DALTON, Ga. — Audiences are invited to unravel the mystery of Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit “Murder on the Orient Express” with an Artistic Civic Theatre production that opens on Friday.

“The actors are terrific, and it’s a very fun play” with sumptuous attire and decorations, said Jennifer Phinney, the production’s director. “I think people will love the set, which is very art deco, and the wealthy people look glamorous.” 

This production is a Ken Ludwig adaptation of the original material, and Ludwig injected more humor while combining some characters to reduce the cast size, Phinney said. “We are one of the first amateur theater troupes to do this, so it’s certainly a premiere for this region.”

“We’ve also added additional lighting for this show, which will allow us to have more special effects,” she said. Those light fixtures are now a permanent part of the ACT, so “future productions will benefit, as well.” 

This production’s cast includes ACT veterans, as well as newcomers. For example, Richard Bryan is a longtime ACT actor and director, while Theresa Perry is taking the stage for the first time. 

Perry acted in high school and college, but then drifted away from theater until her co-worker — Phinney is a director of school support for Dalton Public Schools, while Perry is the chief financial officer — “tempted me,” Perry said with a smile. “This one did sound interesting … and so far, so good.”

Perry portrays Greta Ohlsson, a Swedish missionary “loaded with emotion (who is) kind of a comic element at times,” she said. The Swedish accent has been Perry’s highest hurdle, and — like much of the cast — Perry is “still getting the rhythm down so it all flows in a natural, intense way.”

Bryan portrays Mr. Bouc, the friend of protagonist Hercule Poirot who gets him aboard his train, and Bryan’s character’s accent has also been his main area of focus as he prepares for the production.

Typically, there’s “a cadence and rhythm” to the accents in plays, said Bryan, who has a master’s in theater. “Murder on the Orient Express,” however, presents several characters with a plethora of accents often speaking in rapid succession, and the accents “depend on emotion.”

Taylor Ruggiero, who plays Miss Mary Debenham, is comfortable with her British accent.

“I like linguistics and language, and I like to mimic,” she said. “I’ve done it since I was little.”

Though Ruggiero has been a consistent presence on stage throughout high school, college and her adult life, she’s mostly performed in musicals, so this is only her second “straight play,” she said. But, “Who doesn’t love a murder mystery?”

Debenham is “a governess who does not like to travel and gets very nervous, but she’s committed, too,” Ruggiero said. “She wants to do what she believes is right.” 

Lane Haley, who plays the train conductor, is helped with his French accent by the fact he studied French in high school and college, he said. He also appreciates the accent coach Phinney brought in to tutor the cast.

In addition to the accent coach’s tutelage, Phinney and her cast have worked diligently on acting while lying versus telling the truth.

“They have to know when they’re lying and when they’re not,” Phinney said. Consequently, they’ve developed tells for their lies to deepen the intrigue. 

“Murder on the Orient Express” was an easy sell for Haley, since he adores murder mysteries, costume dramas and the 1930s era, he said. “This production has been very immersive.” 

He especially looks forward to the final scene, because “the tension builds and builds,” he said. “It messes with your mind.” 

Like Haley, the final scene is the favorite of Nathan Davies, who has performed on stage in Prague, among other locales.

His character, a colonel, is under heavy suspicion throughout the play, he said. He’s “stern, and it’s clear he’s hiding something.”

Phinney typically directs musicals and Shakespearean productions for ACT, with her last directorial effort being “Young Frankenstein” last summer, but “I’m a huge Agatha Christie nerd,” she said. “I’ve read all of (her books), and ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is one of her best, if not the best.”

Bryan appreciates Ludwig’s deft touch with the material, too.

Ludwig “likes to bring levity, so it’s not too intense,” Bryan said. “It’s going to be an excellent, beautiful show.” 

That humor is important, Phinney said.

“You want the audience to have experienced a mystery, but you don’t want them to be just exhausted at the end of the two hours.”

Even with a smaller cast in the Ludwig version, staging and blocking remain “tricky,” because “they’re stuck in a snowbank, so you want it to feel a little claustrophobic, but there are only so many places on stage I can put people,” Phinney said with a laugh. “It’s a little like a Sudoku.” 

For Phinney, a veteran theater actor and director, “there’s something really powerful about the idea of marrying the skills and talents of everyone to make living art,” she said. “It’s not quantifiable, but I love to see a play come to life.” 

For Bryan, who isn’t originally from Dalton, participating in community theater provided him access to an entirely different group of people he wouldn’t otherwise have met, and “I’ve made so many good friends here who have become my family,” he said. “If you just do your job, you only meet people through your job, but here you have doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc., so you meet people from all walks of life, and that’s absolutely great for me.” 

Ruggiero, a teacher at Dalton Middle School, is drawn to theater because “I’m a very relationship-oriented person,” she said. “I like the community in community theater.” 

Davies values the ability to “play” in community theater, he said. “We all want to get up and play, but we have that opportunity less and less as we get older.” 

“Murder on the Orient Express” opens Friday at 8 p.m., with additional shows at 8 p.m. on Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday, and 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31, Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2. Tickets can be purchased online at actdalton.org or by calling (706) 278-4796. 

The production is partnering with the Carter Hope Center, a residential treatment center for those battling addiction that aims to make the community a healthier, safer place. During the show’s run, the ACT will have a donation box in the lobby to collect items for the center, and patrons can also donate money online at chcenter.com. Items requested by the center include bed-in-bag sets for twin beds; blankets; personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant; gently-used male and female outerwear; new male and female underwear; and new socks.