Showbuzzness: Steppin’ Out

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s kind of becoming a big trend to make popular movies into Broadway shows. Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Cry-Baby, Xanadu, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot to name a few… not to mention the Disney trifecta (Lion King, Little Mermaid, and Mary Poppins) and the upcoming Billy Elliot, Saved, and Shrek. Some are successful, some are not. Some truly surpass their original source material in terms of bang-for-buck entertainment, while others really should never have been made in the first place (I’m looking at you, Wedding Singer and High Fidelity.)

Either way, it’s hard to ignore this movement that has clearly taken Broadway by storm and shows no signs of slowing down. Seems like pretty much ANY movie now is fair game for being turned into a spectacle for the stage. Which is why it’s extra-interesting that Alfred Hitchcock’s “unstageable” 1935 thriller The 39 Steps has been turned not only into a successful and highly entertaining play, but one that truly uses the stage to its advantage. It deliberately utilizes the limits of the medium as its comedic backbone, all the while lovingly poking fun at Hitchcock’s legacy.

I saw The 39 Steps last weekend. Which is a BIG step for me, as I don’t usually see plays… but who am I to turn down a free ticket to anything? And I am so happy I went! The show was marvelous. The unique thing about the production is that while the original film featured a large cast of characters and an overwhelming variety of different locations (a moving train! Loch Ness! The London Palladium!), the play cleverly substitutes innovative staging, casting, and lighting/set design to recreate that grand Hitchcock scale.

Rather than hire a cast of 30 and an overachieving set designer, the creators smartly decided to stick with an ultra-talented cast of four, each of whom plays several characters (with the exception of the dashing protagonist, naturally.) In one scene, a conversation between six characters is performed by two men, each holding three hats and affecting different accents. Brilliant. A “chase” scene on top of a moving train is created by the actors manually flapping their coats behind them and jumping on a series of boxes. It’s moments like that that make The 39 Steps so darn entertaining - they revel in the ‘limitations’ of the stage rather than wallow in them.

Photo by Alastair Muir.

I won’t give away any of the plot, though it’s really secondary to the strength of the actors and the direction. You’ll find yourself smiling at the creativity of the staging more than the whodunit anyway - and there are a handful of clever nods to the great Hitchcock that will keep any fan happy.

He: Climb up the ladder! Now!
She: I can’t - I have…vertigo.

All in all a highly entertaining evening at the theatre. You’d be, well, psycho to miss it!
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street
Tuesday @7pm
Wednesday - Saturday @8pm
Wednesday and Saturday @2pm
Sunday @3pm

**Don’t forget to watch the Tony Awards this Sunday night at 8:00 on CBS! There will be performances from all of the nominated musicals, plus a special performance from the cast of The Lion King and the original and current casts of Rent. Should be a great show!

The 39 Steps is nominated for six awards, including Best Play.

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