9/20/2024 THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS Pumphouse Players
ANOTHER HANNAY HITCH
(Disclaimers: I was supposed to see this last night, but a full day of relocation prep sapped any energy I may have brought to the show. That being said, I love love love this play and have reviewed four prior productions. I offered to parse those reviews for generic script-related info I could post to help my friends at Pumphouse fill the house, and was joyfully granted permission. So, let’s call this a PREVIEW rather than a REVIEW. Thank you!)
Night. London. Fog. Danger. Richard Hannay goes to the theatre, meets a mysterious femme fatale who is soon fatale'd in his flat, and is embarked on an adventure featuring spies, violence, trains, and Scotsmen. The police think he's a murderer. And the clock is ticking.
Those of you versed in the works of Alfred Hitchcock will recognize the set-up of his classic 1935 thriller, The 39 Steps, based in turn on John Buchan's 1915 novel. But, Hitchcock fans will have to rein in their outrage, as Patrick Barlow's 2006 stage adaptation places tongue firmly in music-hall cheek, and creates a giddily entertaining biggest-ham-takes-all romp, asking six actors to play all fourteen-gazillion roles with just a few scraps of scenery and costumes, and a whole lot of chutzpah and energy.
This show, in a nutshell, is one of the most entertaining works you're likely to see in this or any other year. Keeping the bare bones of the Buchan/Hitchcock story (innocent man accused of murder must crack a nasty spy ring to save his name and the girl), this script dishes out whirlwind character change, wry backstage buffoonery, dizzying word-play, mega-charm (hopefully) and tons of stage fog. To calm down the Hitchcockophiles, passing references to his other films are tossed out liberally, with even the famous Hitchcock cameo making a welcome appearance (or not – with cameos it’s sometimes hard to tell). Most of the references are underscored with a nudge-nudge wink-wink to the audience, but a few are just casually dropped as visual (or musical) jokes or fleeting references.
It's been said that Buchan's Richard Hannay novels (there were five as well as a few stories and cameos by the character in other works) provided the template for the modern spy novel, and writers from Ian Fleming to Robert Ludlum have freely acknowledged the debt. So, of course, it's appropriate that this play takes every opportunity to skewer the clichés that come with the genre, including frequent references to the hero's rakish good looks (and brown eyes), shady characters with outrageously thick accents, villains with deformities and maniacal laughs, and even the old standby, a conveniently placed hymnal stopping a bullet ("Some of those hymns are very hard to get through").
As with the touring company that came through town in 2009 (and all three subsequent productions it was my pleasure to witness), the true appeal of any production of this should be the breath-takingly fast and numerous character switches by the protean ensemble (usually two people, here expanded to four). In one sequence, two of them need to play six characters in a single scene, switching characters with a flip of a hat, a slump of a shoulder, a shift of a dialect. (Part of the joke is they are allowed to miss, to put on the wrong hat or the wrong accent at the wrong time.)
After I saw the touring company, I predicted that this would be a mainstay of regional and community theatres for years to come (small cast, inexpensive to mount, and entertaining as a puppy with a squirrel doll), and I suspect, it'll be one of those "This never grows old" pieces we all know and love. I'm happy to report that the avalanche of productions has never stopped (my subsequent visits were in 2011, 2016, and 2022), and all of them were as fresh and entertaining as the first time. To be sure, the memory of the piece still leaves me with a goofy grin on my face. So (apparently) the worst part of my imminent departure to parts Floridian is that I must miss another wallow in this most memorable show. The thing is, you needn’t and you really shouldn’t!
So what exactly are "The 39 Steps?" If I tell you, I'll have to shoot you. 39 times! Wearing 39 different costumes! (Cue Bernard Herrmann-esque ominous chords.)
-- Brad Rudy (BK Rudy@aol.com #PumphousePlayers #The39Steps)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-39-steps-tickets-906314710697
Pumphouse Players presents The 39 Steps, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan
Cast Members
Richard Hannay Chris Van Zant
Annabella Schmidt / Pamela / Margaret Aleah Burgdorf
Clown Bryson Parker
Clown Jimmy O'Connor
Clown Lauren Quesnel
Clown Ross McLeod
Crew Members
Director Meghann K. Humphreys
Stage Manager Justine Mcleod
Assistant Stage Manager Hannah Holman
Producer Laurel Ann Lowe
Intimacy Director Philip Aaron Brasher
Set Designer Meghann K. Humphreys
Prop Designer Sandy Cunningham
Light Designer Juniper Hovey
Costume Designer Sandy Cunnigham
Sound Designer Hannah Holman
Board Operator Chelsea Verner
Board Operator Hannah Holman
At the Legion Theatre in Cartersville, September 20 through September 29