Tennesee Rep Presents Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS 3/19-4/2

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its production of the hilarious farce Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. The 39 Steps runs March 19 - April 2 at TPAC's Johnson Theater.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!

In The 39 Steps, Richard Hannay-a man with a boring life-finds himself on an extraordinary and entertaining adventure when a quickly acquainted spy is killed by assassins with a butter knife. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A fast-paced, riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of riotous pleasure!
"Ever since seeing a scene from The 39 Steps on the Tony Awards, the staff has been begging almost daily to take a crack at this one," says Tennessee Rep Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland. "It is a fast-paced, brilliantly constructed farce with 150 roles helmed by a cast of four. It's sort of the fun of Noises Off combined with an homage to the film noir that Alfred Hitchcock made famous. The challenge of all the roles, all the locations, and the necessity of the precise comic timing that farces require intrigue and excite me artistically."

The production stars the incredibly versatile Peter Vann in an arsenal of roles. Vann has been featured recently in Tennessee Rep's Big River (2009-2010 season) and in Moonlight and Magnolias (2008-2009 season).

Vann says, "I am so excited about The 39 Steps that I cannot comfortably sit down. René is so good at directing comedy, and this script is one that is begging for her fingerprints and those of her extraordinary creative team. What I am most looking forward to is working on such a complex script with such a tight group of truly great actors. The water cooler chat has already been really positive and exciting. Plus there's the whole challenge of playing fifty some-odd characters, so the audience will get to see more on stage of what is usually reserved for backstage antics. It's 150 characters played by four actors: you have to see it to believe it!"

In addition to Vann, the cast features Nate Eppler in his Tennessee Rep stage debut as well as Nashville favorites Patrick Waller and Martha Wilkinson.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.