Cloak & Dagger On the Air revisits Christie characters for ninth season
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WEIRTON -- Cloak & Dagger on the Air continues its ninth season at 4 p.m. Saturday with Agatha Christie’s “Tommy & Tuppence Return,” featuring the Queen of Crime’s beloved detective duo, bound by mystery and matrimony, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford.
Performed as a live audio drama at the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the presentation adapts the first part of the author’s short story collection, “Partners in Crime,” from 1929. It follows Cloak & Dagger on the Air’s May 2025 adaptation of Christie’s first Tommy & Tuppence novel, “The Secret Adversary.”
This time around, British intelligence has enlisted Tommy and Tuppence to pose as Detective Theodore Blunt and his confidential secretary, Miss Robinson, at the International Detective Agency, a former front for enemy spies.
Their instructions are simple: Intercept enemy messages that will arrive as blue letters with a Russian stamp and flag any person who enters the agency and mentions No. 16, the code name of a Soviet spy. As they await these enemy messages, the government permits the Beresfords to solve any other cases that may come their way.
“We had such a good time with ‘The Secret Adversary’ last year, and our actors who played Tommy and Tuppence, Dave Zanieski and Micah Underwood, respectively, were so perfect in the roles, I knew we had to follow that production with ‘Partners in Crime,'” said Pete Fernbaugh, creator and co-executive producer of Cloak & Dagger On the Air. “Because the overarching plot is interrupted with various other cases, we’re presenting each short story chronologically as they were first printed. Ultimately, ‘Partners in Crime’ will play out over three installments, with Part 2 appearing in our 10th season and Part 3 in our 11th.”
Alongside Zanieski and Underwood, other cast members representing acting troupe the Wayward Saints in Saturday’s production include Bethany Fernbaugh, Pete Fernbaugh, David Gaudio, Robert J. Gaudio, Nancy Longo, Karissa Martin, Ralph Parissi and Terri Perry. Clare McDonald will narrate the stories as Agatha Christie. Sound effects will be created by the Holy Foley Molies.
“Rarely a day goes by when I don’t see an article about Agatha Christie,” Fernbaugh said. “It’s truly amazing how her legacy and her characters live on through countless adaptations for all mediums, from new novels by current authors to stage productions to audio dramas to film and TV. When I write these adaptations, I strive to stick as close to what’s on the page as is feasible, with minimal edits and with minimal improvisations or changes on my part. Cloak & Dagger on the Air’s production of Agatha Christie’s ‘Tommy & Tuppence Return’ is an excellent opportunity for mystery and crime fans to experience her work as she originally intended it.”
Admission to Cloak & Dagger On the Air is free, although donations to help with production costs are welcome. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. with a set of Americana music performed by popular musician R.J. Gaudio, Troubadour. Light refreshments will be available, as well as merchandise based on the theatrical series.
For those who can’t make it in person, Cloak & Dagger on the Air: Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence Return will be livestreamed on the Ohio Valley Cloak & Dagger Company Facebook page.
Top of WV CVB is located at 243 Three Springs Drive, Suite 17 in Weirton behind Crazy Mexican next to Weirton Pet Spa and across the parking lot from Bistro 303 Prime Cuisine.
“We encourage folks to set aside some extra time to check out the local businesses around us,” Fernbaugh said. “Three Springs Drive is filled with many dining and shopping opportunities. We hope our show can bring some traffic their way.”
Cloak & Dagger on the Air is a monthly theatrical series from the Ohio Valley Cloak & Dagger Company that celebrates audio drama from all eras, particularly the fabled Golden Age of Radio.
By reimagining classic radio dramas and literary works, along with premiering original stories written and produced by independent writer and actor Pete Fernbaugh, Cloak & Dagger on the Air strives to give audiences an immersive experience that engages the theater of their imagination in creating a fully realized storytelling adventure.
For information and for updates on the troupe’s live and recorded productions, visit the Ohio Valley Cloak & Dagger Company’s Facebook page.