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PARKERSBURG -- The Actors Guild of Parkersburg will hold auditions for "Murder on the Orient Express" at 7 p.m. June 27 and 28.
Due to electrical work at the Actors Guild, the auditions will be held across the street at the Parkersburg Art Center at 725 Market St.
The show is set aboard the Orient Express as the luxurious passenger train takes off into the opulence and grandeur of the 1930s, traveling from Istanbul to Western Europe before it is stopped in its tracks because of a murder.
A tycoon lies dead in a compartment, stabbed a dozen times, with the door locked from the inside. The train is full of suspects, each with a motive and an alibi.
It's the perfect mystery for Agatha Christie's beloved detective Hercule Poirot as his vacation is interrupted and he battles the clock in the classic whodunit.
The cast includes:
* Detective Hercule Poirot: male, age 40-65, Belgian accent. Poirot is fastidious, thorough, a touch ridiculous and incredibly observant and intelligent. He is both arrogant and humble.
* Monsieur Bouc: male, age 40-64, Belgian accent. The owner of Wagon Lit, Orient Express, Bouc is a middle-aged man with a youthful vigor and attitude. Gregarious, honest and forthright, he puts his friends and customers above profit, although he is concerned about his company's image. He is not a match for Poirot in intelligence, however.
* Mary Debenham: female, age mid 20s-30s, standard English accent. A governess, she is anxious, but also cool and determined, Mary has a certain sadness about her, as well as many secrets. She is carrying on a secret affair with Col. Arburthnot.
* Col. Arbuthnot: male, age 30s, Scottish accent. Arbuthnot is a military man of the old-fashioned type, possibly old-money and is used to being obeyed without question. He is strong, charismatic, but also problematic in some of his personal views. Has a temper.
* Hector McQueen: male, age range 23-35, American accent. Personal assistant and secretary to Samuel Ratchett, McQueen is a nervous character with a stutter that appears when he is especially anxious. Seems rather new to his profession. Talks a bit too much.
* Michel: male, age range 40s, French accent. Competent and organized, Michel is the conductor for the first-class carriages of the Orient Express. Handles himself well in a crisis and is good at his job.
* Princess Dragomiroff: female, age range 60s-70s, Russian accent. Displaced Russian nobility, the princess is a battleship determined, arrogant and accustomed to getting her way. She travels a great deal and is opinionated.
* Greta Ohlsson: female, age range 30s; Swedish accent. Ohlsson is a Catholic missionary and baby nurse serving as a companion to Princess Dragomiroff. She would like to help small children in Africa and is deeply devout. The character may be funny, but should not be played as a caricature for laughs.
* Countess Andrenyi: female, age range 25-35, Hungarian accent. In addition to being married to a count and thus, nobility, she also is a doctor, beautiful, educated, charming and intelligent enough to match wits with Poirot. Must also be able to do an American accent.
* Helen Hubbard: female, age 45-60, American accent. Not exactly what she seems, Hubbard comes across as a gregarious, loud, obnoxious American busybody who has been married multiple times. Must be able to sing and do a little dancing. Should also be able to pull off a cooler, more calculated version of this character with a very standard or even cultured American accent.
* Samuel Rachett: male, age 35-50, American mobster accent, possibly Brooklyn- or Chicago-style. A dangerous and unlikable man with a hair trigger temper. Must have a forceful personality and come across as someone not to be trusted or crossed.
* Head Waiter: male, age range, 40s, Turkish accent. Head waiter of the Tokatilian Hotel. Competent and organized, very good at his job.
Those interested in auditioning are encouraged to attend a dialect workshop from 2-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 317 Eighth St. The workshop will be led by Bobby Holland, one of the Guild's veteran actors, with assistance from the staff of "Murder on the Orient Express."
Dialects to be covered include American gangster, American Midwest, British/Standard English, Scottish, French, Russian, Swedish and Hungarian.
"Murder on the Orient Express" will run Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.
The production staff for the show includes: director, Dixie Showalter; assistant directors, Pam Piggott and Nicole Raber; production assistant, Nora Corra; technical director, John Gradwohl; stage manager, Gracie Parks; dialect coach, Bobby Holland; adviser, Charlie Matthews.