BWW Reviews: A.D. Players Presents THE 39 STEPS - It's a Tippi Good Time

Patrick Barlow's THE 39 STEPS is modeled after Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, which is modeled after John Buchan's "The 39 Steps." Alfred Hitchcock chose to adapt " The 39 Steps" because of his strong admiration for John Buchan and his ability to understate "highly dramatic ideas." Unlike Hitchcock, Barlow's THE 39 STEPS is a Mel Brooksian send-up of both of its predecessors. It brings out the inherent silliness in the old school thriller and is in no way concerned with understatement. For the better. Despite the genre and those like it being among my favorites, it's hard to take the outrageous stylization seriously now. How clever of Barlow to exploit that to give us this fantastic, farcical play.

Like all dashing, debonair, and mustachioed bachelors, Richard Hannay has nothing to do. Listless, he decides to go to the theatre and, finally, the promise that every theatre teacher you ever had made comes true - it transforms his life. At the theatre, he meets a beautiful woman who accompanies him back to his apartment, saunters into his bedroom, then is promptly murdered in the night while he sleeps alone on his ottoman. Before the mysterious beauty dies, she fills his head with conspiracy theories that send Hannay on a wild-goose chase. He must answer the question: What (or who) is (or are) the 39 steps?

The A.D. Player's production of THE 39 STEPS is entertaining and fun. Even when it's acting out old, worn out jokes, I can't help but crack a smile because it doesn't take itself too seriously. The film projections aren't of the art student variety. In fact, they're used for the old hand-cuff bit.* And oh, do I enjoy all the Hitchcock references - those beautiful faux two percenters. I feel so clever recognizing a Vertigo reference. Above all, despite the complexity and craftsmanship required to produce the play, the production is incredibly light and easy going. No one breaks a sweat.

Hitchcock says of his 1935 thriller, "You use one idea after another and eliminate anything that interferes with the swift pace." Director Ken Bailey has some trouble with this in the first act. The pacing is very slow. We linger over jokes a bit too long, which gives me (and other vocal audience members) just enough time to wonder where the plot is going. Hitchcock wasn't interested in a strong plot, and when the production slows down, it shows. However, like Goldilocks' porridge, the second act is just right.

Costume Designer Patty Tuel's wardrobe choices only heighten the comedy. You may find yourself asking, is Richard Hannay wearing a rope around his sickeningly garish, woman-repelling smoking jacket/dressing gown? The answer is yes. How delightful.

Scenic Designer Mark Lewis and Props Designer Trisha Wise do a lot with a little. One chest is a bed, a car and, of course, a chest.

So, we're at the end my friends. And I'm sure you have a burning question - what are the 39 steps? You'll have to see the play. Or see the film. You could also try reading the book. I, forgive me Hitchcock purists, put my money on the play. But what do I know?**

* Pick your old school romantic comedy. Inevitably, the two vinegar and oil but clearly meant to spend their lives together love interests find themselves handcuffed together.

**Hitchcock said, "Some magazines deliberately select critics who don't care about films but are able to write about them in a condescending way that will amuse the readers." He goes on to mock critics for centering their reviews around easy puns. I guess you could say that Hitchcock would think my opinions are for the birds. For the birds.

Quotes from Hitchcock: The Revised Edition by Francois Truffaut (with the collaboration of Helen G. Scott), 1983.

Photo: Bara Photography