Would anyone have a suggestion for a play for a first time director. I hold a degree in theater and was interested in directing for my local community theater company. What plays or musicals would you suggest to me?

I was thinking of "Moon Over Buffalo"....comments????

If this is really your first time (no directing experience in college?), I wouldn't recommend "Moon Over Buffalo" or any other show that depends on split-second timing and complex blocking ("Buffalo" requires both - there are doors all over the place, a million entrances, and a sword-fighting scene). Our playreading committee makes recommendations about which shows should be taken on by more experienced directors, and "Buffalo" was one of them because of the timing and blocking issues. Here's a list (subjective and non-definitive, clearly -- it's based only on my own experience with the shows), that I think would be appropriate for first-timers:
Deathtrap
Return Engagements
Boys Next Door
Steel Magnolias (need a good producer to get all that beauty-shop stuff)
Postmortem
Dial 'M' for Murder
Wait Until Dark
The Odd Couple (male or female)
The Mousetrap
Crimes of the Heart
Acts and Contrition
The View from Here
Proposals
The Cover of Life
Fridays
Ghost of a Chance
The Swan Song
Absence of a Cello
Blithe Spirit
The Heiress
Dracula
Tribute
Angel Street
A lot of old chestnuts here, and they're here for a reason -- they're easier to cast, easier to direct, and they're popular with audiences, so they get done a lot. You'll notice that most of them are dramas, comedy-dramas, or murder mysteries. My own personal feeling is (...now covering my head in anticipation of the slings and arrows from folks who violently disagree with me) that these genres are easier to direct than many comedies, and definitely easier to direct than farce (which is how I characterize "Buffalo"). With dramas, comedy-dramas, murder mysteries and a few (very few) character- and/or language-driven comedies (Shaw or Wilde), you can concentrate on characterization without having to worry so much about the complicated blocking or complex timing issues that are required for comedy. These are also small-cast shows, for the most part, so they're easier to block.

To present the other side of the coin, here are some that I recommend NOT be undertaken by inexperienced directors (again, from shows that I have personal experience with; the reasons for my thinking are in parens):

Greater Tuna (requires versatile actors, many quick scene and costume changes, creativity from the director)
Farndale Avenue... Christmas Carol (requires excellent timing, complex blocking, creativity from the director, many quick scene and costume changes)
Dancing at Lughnasa (requires ability to create complex characerizations and relationships, poetic language makes audience accessibility difficult)
Lend Me A Tenor (requires excellent comic timing, actors who can sing opera, complex blocking, quick costume and makeup changes, creativity from the director)
The Skin of Our Teeth (requires deep understanding of the underlying message, large cast, film or slide projections requiring some tough research, and its age makes it difficult for modern audiences)
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (requires thre extremely versatile and quick-thinking actors, many quick scene and costume changes, many props, split-second timing, complex blocking, creativity from the director)
Camping With Henry and Tom (requires ability to create complex characerizations and relationships that involve the audience, excellent timing to make the show move)
David's Mother (requires creation of complex characerizations and relationships, sensitivity in handling difficult issues)
The Baseball Show (requires a large cast that includes an entire Little League team, many quick scene changes, good timing, some complex blocking, creativity from the director)
Moon Over Buffalo (requires split-second timing, complex blocking, creativity from the director)
Funny Money (requires split-second timing, actors who can do British accents, complex blocking, creativity from the director)
An Evening of Culture: Faith County II (requires split-second timing, many costume changes, creativity from the director, breakaway set)
The Amorous Ambassador (requires split-second timing, complex blocking, creativity from the director)
Noises Off! (the mother of all farces -- requires split-second timing, complex blocking, complex set, difficult script that has two scenes going on at once, creativity from the director)
Rumors (Neil Simon's funniest, IMHO -- requires split-second timing, complex blocking, creativity from the director)

You can find synopses for most of the shows mentioned here in the Green Room's "Scripts - Playreading Central" section. Let the debate begin!

I agree that "Moon over Buffalo" would be quite a challenge for someone new to the director's seat (altho it can be a great audience draw.)
Allow me to stray off topic a minute to reinforce some of Ellie's comments - be sure you have great organization in your first production. Strive to have a great stage manager and 'producer' coordinating communications and deadlines for you. The bigger cast show you choose and the more technically complicated you have to go, the more you will need a great leadership team.
There is a great difference between community theatre and college theatre; if you haven't experienced it before, be prepared to embrace and roll with the differences.
Best of luck on your first endeavor! Hopefully, you will choose a great script and have the luxury of great depth of talent at auditions.

Based on very limited experience with first time directors (I have not directed yet; but have acted or stage managed in these shows with first time directors)....

Good shows: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Lost in Yonkers

Bad shows: Black Comedy (Very funny; but really hard to make the actors looks like they are moving in the dark), One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest (large cast playing crazy people is a lot to manage)

I personally would like to try directing in the future; but would prefer to start on something smaller than a full length play.  I'm hoping to convince the board of the local community theatre to do an evening of one acts as a way to break in new directors.  I have my eye on a couple of the David Ives plays.  I think this is very possible.  They are currently getting ready to run two one act plays from local writers as a special weekend outside of the normal schedule (they are getting much more experimentive this year, it seems).