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Peter and the Starcatcher
A play by Rick Elice
Based on the novel by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson
Directed by Nick Benstead
A band of orphan boys are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that a mysterious trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates, led by the fearsome Black Stache, the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, Peter and the Starcatcher is a tale of marauding pirates, unlikely heroes and friendship, serving an origin story to the rather famous Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, Peter Pan, and his most famous nemesis.
Auditions: May 19-20 at 6:45 PM – Callbacks May 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
(See Info Below)
Director: Nick Benstead
Nicholas Benstead is thrilled to be directing his first show for Aurora Players’ Theatre in Hamlin Park in summer 2027. Since being Assistant Director and Stage Manager for The Miracle Worker at Aurora Players in the spring of 2025, he has appeared (and will appear) in three out of five consecutive AP productions including a starring role as Max in Lend Me A Tenor; Hector Macqueen in Murder on the Orient Express; and Richard Burbage in Shakespeare in Love. He has had several leading roles at Springville Center for the Arts in: Fiddler on the Roof in 2024, Two by Two in 2023, The Addams Family in 2022, The Sound of Music in 2021, and The Music Man in 2019. He recently directed a sold-out run of Alice by Heart at Springville Center for the Arts in the summer of 2025.
Cast List Announced!
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
CAST
HERCULE POIROT………………………Joshua Verby
CONSTANTINE BOUC……………………John Kehoe
MARY DEBENHAM………………..Megan Mahaney
HECTOR MACQUEEN…………………Nick Benstead
PIERRE MICHEL / HEAD WAITER………..Chris Biggie
PRINCESS DRAGOMIROFF………………Jessica Rasp
GRETA OHLSSON…………………………Erin Kosich
COUNTESS ANDRENYI…………………Anne Gerace
HELEN HUBBARD……………………….Tara Potzler
COLONEL ARBUTHNOT…………………Zach Wilcox
SAMUEL RATCHETT……………………..Lucas Smith
DAISY ARMSTRONG…………………Emerson Disch
DETAILS:
- Auditions will be held at Aurora Players: Roycroft Pavilion, Hamlin Park, 166 South Grove Street, East Aurora.
- The production opens Friday, March 13, 2026 and runs for three weekends through Sunday, March 29. Friday/Saturday shows are at 7:30 PM; Sunday shows, 2:30 PM.
- All cast members must be available for first read through on Monday, January 5. Headshots for publicity and the show program will be taken at this time.
- Rehearsals begin January 6; please note any dates you are unavailable for rehearsal on the audition form. Other dates that cannot be missed are: February 28th (tech rehearsal) and dress rehearsals from March 9-11.
PREPARATION:
- Actors of any race and gender identity are encouraged to audition for any role.
- Character ages listed in character descriptions are approximate; any actor may audition for any role.
- Sides will be available at the audition and are linked on this page.
- The nationalities of the characters are important to the story. Accents are preferred. Suggested reference videos are also linked on this page.
SYNOPSIS:
Just after midnight during the winter of 1934, the luxurious Orient Express train is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. In the morning, a passenger is discovered murdered in their bunk–stabbed eight times, and the cabin locked from inside. Isolated, and with a killer in their midst, the unusual assortment of passengers must rely on famed detective Hercule Poirot to identify the killer before they strike again!
CHARACTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS:
Hercule Poirot (40+) – world-famous detective. Eccentric, romantic, appreciative of luxury in life. Often underestimated, but fiercely intelligent and concerned with the moral good. (Belgian)
Constantine Bouc (40+) – friend of Poirot. Accustomed to luxury; owner of the train. (Belgian)
Mary Debenham (25+) – governess; cool and capable. Involved with Arbuthnot (British RP)
Hector MacQueen (25+) – personal secretary to Ratchett. Nervous, put-upon, very competent. (American)
Pierre Michel (40+) – train conductor. Charming and attentive to the passengers, extremely efficient and competent at his job. (French)
Princess Natalya Dragomiroff (50+) – imperious, domineering princess of the old school; exiled after the Bolsheviks took power. (Russian)
Greta Ohlsson (40+) – meek and pious missionary; companion to Dragomiroff. (Swedish)
Countess Elena Andreyni (20+) – medical doctor; commoner who married into the aristocracy and became a countess. (Hungarian)
Helen Hubbard (50+) – brash, uncouth, sardonic middle-aged midwesterner. (American)
Colonel James Arbuthnot (30+) – officer in the British military stationed in India; cliched in the era’s ideal of imperialist masculinity; romantically involved with Debenham. (Scottish)
Samuel Ratchett (35+) – owner of a vaguely defined import-export business. Vulgar, chauvinistic and unpleasant. (American)
Questions? Write to info@auroraplayers.org or leave a message with our box office: 716-687-6727. Aurora Players welcomes all to audition, whether new or seasoned actors.
Chris Biggie
PIERRE MICHEL
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