BWW Reviews: THE 39 STEPS - A Comic Take on Hitchcock Comes to Olney Theatre

A mysterious accented woman, some kooky innkeepers and an innocent man on the run are just three of the multitude of characters performed in Olney Theatre's The 39 Steps. Based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The 39 Steps highlights a theme that was common in many Hitchcock films – an average man who suddenly finds himself mixed up in murder and intrigue.

However, this stage version of the film is no typical whodunit. Instead, Patrick Barlow's adaptation is more comedy than mystery. Mr. Barlow has turned the suspenseful spy story into a farce that garners laughs from beginning to end.

The 39 Steps finds the dashing Richard Hannay wiling away the hours in his London flat, finding that he is bored and all of his friends have moved on with their lives. He decides to go to the theater to relieve his boredom and he ends up crossing paths with an intriguing woman. She winds up dead in his flat and he is accused of murder. From there, the story goes through twists and turns as Hannay tries to clear his name.

Olney Theatre does an excellent job with this piece. Staging it in the smaller Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab was the right move for the comedy. The intimate space works well for the show, which might have otherwise been overwhelmed by one of their bigger theaters.

Director, Clay Hopper has presented a piece that uses that space to its advantage while mostly keeping up with the rapid pace of the play. Cristina Todesco's set is bare bones but it works amazingly well and Pei Lee's costumes are extraordinary. Both the sets and the costumes communicate the mood and time period of the show with the addition of a few humorous touches.

The play has numerous characters and they are deftly played by a cast of four. Jeffries Thaiss plays Richard Hannay and he is the only actor in the cast who performs one role. Mr. Thaiss is delightful as the dashing Englishman. His performance conjures up images of old movie actors such as David Niven or even Carey Grant. But he is not just dapper; he is funny too – as are the rest of the cast.

DC theater vet, Susan Lynskey tackles all of the female roles and she does so brilliantly. She moves from persona to persona with ease. Whether she is a seductive spy or an innocent farmer's wife, she is consistent in quality of her portrayals.

The rest of the cast is made up of Evan Casey and Jason Lott. Amazing is not a strong enough word to describe these two actors. They take on the remainder of the roles and they do this extremely well. They slip from accent to accent just as easily as changing jackets and their portrayals are laugh out loud funny.

Quite simply, The 39 Steps is a lot of fun. It is simple, easy humor that can translate to a wide range of ages. If he was alive to see this play, perhaps even Hitchcock would crack a smile. You can catch The 39 Steps at Olney Theatre till May 20th.

Olney Theatre Center is located at 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832.

Theater and ticket information may be found at www.olneytheatre.org or by calling 301-924-4485

Photo Credit: Stan Barouh

 

 

 

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