actors Center. He taught at NYU Tisch School of the Arts; Stella Adler Studio; Playwright’s Horizons Theatre School; Fordham University, etc. He is resident faculty at Chautauqua Theater Company, and is an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, trained in New York and London. *American Society of the Alexander Technique.

Armando Durán (Hercule Poirot) has been in the acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for over twenty years, where his roles have included Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, Don Quixote in Don Quixote, Garcia Lorca in Lorca in a Green Dress, and Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge. He has appeared in productions at Seattle Repertory Theater, Yale Repertory Theater, The Folger Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Seattle Shakespeare, South Coast Repertory, and The Old Globe. His numerous audiobook titles include “Avenue of Mysteries” by John Irving, and “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
.....

Tyler Glover (Steward/Waiter #1) is a second-year undergrad at UTK, and is very excited to perform at the Clarence Brown Theatre for the first time. You may have seen him in this year's production of Hello Dolly from The Wordplayers or at your local high school performing martial art demos. He would like to thank his director John Sipes for the amazing opportunity to perform in this production with the amazingly talented cast. He is currently working on getting his degree in cinema studies to pursue a career in film and television.
.....

Carol Mayo Jenkins (Princess Natalya Dragomiroff) Broadway: The Three Sisters, Philadelphia Here I Come, Oedipus Rex (with John Cullum); There’s One In Every Marriage, First Monday In October (with Henry Fonda); and The Suicide (with Derek Jacobi). Off-Broadway: Zinnia (Drama Desk nomination); Moliere In Spite Of Himself, The Lady’s Not For Burning, Little Eyolf, and The Old Ones. Regional Theatre: MacBeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Cymbaline, Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, The Sea Gull, A Doll’s House, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Pygmalion, Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf (directed by Edward Albee); Death of A Salesman, Amy’s View, The Retreat from Moscow, Otherwise Engaged (with Dick Cavett); Present Laughter (with Louis Jourdan); Collected Stories, Enchanted April, among many others. Television: Fame (NBC); Another World (NBC); The Garden (CBC); MacBeth (PBS); Happy Endings (NBC); Matlock, Max Headroom, and Nightingales, among others. At CBT: The Glass Menagerie, The Road To Mecca, Trojan Women, The Dresser (with John Cullum), Arsenic and Old Lace, Major Barbara, All My Sons, The Music Man, Moonlight and Magnolias, Fuddy Meers, 4000 Miles, The Trip To Bountiful, Outside Mullingar, The Crucible, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Blithe Spirit and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, among many others.

Michael Najman (Hector MacQueen) Born and raised in Queens, NY, Michael moved to Knoxville to attend UTK's Master of Fine Arts in Acting program, and expects to graduate in 2023. His most recent roles include Reverend Peters/Station Policeman in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Greg in A Kid Like Jake, and additionally voice coaching She Kills Monsters. Watch him play Dungeons and Dragons with his actor friends Sunday nights at 6:30pm at www.twitch.tv/magicpodcasters
.....
.....

Liam Perry (Steward/Waiter #2/Soldier) is a sophomore at UTK majoring in microbiology and minoring in theatre. This is his first time apart of a Clarence Brown Theatre production. He is very grateful to have the chance to be on stage with such talented actors and actresses. He previously has been in All Campus Theatre's production of In Love and Warcraft (Raul) and Rocky Horror Picture Show (Riff Raff). He wants to give a special thanks to his Professor, David Alley who encouraged him to be a part of this production, and the rest of the cast who have been so friendly and accepting.
.....

John Pribyl (Monsieur Bouc) This is John’s first show at the Clarence Brown Theatre. He was most recently at American Players Theater (Godot, Endgame, Exit the King and Player in R&G Are Dead) and spent over 20 years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival playing roles like Don Armado, Berowne, Leontes, Caliban, and Falstaff. He appeared at the Utah Shakespearean Festival as Shylock, Prospero and Marc in Art. Other theaters include Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Intiman Theater, Geva Theater, Sacramento Theater Company, Tacoma Actor’s Guild, and Seattle Children’s Theater. John has a MFA from Wayne State University and a BFA from Montana State University.

