PART SPOOF, PART HOMAGE: THE 39 STEPS

F. J. Hartland

It used to be that Hollywood made movies out of play; now they make Broadway plays out of Hollywood movies.

Part spoof, part homage, The 39 Steps brings Alfred Hitchcock to the stage and is the current offering at City Theatre.

Richard Hannay is a bored Englishman who tries to escape the monotony of his life by going to the theatre.  In keeping with the mantra “be careful what you wish for,” he ends up embroiled in murder and international espionage on the bring of World War II.

Like the play The Mystery of Irma Vep relies on rapid costume changes to enable a small ensemble of actors to play a long list of characters.

Hats off to Tom Beckett and Evan Zes (as Man 1 and Man 2) who play a multitude of characters (sometimes several in a single scene).  They are amazing as they switch from costume to costume, accent to accent, gender to gender.

Sam Redford makes a dashing Richard Hannay.  He channels Robert Donat, Ronald Coleman and Rex Harrison into one polished performance.

Rebecca Harris is hysterically funny as femme fatale Annabella (her fur is a hoot), but she isn’t as compelling as the sensitive Pamela (which, unfortunately, is the role she plays the longest).

All the actors, however, are as nimble and adept as gymnasts in all the physical demands placed upon them in The 39 Steps.

Director Tracy Brigden keeps the play moving swiftly, but the gimmick wears thin by Act Two.  The play would be funnier if condensed to a ninety-minute no-intermission romp.

Peter Cooke’s set is paradoxically lush and shabby at the same time.  The side stages are beautifully detailed, looking like the prop store room of an old MGM Studio.  The main playing space pieces look rather flat in comparison.  I understand that with all the scenes, the sets need to be simple (using old trunks for the train is brilliant), but more could be done.

Lighting by Andrew David Ostrowski captures both the feel of a film set AND the genre of film noire.

There are some good belly-laughs and Hitchcock aficionados will appreciate the inside jokes.

When The 39 Steps is funny, it is very, very funny.  When it’s not, it’s somewhat flat.

The 39 Steps continues through November 7.