THE 39 STEPS Announces 'Hitchcock Meets Hilarious' Tuesday Talkback Guests For September

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS, Broadway's longest running comedy, is pleased to announce the guests for September's "Hitchcock Meets Hilarious" Talkback Tuesday series.

The "Hitchcock Meets Hilarious" Talkbacks are free to anyone attending Tuesday evening performances.

Line-up of guests for September include:

Tuesday, September 1

Joel Gunz (Alfred Hitchcock Geek and blogger)

Joel's interest in Alfred Hitchcock began in middle school. But it was upon seeing Kim Novak's haunting performance of ‘Madeleine'in Vertigo in high school that his interest metastasized into passion. From then on, he seized every opportunity to watch Hitchcock on the big screen, even taking notebooks into the theater to write down observations during the daylight scenes. And then he fell among film scholars. After that, it was a slippery slope.

In 2004, Joel launched the blog, www.alfredhitchcockgeek.com, which has now attracted an international following of several thousand monthly visitors and subscribers. Joel lives in Portland, OR, and is currently seeking a publisher for a book about Hitchcock's innovative and artistic use of special effects.

Tuesday, September 8

Esther Ku (Comedian, actor, musician)

Esther Ku is a comedian, actor, and musician. In 2008, Ku was selected as the only female comedian from New York City to advance to the Las Vegas Semi-Finals in NBC's Last Comic Standing. In Vegas, she advanced to the house portion of the reality show to become a Last Comic Standing Season 6 Finalist.

Six months later, she was selected by Howard Stern as a finalist in the Hottest Funniest Chick Contest on Sirius Satellite Radio. She has been a featured regular in the Boston International Comedy Festival and the New York Underground Comedy Festival. She has performed in the hit comedy Shear Madness, the longest-running non-musical play in American theatre history. www.funnyku.com.

Tuesday, September 15

Second Annual Hitchcock Look-Alike Contest!

Three finalists will be selected and the audience will vote for the winner live on-stage after the evening performance of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps on Broadway.

Tuesday, September 22

Sid Gottlieb (Alfred Hitchcock scholar)

Sid is a Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, CT. He regularly teaches courses focusing on Hitchcock, both at Sacred Heart and also recently at NYU. He has published many articles and reviews on Hitchcock.

The Hitchcock books and publications he has edited include: Hitchcock on Hitchcock: Selected Writings and Interviews (U of California Press, 1995); Alfred Hitchcock: Interviews (U of Mississippi Press, 203); Framing Hitchcock (with Chrisopher Brookhouse) (Wayne State UP, 2002); Selected Essays from the Hitchcock Annual, volumes 10-15 (with Richard Allen) (Wallflower Press, 2009).

He served as a consultant and on-camera interviewee for documentaries on Hitchcock (including "Alfred the Great," BBC [1999] and, most recently, "Hitchcock's Notorious" [2009]. He is co-editor of Hitchcock Annual (Wallflower Press) with Richard Allen.

Tuesday, September 29

Cory Kahaney (Comedian, actor)

Cory achieved a fan following on Season One of "Last Comic Standing". Since then, she has made 3 appearances on the "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson," 7 "Tough Crowd" appearances (Comedy Central), 4 "Politically Incorrect" appearances (ABC), and she's a regular on the "Big Idea with Donny Deutch" (MSNBC).

Currently Cory is a appearing on tour in off-Broadway's critically acclaimed The J.A.P Show. The J.A.P. Show is a multi-media homage to the brilliant Jewish comediennes who paved the way for all women in stand up, presented by the top Jewish comediennes of today. You can also see Cory in the independent feature film Making Trouble, produced by the Jewish Women's Archives. .

Cory conceived and developed The Radio Rita's, a nationally syndicated talk radio show for Greenstone Media; a company created by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda to provide radio programming for woman.

She was featured in the 2005, 2001 & the 1998 Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. Her one-person show Having it all and other Myths premiered at the 1999 US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and was later produced as a half hour special for HBO. This led to development deals with Warner Brothers and CBS.

Cory is the recipient of the ‘BACKSTAGE' Bistro Award for best Comedian in NYC and Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award for 'Outstanding Female Comedian'

Now in its second smash year, the Tony Award-winning quick change comedy version of Hitchcock's classic film thriller is playing at the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 West 44th Street). The production has now played over 600 performances on Broadway.

THE 39 STEPS is adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Maria Aitken. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

THE 39 STEPS features a cast of four actors who, against all odds, breathlessly and hilariously attempt to reenact all of the characters, locations and famous scenes in Hitchcock's 1935 film thriller with just a few props and a lot of theatrical ingenuity and split second quick changes.

The production currently stars Arnie Burton (Man #2), Jeffrey Kuhn (Man #1), Sean Mahon (Richard Hannay) and Jill Paice (Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret). The company also includes Rob Breckenridge, Cameron Folmar and Nisi Sturgis.

THE 39 STEPS opened to deliriously ecstatic reviews. Ben Brantley, New York Times, called the production, "Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock's film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands. The actors themselves seem to be having a helluva good time. As does the audience." Clive Barnes, New York Post, pronounced THE 39 STEPS "Inventively astonishing, riotous & marvelous." Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News, exclaimed, "Hitchcock probably never imagined his thriller had the makings of a hilarious comedy, but this show is a dizzy delight and an ingenious spoof, inventively directed by Maria Aitken. A fast-paced fun ride!"

Tickets are available from TeleCharge at 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com and at the Helen Hayes Theatre box office. Performances are Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM.

Beginning the week of September 7, performances will be Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 PM.

For more information, visit www.39StepsOnBroadway.com.