More than 70 years have passed since Alfred Hitchcock directed "The 39 Steps," a movie based on a British spy novel. The film was recently adapted for the stage, and while we'll never know how Hitchcock would have felt about this theater remake, one thing's for sure: it would have him laughing after the first five minutes.
The story begins in 1935 and introduces protagonist Richard Hannay (Charles Edwards), who leads an empty, lonely life. He goes to see a "Mr. Memory" show to distract himself and ends up bringing home Annabella Schmidt (Jennifer Ferrin), a woman with a ridiculous accent (is it German? Czech? Russian?) and blood-red lipstick. Annabella tells him that a secret organization involving "the 39 steps" is intent on killing her, but Richard is more interested in other things, and doesn't pay much attention.
The next morning she falls into his lap dead, a knife sticking out of her back and a crumpled map of Scotland clenched in her fist. Action ensues as Richard attempts to unravel the mystery of Annabella's death and is chased through the countryside by corrupt policemen and hired hit men.
From the plot alone, one might expect "The 39 Steps" to be a combination thriller and murder mystery. The show does indeed have elements of both genres, including several startlingly realistic gunshots, a lot of fog, and detectives lurking by lampposts.
But it is more like one long Monty Python skit; the storyline is just an excuse to make jokes and place characters in otherwise impossibly awkward situations. Exaggerated accents and facial expressions (Charles Edwards could hold the world record for incredulous eyebrow raises) give moments of the play a satirical feel. Thanks to brilliant acting, even the most predictable and juvenile jokes come off as genius, and since "The 39 Steps" lasts well under two hours, it ends before its humor has time to get old.
For a play based on a movie based on a book, "The 39 Steps" is a refreshingly innovative piece of theatre. Shadow puppetry adds dimension and variety to two chase scenes, and subtle sound effects like a dog barking in the background or the telephone ringing are reminiscent of Hitchcock's films.
The set and props are minimal, consisting of little more than doorways, chairs, and boxes, but are used so creatively that they lead the audience to wonder what the cast will do with them next. Actors often switch the set around themselves (at one point they build a car out of two boxes and a podium that had been a stage), but the set changes and onstage prop building are so tasteful and quick that they don't distract the audience from what's happening between the actors.
Much of the show, including its minimal props, depends heavily on its cast. Four actors play over 150 roles, often switching characters and costumes right onstage. The two 'clowns,' Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders, play the majority of the 150 roles and are crucial to the show.
Jennifer Ferrin excels at all three of her roles, switching effortlessly from the dark and mysterious Annabella to the lonely farmwife Margaret to the prim, goody-two-shoes Pamela. Edwards as the laughably debonair Hannay is the perfect leading man. All in all, the cast makes this play well worth seeing. The comedic timing is perfect and the energy never fades.
With its obvious costume and set changes and its many references to its small cast size, "The 39 Steps" is exceptionally aware of itself as a play. It continually makes light of the audience's agreement to suspend disbelief during the show. The actors obviously take their work seriously, but they never claim to be putting on more than a theatrical show, and this makes "The 39 Steps" more widely accessible than many other recent plays.
The show is making its U.S. premier at the Boston University Theatre, which is vintage-classy and small enough so that every seat has a good view of the stage. "The 39 Steps" is worth going to, even if just for an hour and a half of pure fun, or to get a 'step' away from shows that take themselves too seriously.
