Hitchcock Spoof Steps Onto Theatre Memphis Stage

The 39 Steps, a parody of the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, will be opening at Theatre Memphis on the Lohrey Stage January 20, 2017, and running through February 5, 2017. Directed by Tony Isbell, this comedic melodrama takes the film's serious spy story and plays it mainly for laughs. Four actors play all the many characters as they have romantic entanglements and lightning-fast quick changes as villains, heroes, men, women and the occasional inanimate object.

Kinon Kiplinger stars as the subject of an outrageous manhunt for a murderer while Lena Wallace Black portrays a bevy of characters that come in contact with him. Chase Ring and Gabe Buetel-Gunn round out the cast acting as multiple characters, objects and comedic diversions.

Isbell says that it is the simplicity and flexibility of the subject that has made so many versions of the The 39 Steps so popular. "The original novel was first published in 1915 and it has been adapted for radio, television and at least four film productions-most famously by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935-and finally for the stage. He continues, "The stage version takes the Hitchcock film as its basis, but puts a slight twist on it. Almost everything that happens in the film also happens on stage, but as a fun-loving spoof. How do you re-create an airplane chase on stage? Or hanging perilously from a bridge above a raging river? Or an exciting police chase along the top of train cars? I promise you will laugh as these four actors-along with help from their trusty Dressers-reproduce almost every moment from the film. All you need to bring to the theatre is your sense of humor!"

Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch believes The 39 Steps can be as entertaining as a double feature while still being a double edged sword. "The real twist here is that while many may know the story as a serious film thriller and expect to see that; we are producing the stage equivalent that is a comedy to our audience." She continues, "Whatever version patrons may know, I gotta tell you this one is so funny that it's scary."

For more information, visit: www.theatrememphis.org

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