Stage Review - The 39 Steps (As If Theatre)
Stage Review - The 39 Steps
Presented By: As If Theatre - Kenmore, WA
Show Run: October 17 - November 03, 2024
Date Reviewed: Thursday, October 17, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Parodies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. “Weird” Al Yankovic is the king of musical parodies, legends like Mel Brooks and Christoper Guest are known for their cinematic comedies that poke fun at more serious films, and the iconic troupe Monty Python has presented comical variations on films, musicals, and any number of aspects of our society. The one thing that all of these artists have in common is that in parodying something more serious, they all do, or did, it in a way that honors the source material. There’s an understanding that whatever they are poking fun at is important, and that any satirical version is done with the utmost respect to the originals’ author. The 39 Steps is a 1935 film written by Charles Bennett and Ian Hay, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and loosely based on the 1915 novel from author John Buchan. The cinematic spy thriller is also the subject of its own parody, a 1996 stage version that follows the plot of the film, pokes fun at it, its director, and the genre. It’s also the fall show on As If Theatre’s schedule, running on stage at the Kenmore Community Club through November 3.
The concept of this parody isn’t just to follow the plot of the Hitchcock film, but in addition, it’s meant to be told by a cast of only four. One person plays the show’s protagonist Richard Hannay, while another plays the three women that Hannay gets romantically involved with in the story, and two others handle all of the other characters, as clowns who are called upon to play too many other roles to count, sometimes up to two or three in a single scene. It’s sort of Monty Python meets Hitchcock, and is two hours of the silliest, most fun theatre you’ll see. The As If production, directed by Chris Shea, features Chris Clark as Richard Hannay, a Canadian residing in London who gets mixed up in a series of misadventures when he meets a woman at a music hall presentation from “Mr. Memory”, including being wanted for a murder he didn’t commit, Mary Guthrie as Annabella Schmidt, said woman from the theatre, Margaret, wife of a Scottish crofter, and Pamela, a traveler who Hannay meets on a train, and the two clowns, Cindy Giese French and Terry Boyd. The story takes Hannay on a journey from London to Scotland, and back again to London, all the time being chased by the police, a mysterious crime group, and in search of a way to exonerate himself from the false charges.
The 39 Steps is a hilarious and silly piece of theatre, simply designed and so well acted by this quartet that it’s sure to cause at least a few belly laughs and a whole lot of chuckles from anyone who sees it. And it does this while paying homage to the Hitchcock film. The play contains a ton of Hitchcock DNA, referencing a number of his other films, and exaggerating so many of his classic sciences from its namesake film and others. It never loses the feel and heart of a spy thriller, but it’s so funny, and that is in large part a result of how good this cast is.
Chris as the accused, the self-deprecating Canadian on the run, is extremely good. The role requires a lot of him, comedy in circumstance yes, but there’s a good deal of physicality to it, and that drives so much of the humor that Chris brings. Chris’ delivery is dry, the kind that is characteristic of English humor, and his timing is impeccable. He’s constantly moving on stage, and his ability to pause for just the right amount of time, or react in the best way to get a laugh is uncanny. Meanwhile, Mary Guthrie as the women in Hannay’s world is excellent. Her Annabella Schmidt is an exaggerated German stereotype, and her characterization is extremely funny. She’s flirty as Margaret, and repulsed by Richard as Pamela, whom she spends the most time as. I like the chemistry between Chris and Mary, especially when Pamela gets roped into some of the crazy circumstances that happen as a result of the pair’s meeting. They play off of each other so well, and are extremely funny in their own right, so it sounds strange when I call these two the straights in The 39 Steps. That’s because the real heart of the side splitting comedy in this play comes from Cindy and Terry, in the collection of diverse characters that they each play.
The pair play so many different characters, police officers, gangsters, a milk man, a husband and wife who run a place of lodging in Scotland, a newspaper boy, a train conductor, and an exceedingly great amount more. They’re at their funniest when they switch between characters within a scene, and the amount of accents and unique mannerisms, and wardrobe changes that they are required to perform is truly astonishing, and they never break character, even when the changes happen so rapidly. Molly Hall is credited as the dialect coach here, and full marks to her for preparing these two. I will say, though, while each member of this cast is so good in their roles, their acting talent on full display throughout, the most superb performance of the show is Cindy’s turn as Professor Jordan at the end of Act 1. Watching each of the roles Cindy plays here, her facial expressions, her posture, it’s like watching a master at work, but this piece as Professor Jordan, it’s just excellent. On the other side, Terry shows his comedic chops right from the beginning as “Mr. Memory”, and later as the Scottish crofter where Richard ends up on is journey for a night, before the police, again Terry, show up. There are so many wonderfully funny moments that these two drive, and as a pair their portrayals of the Act 2 political meeting chairman and speaker are phenomenal, another highlight in a play with so many.
From a design perspective, it’s said that there are 147 sound cues and 121 light cues in the show. That’s quite a lot, and between Gwyn Skone (lights) and William French (sound), there’s a lot to work in here. Chris Shea’s set is pretty basic in general, but there are a ton of props that this group uses and each part of the set is used quite extensively in the movement and the physical comedy, and Chandria Danelle’s work as stage manager is imperative to making sure it all runs smoothly, and boy, does it. Back to the light and sound, though. Even these pieces are roped into the comedy, whether it’s a spotlight that is mis-aimed, or a telephone that rings at the wrong time, the fact that the rest of these components work so well, makes it that much funnier when they don’t. And this is also true of the actors. There are some instances when things are run into, things fall, or costumes are put on backwards. In a show like this, every time something like that happens, whether purposeful or not, is just so downright funny. Rounding out the design team is costume designer Amy Hockman. Her work here is of Amy’s standard high quality, Richard’s suit is solid, the costumes that the women Mary Guthrie plays are well appointed and fitting of their unique personalities, and the sheer volume of costumes and pieces that Cindy and Terry don in their plethora or roles is just amazing, not to mention how well they work, and how nicely they are designed for their interchangeability.
The 39 Steps is the kind of comedy that is silly for silly’s sake, doesn’t have an underlying agenda, and is fun beyond words. It parodies one of the greatest in Alfred Hitchcock, but does so in a way that respects and honors its namesake 1930s spy thriller. The As If production is presented by a cast of four, under the direction of Chris Shea, who understands how to deliver comedy in every way, from the physical to the farcical, and together with the kind of timing and characterizations that will keep you laughing not just until the curtain drops, but well after. In this serious season where it’s getting darker earlier, and the news feels like it’s becoming more and more grim, come and see The 39 Steps and escape all of that, at least for a little while.
The As If Theatre production of The 39 Steps runs on stage at the Kenmore Community Club through November 3. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://asiftheatre.com/.
Photo credit: Christine Mitchell
