One of the most well-known murder mysteries is coming to town as Folsom’s Historic Sutter Street Theatre opens the curtain to Murder on the Orient Express this week.

Based on the book by Agatha Christie and adapted to for the stage by Ken Ludwig, this on the edge of your seat thriller comes to Folsom under the local direction Sutter Street Theatre’s own Connie Mockenhaupt. The play opens this Friday, March 3 with a cast of thespians that are veterans to Sutter Street’s productions. 

The story opens to a scene just after midnight as 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.

“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances,” is how Agatha Christie summarized her writing of Murder on the Orient Express. The story has been popular in film and on live stages across the country for decades.

The show takes the local stage Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 4:30 p.m. through April 2.

The Sutter Street Theatre is located in the heart of Folsom’s Historic District at 717 Sutter Street.  Further information and reservations can be made at www.SutterStreetTheatre.com or call the box office at (916) 353-1001.

Gary Giurbino (left rear) and Mike Jimena star in Sutter Street Theatre’s Murder on the Orient Express with Julie Rosch Williams (left seated) and Janine LaForge. Photo: Allen Schmeltz.