Late one night, six travelers find themselves stranded in the waiting room of an isolated railway station outside of Rockland, Maine. The station master, closing the station for the night, tries to persuade them to leave. He warns them of the supernatural danger of a ghost train that sometimes haunts the line at night, bringing death to all who set eyes upon it. With nowhere else to go, the six travelers are left to spend the night.

So begins the story of the “The Ghost Train,” written by the British playwright and actor Arnold Ridley. The play was first produced in London and on Broadway in the 1920s and inspired several film adaptations. It offers some scary moments along with plenty of laughs.

The play begins with the arrival of a long-married, unhappy couple, Richard Winthrop (Ben Keller-Scarborough) and Elsie Winthrop (Rebecca Cole—Windham), at a gloomy, old, remotely located train station in Rockland, Maine. They’re followed by a newlywed couple, Charles Murdock (Logan Merrithew-Saco) and Peggy Murdock (Victoria Stackpole– Biddeford), an eccentric old lady, Miss Bourne (Kathleen Rendich– Kennebunk), and an upper-class twit, Teddy Deakin (Seth Crocket-Portland). Because of a problem with their train, they will be stranded at the station overnight. The station master, Saul Hodgkin (Jeff Campbell-Falmouth), warns them that the station is haunted and sometimes visited by a “ghost train,” and that it’s not a good idea to stay overnight. The station master leaves but they hardly have time to comprehend all he has told them before there is a knock at the door … and the dead bodies begin to appear … along with a new cast of characters that seem to appear out of nowhere: the desperate, Julia Price (Jessica Dutton-Fidalgo-Saco), her domineering brother, Herbert Price (Tad Williams– Saco), the doctor, John Sterling (Brian Philip– Harris-Biddeford) and the mysterious Jackson (Owen White– Kennebunk). Who are these people? Are they living beings or are they something else?

A long running success in London and on Broadway, “The Ghost Train” is packed with thrills, chills and laughter and as many plot twist as an Agatha Christie mystery. For sheer, creeping mystery, it’s a play without a peer. Performances are Oct. 15 through 31, on Fridays. and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m. (There is no performance on Sunday, Oct.17th)

Tickets are $25 and are available at www.citytheater.org/tickets or call 207-282-0849

Masks will be required to attend this performance. Visit the website www.citytheater.org for a complete list of COVID-19 protocols.

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