'Murder on the Nile' in Duluth This Weekend

New Dawn Theater Company’s spring production of “Murder on the Nile” will be a dinner theater on the weekends. The play opens Thursday, Aug. 19, and continues through May 6.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. A Mediterranean dinner will be catered by OPA! at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays followed by performances at 8 p.m. Beer and wine will be available from the Best of Brews on dinner theater nights.

Dinner is not available for Thursday and Sunday performances. The theater will open at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for patrons who want to see the play but do not want dinner.

Tickets for dinner and the play are $25 each for all ages. Play-only tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for senior citizens and children. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Proceeds from opening weekend will benefit the Duluth History Museum at The Strickland House.

The play is based on the Agatha Christie novel tited "Death on the Nile" published in 1937. Kay and Simon Mostyn are honeymooning on a Nile River cruise in Egypt and trying to avoid Simon’s ex-fiancee Jaqueline De Severac when murder intervenes. Nobody aboard the Steamboat Lotus is beyond suspicion or safe from danger until the murder is solved.

The cast includes John Laszlo, Josh Garcia, Khaled Warawra, Doug Isbecque, Marla Krohn, Nicole Ojeda Johns, Beth Peters, Jay Croft, Michelle Saarela, Eric Arvidson, Becca Parker, Mike Yow, Samaria Muhammad, and Joe McLaughlin.

New Dawn Theater President/Artistic Director Sherry Ingbritsen, who is directing the murder mystery play, said that fictional Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is not among the characters in the New Dawn production. “The original movie ‘Death on the Nile’ featured Peter Ustinov as Poirot. However, stage plays were never given rights to use the [Agatha Christie] characters of Poirot or Miss Marple, so the plays are readjusted to have the same format and story, but told via a character, not the detective. It comes off very well.”

To order tickets call 678-887-5015 or visit New Dawn Theater’s website at www.newdawntheatercompany.com. The theater is located at 3087 Main St. in historic downtown Duluth.