Gammage Goers

ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS
by Gammage Goer Pam
Reviewed on April 20, 2010

Clever…inventive…theatrical…farcical...audacious…and entertaining are some of the descriptors for ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS, playing this week as part of the ASU Gammage Broadway Series. This production features all of the hallmarks of top-notch entertainment and delivers a piece that is as much a theatrical spoof of Hitchcock films as homage to them. There is the remarkably agile cast of four actors consisting of Ted Deasy in the male lead, Claire Brownell playing the three female romantic leads, and Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson playing the remainder of the large cast of characters…male and female! Their stage actions are choreographed to within an inch of their lives and as an acting ensemble, they carry it off with panache. The Tony award-winning design team has created eye-popping spectacle: scenery, costumes, lights and music become almost extra characters, bringing a driving energy that supports the plot’s zany antics. And award-winning director Marie Aitken helms the production with a clear and consistent vision of concept and style.

The play is structured into short scenes, reflecting its cinematic roots. There is a decided vaudeville flavor to each that reminds us of the rhythms of the British Music Hall skits: set-up, punch line, double-take and blackout. And doors, lots of doors…rolling doors, spinning doors, opening doors, closing doors. One cleverly staged scene follows another and just when you think you’ve experienced all that the performers and stage wizardry can create, well, along comes yet another surprise to remind us how delightful theatrical magic can be. In fact, several times throughout the performance I thought that the production was as much a nod to that theatrical magic and inventiveness as it was to Hitchcock.

Attending 39 STEPS was a bit of a theatre-going departure for me. Often, I have some previous experience with a play. Either I’ve read it, seen it, taught it, performed it or directed it. This was different. I hadn’t read any reviews, though I recognized the title and knew of its Tony-award pedigree. My only other knowledge came from the pre-performance publicity that identified that a) four actors played the many roles and b) the comic style was in the mode of Monty Python…which, in the interest of full disclosure, I will confess is not quite my cup of tea. And to top it all off, I’ve never seen the original Hitchcock film! So I came to the performance with uncertain expectations but ready to surrender to the charms and entertainments the production would offer.

I did enjoy the production, though more from an appreciation of the artistry that created and performed it. Can there be an inherent danger in too much cleverness, even when brilliantly executed? When you mentally “oooh” and “aaah” over a particular stage technique or comic bit, does it keep you removed from the action of the play? In some plays, of course, this is the intent and perhaps it was here. After viewing the show, I was comparing it to my experience with THE LION KING, which had an equal number of magic and surprising moments, but which drew the viewer into the action. In 39 STEPS, for me, many scenes called attention to themselves and kept me as an outsider to any Hitchcockian-moments associated with a thriller/mystery. In short, the comic overwhelmed the thriller aspect of the title/plot or put another way, I wouldn’t have minded a little more Hitchcock with my Hitchcock.

Still, I would recommend this production as worthy escapist entertainment and the standing ovation given by the opening night audience attests to both their appreciation of the work and their good time. For this show’s theatricality, artistry and even audacity, I invite you to enjoy a performance of ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS!