BWW Reviews: THE 39 STEPS Climbs Some Heights at York Little Theatre

Suspense writer John Buchan created a novel, "The 39 Steps," in 1915, not imagining what would happen to it later. He fashioned a hero, Richard Hannay, whose upper lip was stiffer than James Bond's martinis, and who could walk into the stickiest of situations and come out amazingly unscathed - in short, Hannay really was the original 007, though without spy credentials. Hannay made it through four other novels as well, but the original was a World War I tale of a German spy ring. In 1935 Alfred Hitchcock updated it into the story we know and love, one that doesn't especially resemble the original tale but, like most Hitchcock works, stands on its own as a ripping yarn.

In 2005, Patrick Barlow unleashed a new stage version of THE 39 STEPS for the stage. Unlike the movie, however, he condensed the play into only four characters - Hannay, the female (who plays the spy and the later love interest), and two "clowns" who play every other part, from Mr. Memory to train conductors, innkeepers, farmers' wives, and German spies. The plot is virtually identical to the Hitchcock film, but with quick-change scenes, drag roles played by the male clowns, puns on the titles or contents of other Hitchcock films, and an uncountable number of sight gags, the dramatic content becomes, quite possibly, the funniest play ever written that's not precisely a farce. The Olivier Award winner and multiple Tony nominee is one long, ridiculously funny visual comedy under a layer of suspenseful melodrama.

It's currently on stage at York Little Theatre, directed by Aaron Dalton, who also directed YLT's extremely popular production of CABARET. Dalton gets that the play is one long visual joke, and retains the original ones while adding a few of his own and borrowing from Hedgerow Theatre's production. In his hands, the Scottish portion of the story even adds sight gags from Harry Potter and from Buchan's spiritual heir, Ian Fleming (watch out for Blofeld's - sorry, the Professor's - white cat).

Aside from his delightfully warped humor, Dalton brings a first-rate cast. Hannay's character, who's on stage for the entire physical marathon of a show, is played by Ryan Szwaja. Szwaja made a mark as Captain Lombard in YLT's production of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, and he's certainly the type for an English mystery hero. One might think him a bit young for Hannay, a character of experience and the school of hard knocks as well as of an engineering education, who's been through South Africa and Canada, but Szwaja pulls that off as well as pulling off the accent and the physical comedy. He's been a delight on the YLT stage since arriving there, and can only continue to grow as a performer.

Marisa Hoover, a veteran of YLT's plays as well as of its musicals - she was Tessie Tura in its recent successful GYPSY - brings a little of her Myra from DEATHTRAP and a lot of her physical comedy from THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL to Annabella Smith and her succeeding characters in the show. Annabella's death is funnier than Myra's, but she's no less apt at it (when Garrick said "dying is easy, it's comedy that's hard," he wasn't contemplating the comic death scene in a play like this one). Andrew Matseur and Jeremy Slagle play the clowns, who take all the other parts in the show, and who clearly took their energy pills before going onstage. As the Professor, his wife, Mr. Memory, the sheep herder, the farmer's wife, and everyone else in the show, they burn up calories as well as the stage, and they're the sources of most of the hilarity in the show. That they're still standing at the end of the show is no small accomplishment.

The show is almost setless, as always - there's no time for set changes in a show this rapidly paced, so chairs, a lamp, and some ladders, with a few other props, are transformed into most of the scenery in the entire production. Watch out for the guns, handcuffs, and herrings, however, and you'll be well set to enjoy the effects.

At York Little Theatre through January 25, and a guaranteed bringer of belly laughs. It's a show that's virtually impossible to dislike, whether you're a comedy lover or a Hitchcock fan (and all Hitchcock fans have a soft spot for some quirky humor). The Hitch fans, especially, should keep their ears open for the show announcements and intermission voiceovers, some by the man himself, lifted from his television shows and other sources, and some by a very fine impersonator. Tickets and information are available from www.ylt.org.

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