Laguna Playhouse presents the Olivier & Tony Award-winning play; Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. With a four-person cast
playing over 150 characters, the show is a mix of comedy and suspense that will
thrill you up to the closing dramatic moments.
“The original 39 Steps
was not funny. The 1915 novel by John Buchan is a thriller, and the 1935 Alfred
Hitchcock film is a noteworthy precursor to the psychological suspense genre
known as film noir. However, when Patrick Barlow re-imagines Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps for the stage, he made it a
farce—a style of comedy based on inane plots, mistaken identities, linguistic
acrobatics and easily identifiable characters,” says Lauren Simon,
Artistic/Literary Manager at the Laguna Playhouse.
The set is minimalistic and as the first character is
introduced on stage you know you are watching a heavily-influenced Hitchcock
production. It’s the over dramatic back lit silhouettes, over pronounced
accents, and long pregnant pauses punctuated by synchronized movements across
the stage that make this film-noir for the stage. You can’t help but laugh at
the way in which the main character, the boring Richard Hannay, is thrust into
a whirlwind spy/murder mystery when a woman is killed in his flat. As he runs
from the law in pursuit of the truth, he encounters a plethora of characters
along the way (played by the other three cast members). One of my favorite
scenes was one when Hannay is running from the law by jumping from train car to
train car in the dead of night. But there was no train on stage here, only
large trunks, fog, dramatic lighting, sound effects and superbly choreographed
movement and acting.
Of course the play pays tribute to the great Hitchcock.
You’ll notice references to North by Northwest, Rear Window (listen carefully
or you may miss this slyly placed one), The Birds, Vertigo, Psycho and more. In
fact, if you are a Hitchcock aficionado you’ll notice that verbatim dialog from
Hitchcock’s 39 Steps is kept in the
play. This was by far one of the most enjoyable and unique plays I have seen
come to the Laguna Playhouse. I grew up on Hitchcock films and enjoyed the
pithy physical humor and witty dialogue of the play. It was impressive to see
four actors work as one well-oiled machine to bring the film-noir to life on
the stage.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 39 Steps
Now playing thru October 21st
For Tickets
By Anne-Marie S.
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