The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps
8:00, July 4, 2008
Orch F 4

After a year of saying, "I need to see The 39 Steps!", I finally got myself in gear and went in time to see it before Charles Edwards left. He originated the part of Richard Hannay in London, and this is his final weekend.

The premise is simple. A posh Brit meets a lady at a theater and soon ends up on the run from spies, police, and handcuffed to a blonde. (Did I say it was simple?)

The adaption from book and movie was done by Patrick Barlow, who is 1/2 of the "National Theater of Brent", a duo who do comedic stage-type writings. Back when I worked at the Bush in London, they staged their first production, about Princess Di. It was a sell-out, as I recall. They're big on the slapstick.
As such, 39 Steps is uber-aware of itself as not only a piece of theater, but also of its most-identifiable source, the Hitchcock film.

The performances are exaggerations of how we probably envision people back then acted. Much of this is conveyed through Mr. Edwards pencil-moustache, eye-brow waggling and self-aware bon vivance. (As a radio report describes him as 'suave, handsome...,' the running Hannay adjusts his stride to one befitting a slowed-down Baywatch guard.) References to the majority of Hitchcock's films pepper the script. "Go out the window! No, not that one--the rear window!" There is even a cameo by a certain director.

The story itself doesn't make much sense, but that's not the source of the brilliance of the evening. Aside from the woman, Jennifer Ferrin, who plays 3 female roles, Mr. Edwards is joined onstage by two men, Cliff Saunders and Arnie Burton, who play dozens of parts with a fluidity of accents and hat-changes. This is where the awareness of being in a story comes in. "Get on with it!" Hannay barks at the two men during an extended sequence of hat-swapping. Later, when he and the blonde are fleeing for their lives, he orders them to stop holding the fabric representing the lake so high. "Oh, just put it down!" The interesting/amazing thing about these moments is that they don't pull you out of the story. Not once do you look at the people onstage and think, 'oh yeah, actors acting', not anymore than usual, anyway. I think it's because it's set up from the start as a joke the audience is in on, and since the 2 men have done so many parts anyway, why not have 'guys waving fabric' be one more?

Fun note: Just before intermission, someone gets shot. The body falls, the curtain drops--and the head and torso of the person are on the wrong side of the curtain! The lights go up, and the person is still there! After about a minute, there's a tug from the other side of the curtain and the body is slowly dragged out of sight... It was awesome.

39 Steps occupies a strange space between the brilliant and the inane. A working knowledge of at least the names of Hitchcock's films and some of the most famous scenes is essential for getting a good portion of the jokes. A hefty appreciation for self-mocking comes in handy, too.