Gooooooooood Morning, Agatha!: “Murder in the Studio,” at the Black Box Theatre through May 4

Murder in the Studio, the Black Box Theatre’s latest production, helmed by co-owner Lora Adams, is a charming trip into yesteryear. Three radio plays, written by renowned novelist Agatha Christie, are staged as if they were being performed in a live broadcast, with strong actors backing up 90 minutes of gripping theatre.

Adams' production contains three stories: “Personal Call,” “Yellow Iris,” and “Butter in a Lordly Dish.” The first tells the tale of James Brent (Matt Walsh), a man who receives a phone call from his long-dead wife. The second is a Hercule Poirot (Jason Platt) mystery that features the famous detective crashing a dinner party where a suspected killer is among the guests. And the final tale is about a prosecution barrister, Sir Luke Enderby (Max Robnett), and a grisly murder. All three are roughly 30 minutes in length and feature the thrilling writing you would expect from Christie.

For those unfamiliar with the author (what pop-culture boulder have you been living under?), here’s a general rundown of how every tale proceeds. An aggressively British protagonist is out and about when something shocking happens. What’s shocking is not always immediately evident, but soon becomes clear thanks to Christie’s meticulous writing and clever plot twists that somehow seem obvious in hindsight, yet are always a surprise. There’s murder, intrigue, and usually a dash of romance (or at least lust). If you’re not already a fan, this production won’t make you a convert, but it also won’t reinforce your distaste.

The cast is comprised of an excellent ensemble featuring Walsh, Platt, Robnett, Denise Yoder, Andrea Moore, Scott Tunnicliff, Tyler Henning, and Michelle Bailey. Everyone is clearly having a blast adopting accent after accent, and the live sound effects are a joy to watch. (Special props to Yoder, who does some rather remarkable train whistles and brakes that I was convinced were sound effects until I realized they were coming from her.) Adams has staged the action so that the performers deliver their lines straight from their scripts into a series of prop microphones at the edge of the stage. What tickled me pink is that most of the sound effects are generated by the ensemble in real time. In particular, the numerous party scenes are a blast with ongoing hubbub that abruptly stops and starts at the cue of a prop door handle being opened and closed. It all feels authentic to the way in which radio plays used to be produced.

I will admit that I enjoyed this show a great deal more than I would expect the average person to, let alone the average theatre-goer. As someone who produces radio plays for fun (yes, really), Murder in the Studio could not be more up my alley. From the old-time sensibilities, live sound effects, and stellar voice acting, it checked every box I wanted it to. But if you’re not a fan of this style of theatre, or these types of stories, this may not be the play for you. There were some pacing lulls, as well as a too-frequent sense of everything being reset during Friday evening’s opening performance. This is not the fault of anyone involved, including Christie. It’s just hard to build momentum and energy throughout an evening when you’re effectively starting over at zero every 30 minutes. That being said, each individual play is unique and wildly different from the last, so there’s never a sense of “here we go again.”

There are some concessions made here to adapt the radio plays to the stage, but not many. Some minor blocking accompanies the action, yet for the most part, you can close your eyes and get a full experience. These visual tweaks largely work, but do have some drawbacks, the biggest one being the scene transitions. When a scene would end, the lights would go down, and then come back up, with no kind of sound to accompany the change in time or location. It’s minor and nitpicky, but I would've much rather had some kind of sound effect in these moments. Some radio static would have gone a long way, or even a jaunty 30’s tune. Anything but silence.

On the flip side, a visual component I wish was utilized more was the “Applause” sign that accompanied the “On Air” sign at the back of the set. It was hard to tell when one of the three plays actually ended, as the lights would go down into silence, à la any other scene transition. By the time the next play started, the moment for applause had already passed, and I felt like a negligent audience member. Though maybe that was just a one-night-only phenomenon, and other crowds will be able to better discern when a changeover occurs.

Murder in the Studio is a fun time out for those who enjoy (fictional) murder, radio plays, or creative sound effects. Beyond that, the entire ensemble gives expert performances that will intrigue and delight.

Murder in the Studio runs at the Black Box Theatre (1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL) through May 4, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBalckBoxTheatre.com.