BWW Reviews: Freeport Players Romp Through THE 39 STEPS

On Sunday, August 4, 2013, in Freeport, Maine, the Freeport Players delivered a lively, riotously funny and highly inventive performance of the suspense comedy, The 39 Steps, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the John Buchan novel and Alfred Hitchcock film. Using four actors in multiple roles, a minimalist set, and a vintage radio era sound design, the production directed by Portland Stage's dramaturg, Daniel Burson, romped through the script with delightful insouciance.

Burson's fast paced staging has the indefatigable actors racing through the aisles and across the stage in Keystone Cop fashion. Action sequences such as Hannay's escape from a moving train are cleverly suggested by the acrobatics of actors dangling from ladders, and changes in locale are evoked with moving portals and rolling props. The cast is well coached in a variety of dialects, and Burson uses a deft touch with the gags, both verbal and visual. This is a spirited and remarkably resourceful approach not only to the piece itself, but also to the company's demands of low budget staging.

The production design by Artistic Director, Elizabeth Guffey, is an ingenious blueprint for any company with modest financial means, but that said, it never contrives to look "cheap" as the economies are parlayed into comic purpose. With two rolling doorways, a few large steamer trunks, an armchair on wheels, a small curio cabinet, and a trio of ladders, Guffey manages to evoke Hannay's race through London and Scotland. The actors move the scenery with cleverly choreographed ease, creating madcap moments as doorways spin and props mysteriously fly out from the wings. While the look of Guffey's costumes is serviceable, the amazing aspect of their overall design is how rapidly and with only a few changes, the actors move seamlessly from role to role. But Guffey's best contribution to the production is her sound design which combines period music and radio era sound effects that wittily parody the mystery suspense thrillers of the early twentieth century. Sound effects are sometimes used as running jokes, and she displays a keen wit in moments like Hannay's impromptu speech to a political rally where he orates nonsense over the swelling strains of the British hymn, Jerusalem.

Donald Smith's lighting design makes the most of the somewhat limited resources of the Freeport Performing Arts Center, and it, too, is sharp and fast paced, though a few cross-fades were rocky.

Barlow's script is anchored by the sleuth Richard Hannay and then uses three other actors to portray the diverse characters he meets in his search for clues. Christopher Holt, a Portland-based actor trained at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, gives a satisfying account of the Robert Donat role - a quintessential British gentleman who involuntarily becomes involved in an effort to stop a ring of spies from stealing top secret information, finds himself accused of murder, and is forced to flee to Scotland. Holt has a convincingly upper-class accent and the physical and vocal stamina for the part. He is amusingly athletic in his flight scenes and displays excellent, deadpan comic timing throughout.

Chelsea Cook, who plays Hannay's three ladies is tasked with creating contrasting portraits. This she manages in stage presence, but less effectively in dialect mastery. Her Middle European femme fatale spy, Annabelle Schmidt is too campy a caricature, and her prim Pamela is vocally grating, though her mousy Scots innkeeper's wife, Margaret, is played with more subtlety, and is consequently more convincing.

Nonetheless, the foursome gives a joyous and commanding ensemble performance - one which has the audience giggling appreciatively from start to finish.

The Freeport Players, a not-for-profit community theatre, 53 Depot Square, Freeport, ME, Elizabeth Guffey, Artistic & Managing Director

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