Earlham Echo

Earlham Performing Arts presents a good old-fashioned murder mystery

April 30, 2024

With solid performances by a large ensemble cast, Earlham Performing Arts delivered an excellent production of the play, Murder on the 518, in the auditorium last weekend.

The play is a mix of Murder on the Orient Express and Clue. Travelers on the westbound 518 are at first annoyed when their train is halted by a rockslide in an isolated area, then shocked when a passenger—and then another—mysteriously drop dead in front of the entire cast in the dining car. Because the pair appears to have been poisoned, anyone and everyone is a suspect. Unable to call for help, the passengers and the wait staff work to solve the mystery before they reach their destination and the killer escapes for good.

With a campy plot and outrageous characters, the play somewhat resembles an old-school musical—maybe Guys and Dolls or Singing in the Rain. While there are some characters that have more lines than others, there are no true ‘leads’ in the play. This type of production is a daring undertaking for a small-town Iowa school, given that it requires a deep cast, but the talented Earlham student actors pulled it off.

The play opens in the train station where the characters, while buying their tickets, introduce themselves and explain the reasons for their journeys one by one. Or two by two, in some cases, since many characters have a fun foil that provides entertaining interplay throughout the show.

Teagan Hatfield steals the first scene as the arrogant movie star, Isabella Madison, who feels she is much too good to be traveling with ‘commoners.’ Hatfield projects her lines clearly and loudly and nails the snobbish persona of her character. Her loyal, somewhat exploited assistant, Lucy Blake, is played by Kelcie Klinger. Klinger performs one of the play’s best physical comedy bits in that scene when she has to hold some of her boss’s folders with her teeth.

Avery Millen (Kate Doud), CEO of a pharmaceutical company, and her assistant, Jillian Hill (Charlie Mineart), are headed to an important corporate meeting. Hill takes particular umbrage to Isabella’s behavior in the train station. Doud and Mineart are experienced performers that are comfortable on stage and know how to engage the audience.

Warren Sigwalt is quite funny as Elliot Williams, a meticulous writer who narrates his life in third person, reading aloud to no one in particular what he is writing. His deadpan delivery was perfect all night.

Michelle Umbarr (Keira Fredericksen) is an overly enthusiastic basketball coach who frequently spars with Holly Barnes (Lilli Strandberg), a college astronomy professor, over the value of athletics versus academics. Fredericksen has some of the funniest lines in the play and Strandberg delivers a strong, expressive performance.

Rachel and Caleb Knox (Kendra Meyer and Ike Gittins) are entertaining as a newlywed couple.

Abby Wells (Valerie Meyer) is a veterinary technician that manages to annoy Lauren Maloney (Gabby Little), a doctor, through each scene—thinking that they both work in the same field.

Kyla McDaniel is amusing as Nellie Henry, a kooky, free-spirited musician that rankles the overly serious Owen Casey (Jamin Hardenbrook), a private investigator, early and often throughout the play.

Jennifer and Darla Warren (Audrey Dobbins and Nola Davis) are bickering sisters that frequently spar over the direction of their restaurant.

Sidney Bennet (Brianna Redmond) is a pesky photographer intent on getting photos of Isabella, but only annoys seemingly everyone.

After the train is stopped in Scene 2, Isabella falls over dead in the dining car. Not long after, Sidney suffers the same fate. The energy in the show picked up after Owen takes over the impromptu investigation, and there were a ton of funny lines as accusations fly among the travelers.

The characters and their stories gradually come into more focus in Act Two. Klinger is particularly good in some emotional scenes as we learn that she cared deeply for her friend Isabella, despite being somewhat mistreated by her. Tensions continue to rise, especially when Avery admits she had an experimental drug in her suitcase that could have caused the deaths.

After the train arrives in Los Angeles, the characters are greeted and interrogated by the police. The final reveal is a bit of a ‘Scooby-Doo ending’ when Jillian is identified as the killer. She didn’t really mean to kill anybody, but…oops!

Somehow the events have made the characters see things a little differently, and the characters that had been arguing with each other all make up and go on their way. Despite a couple of murders—a happy ending!

Also in the cast were Joel Green, Ava Miller-Overton, Janiya Sain, Lillian Black, and Shiloh Christian.

The play was directed by Riley Jensen and Ashley Maiers. The stage manager was Hailey Coil. Lights were by Morgan Mapes. The sets were designed by Gabby Little. The stage crew was Josie Fagen, Sophia Millage, Kaylee Sand, and Katelyn Yenzer.