Zev Buffman, the super producer who brought Elizabeth Taylor to the stage
in “The Little Foxes, among many other productions, outdid himself last
night by providing an English rain for the audience members as they left
the Parker Playhouse after seeing his latest production “Agatha
Christie’s The BBC Murders” . It hadn’t rained in Fort Lauderdale all
week so it makes you wonder if the man made a special deal with The Man!

“Agatha
Christie’s The BBC Murders” performs 4 one act plays written by Ms.
Christie for the BBC between 1937 and 1947. Each play lasts between
30-35 minutes hosted by Ms. Christie (played by Melinda Peterson) who
tells a little about her life as she introduces each section.

Mr.
Buffman has assembled a cast of 14, most Equity actors, from Indiana to
Australia, each playing 3-4 different roles most succeeding with a few
minor missteps here and there. Each play takes place in a radio studio
as performed back in the day with actors holding, and sometimes reading
from, their scripts, though many costumes and back wall projections
along with entrances and exits that I am sure didn’t take place when
originally read on the BBC.

Each
play has its Edgar Allan Poe twist and, admittedly, your reviewer
isn’t very good at figuring out mysteries, is not exactly foreseen.  Of
the 4 one act plays the most familiar will probably be “Three Blind
Mice” which would later become the stage play “The Mousetrap” which in
turn became the world’s longest running play ever.  “Yellow Iris” not
only introduces us to Inspector Hercule Poirot (Phil Proctor) but also
to 3 songs, set in the period times and reminiscent to Cole Porter
tunes, by Rupert Holmes and Robert Marsanyl, the former the first person
to win Tony Awards for both best book and best score of a musical for
his creation of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” which is currently enjoying
a successful revival on Broadway.

In
addition to“Yellow Iris” and “Three Blind Mice” there are “Personal
Call” and “Butter in a Lordly Dish” which brings special mention of Tony
Brewer and Lauren Allison who are the Foley Artists, the two people who
provide all the sound effects for the 4 radio plays, including a man
walking around on winter skis!

The
question is if Mr. Buffman has a deal to have that British rain
surround the Parker Playhouse area after each performance of “Agatha
Christie’s The BBC Murders”?!