Christine Sage (Countess Elena Andrenyi) is honored to be back in the theatre with you all. At the CBT: She Kills Monsters, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Ruth in Blithe Spirit and Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. She comes from Los Angeles, where she won an Ovation Award for her performance in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. She would like to thank her mother for being her strongest support.

.....

Terry Weber (Understudy) is Professor Emeritus of Theatre at UT (retired after 31 years). He is currently Artistic Director of The WordPlayers. Terry’s acting career has taken him to theatres in New York, Seattle, Milwaukee, Louisville, Chicago, Kansas City, Montgomery, Knoxville, Toronto, Orlando, Charleston, Asheville, Cincinnati, and Avignon (France). Recent roles at the Clarence Brown Theatre: Chairman in Madwoman of Chaillot, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Larry Morrow in Dream of the Burning Boy, Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher in Peter and the Starcatcher; Sir Jealous Traffick in The Busy Body, Rev. Parris in The Crucible, Marcus in Titus Andronicus, Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Captain Keller in The Miracle Worker.

Agatha Christie was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End since 1952, as well as six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

Christie was born into a wealthy upper middle class family in Torquay, Devon, and was largely home-schooled. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six consecutive rejections, but this changed in 1920 when The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring detective Hercule Poirot, was published. Her first husband was Archibald Christie; they married in 1914 and had one child before divorcing in 1928. During both World Wars, she served in hospital dispensaries, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the poisons which featured in many of her novels, short stories, and plays. Following her marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930, she spent several months each year on digs in the Middle East and used her first-hand knowledge of this profession in her fiction.

According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author. Her novel And Then There Were None is one of the top-selling books of all time, with approximately 100 million copies sold. Christie's stage play The Mousetrap holds the world record for the longest initial run. It opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on November 25,  1952, and by September 2018 there had been more than 27,500 performances. 

In 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. Later that year, Witness for the Prosecution received an Edgar Award for best play. In 2013, she was voted the best crime writer and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd the best crime novel ever by 600 professional novelists of the Crime Writers' Association. In September 2015, And Then There Were None was named the "World's Favourite Christie" in a vote sponsored by the author's estate. Most of Christie's books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games, and graphic novels. More than 30 feature films are based on her work.             Learn More

Ken Ludwig has had six shows on Broadway, seven in London's West End, and many of his works have become a standard part of the American repertoire. His 28 plays and musicals have been performed in over 30 countries in more than 20 languages and are produced throughout the United States every night of the year.

Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of
the 20th century by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical.

In addition, he has won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater. His plays have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins and
Hal Holbrook.

His stage version of Murder on the Orient Express was written expressly at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate, and his latest play, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, won the 2020 Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play of the Year and is optioned for Broadway.

His book How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin Random House, won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year, and his essays are published in the Yale Review.

He is a graduate of Harvard and Cambridge and is a frequent guest speaker for groups as varied as The Oxford-Cambridge Society, The Jane Austen Society of North America, The Folger Shakespeare Library, and The Baker Street Irregulars.

For more information, see his website at www.kenludwig.com.

“Everyone has something to hide”

The appeal of this story is undeniable. Murder on the Orient Express, one of Christie’s most popular works, has enthralled readers for decades. The novel has sold millions of copies since first published in 1934, and has been made into several major motion pictures, a popular television series, a video game, and the stage adaptation by Ken Ludwig which you are about to see.

The story, an ingenious interlocking puzzle of clues, deceptions and red herrings, is engaging from beginning to end; the characters are a delicious gathering of odd types and suspicious sorts whose personalities draw us into the story, making us wonder if they will be the one to commit the murder, that is sure to come — it is after all, a murder mystery — or if they will be the one murdered. The story’s setting, the elegant and exotic Orient Express, with its narrow passageways and claustrophobic compartments, could not be a more fitting place for suspense and intrigue. And what better place for Hercule Poirot, the celebrated Belgian detective, to apply his exceptional deductive abilities in solving a perplexing and troubling crime — one that will challenge his most cherished beliefs in the rule of law and the order it maintains. And one that you too will ponder as you leave the theatre tonight.

It is our hope that you enjoy our production of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express as much as we have enjoyed preparing it for you.

John Sipes