THE 39 STEPS Plays Norris Center for the Performing Arts, Now thru 2/9

The Tony award-winning Broadway stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's famous film, "The 39 Steps," comes to the Norris Center for the Performing Arts for nine performances, today, January 24 - February 9. Combining a suspenseful spy thriller with uproarious comedy, the fast-paced whodunit is filled with action, romance and inventive staging.

"The 39 Steps" features a cast of four actors who breathlessly and hilariously portray more than 120 colorful characters inhabiting the action-packed world of Hitchcock's 1935 film thriller. Every famous scene (including each train chase and plane crash) is reenacted with unsurpassed theatrical ingenuity and split second quick changes.

The Norris Center production is directed by Ken Parks and stars Jeffrey Cannata (Richard Hannay), Karen Jean Olds (Annabella/Pamela/Margaret), Louis Lotorto and Kenny Landmon. It is produced by James W. Gruessing.

A wildly entertaining experience, the comedic caper follows the incredible adventures of the handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with British stiff-upper-lip and pencil moustache, as he encounters murderers, double-crossing secret agents, and of course, devastatingly beautiful women. When Hannay is accused of a murder he didn't commit, he flees from the authorities and encounters a string of hair-raising situations and an unlikely love connection. The play is full of allusions to other Hitchcock films, including "Rear Window," "Strangers on a Train" and North by Northwest" among others.

"The 39 Steps" is Broadway's longest running comedy-thriller, playing for 771 performances. The play was an instant smash hit, garnering critical acclaim when it opened in 2007, with the New York Post calling it "The most entertaining show on Broadway." "The 39 Steps," which was adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow, based on the book by John Buchan, as well as Hitchcock's movie, won two Tony and Drama Desk awards.

Performances of "Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps" are January 24 - February 9, with 8 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $40, and and discounted group sales tickets are available. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.norriscenter.com or call (310) 544-0403. The Norris Theatre is located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles at 27570 Norris Center Drive in Rolling Hills Estates, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

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