If you are in the mood for a good laugh tonight, you should consider heading down to Balch Arena Theater for the opening night of The 39 Steps" (2005). One of the minor productions developed this semester by Pen, Paint and Pretzels (3Ps), the student-run musical theater group on campus, "The 39 Steps" uses spies, murder, intrigue and romance to win hearts and create humor. The story follows Richard Hannay, a dashing bachelor living in London who goes to the theater one night and witnesses a murder. When Hannay is persuaded to help the murderess, he becomes entangled in an elaborate plot.
This show has a long history of entertaining audiences, though it was not always a comedy. "The 39 Steps" was originally an adventure novel published in 1915 by Scottish writer John Buchan. Revered film director Alfred Hitchcock then repurposed the tale for the screen in 1935. Hitchcock made Hannay's story serious, suspenseful and glamorous, and the film remained untouched as part of his prestigious canon until the theater community reinvented "The 39 Steps" as a play ... and a comedy.
In 2005, playwright Patrick Barlow adapted the "The 39 Steps" into a four-person farce. The show opened on Broadway three years later, where it enjoyed a tremendous amount of popularity, becoming one of the longest running comedies in Broadway history. The play is conscious of its elaborate background, and references not only its cinematic predecessor, but also includes subtle allusions to other Hitchcock films, including "Strangers on a Train" (1951), "Vertigo" (1958) and "Psycho" (1960). Barlow's "The 39 Steps" plays with Hitchcock tropes and stereotypes typically surrounding the dramatic hero to enhance the humor of the piece, while still being respectful of the film.
"You take 'Casablanca' (1942), you take Humphrey Bogart's character and you place him in the world of farce," senior and Daily editor Alex Kaufman said, describing his role as Hannay.
"Hannay is aware that he's supposed to be this dashing hero, but also [is] making fun of it at the same time," he said. The result is a light and playful evening full of Horatian satire.
Natalie Girshman, the director of "The 39 Steps" and a Daily columnist, credits the humor of the show as one of the reasons that she chose it.
"I thought it would [be] great to do something that is light and fun, and something that the audience can really enjoy," Girshman, a sophomore, said.
Girshman also noted that "The 39 Steps" is a show about the nature of theater itself
