Rubicon Theatre Company Reveals Cast For THE 39 STEPS

Rubicon Theatre Company will continue its 2025/26 season, "CROSSROADS: Moments That Could Change Everything", with the exhilarating, Tony Award-winning comedy thriller THE 39 STEPS. Adapted by Patrick Barlow from John Buchan's iconic spy novel and Alfred Hitchcock's legendary 1935 film, this wildly inventive stage adaptation transforms a classic suspense story into a breathtaking feat of theatrical storytelling. Directed by Rubicon Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan and starring longtime company member Joseph Fuqua, THE 39 STEPS launches audiences headlong into a world of intrigue, romance, danger, and delirious comedy.

The production begins previews on Wednesday, February 11 and will have its Gala Opening on Saturday, February 14 at 7:00pm (press opening) and continue through Sunday, March 1, 2026.

With more than 150 characters portrayed by just four fearless actors, the play unfolds as a high-speed theatrical roller coaster, fueled by lightning-fast costume changes, bold physical comedy, ingenious staging, and razor-sharp wit. Equal parts Hitchcock homage and theatrical tour de force, THE 39 STEPS is a masterclass in imagination, precision, and play. Producing Artistic Director J. Scott Lapp say's, "In a season themed around Crossroads, The 39 Steps celebrates transformation, adaptability, and the thrill of embracing the unknown. It reminds us that crossroads can be frightening, exhilarating, and hilarious - and that sometimes the most meaningful journeys begin when we are pushed off the path we thought we were on."

All performances are held at Rubicon's home, The Karyn Jackson Theatre, located at 1006. E. Main Street, Ventura, CA. 93001 (the corner of Main and Laurel). Ticket prices range from $30 to $79.50 (website says $30-79.50, please confirm) (including a $5 processing fee), with discounted tickets available for students, seniors, military, and members of Actors Equity Association. Opening night tickets are $155 and include a preshow reception, after party and a tax-deductible donation. 

A missing spy. A mysterious woman. A man on the run. When Richard Hannay, a seemingly ordinary man, makes the split-second decision to stop and help a stranger, he is catapulted into a high-speed chase across the Scottish countryside - with only his wits (and a trench coat) to survive. This fast-paced farce features over 150 characters played by just four actors in a whirlwind of costume changes, clever staging, and nonstop laughs. As conceived by Director Jenny Sullivan, this wildly inventive production is a comic thriller with Brechtian undertones, with a reconfigured set where the audience is part of the action.

Says Sullivan, "When Karyl Lynn asked if I would direct the play, I felt I wanted to find what I could bring to it that I haven't seen yet. The image of a circus came to mind very strongly and since I feel we're living in a modern-day circus, why not explore this idea. When I say 'circus' I'm not talking Barnum and Bailey but more Brecht." This production of THE 39 STEPS is staged as a theatre-in-the-round experience, with the performance space completely reimagined. The stage has been shifted to the center of the theatre, allowing audience members to surround the action and view the story from every angle. This staging allows actors to interact directly with audience members, placing viewers inside the story and amplifying the show's fast-paced theatricality. "This is immersive theatre at its most exhilarating," adds Sullivan. "Staged in the round, the action surrounds the audience and never lets up. Fasten your seatbelts."

The 39 Steps began as a 1915 spy novel by John Buchan, written during World War I and featuring the character Richard Hannay. The story became famous beyond the book through Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film adaptation, which helped define the modern thriller and fixed the plot in popular culture. The stage play version was created much later. In 2005, British writer and comedian Patrick Barlow adapted the story for the stage, premiering it at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. His version transformed the thriller into a fast-paced comic farce, famously performed by just four actors who play dozens of characters. The play was a major success, transferring to London's Tricycle Theatre, then the West End, and later to Broadway in 2008, where it won Tony and Drama Desk Awards.

Lapp adds, "Rubicon Theatre Company's production of The 39 Steps turns this wildly inventive Hitchcock-inspired comic thriller into an up-close, immersive experience, with the action unfolding all around and among the audience, bringing the madcap espionage, rapid character changes, and nonstop laughs right into your space. It's a high-energy, clever staging of mistaken identity and spy-capades that makes every moment feel immediate and engaging."

Says Sullivan, "The key to our stage play is the small cast (which is always more desirable for theatres) and the fact that it embraces a madcap sense of humor. The underlying danger of this spy thriller and the ultimate message of kindness also resonates."

Other members of the Creative & Design Team include: Matthew Herman, Scenic Designer; Mike Billings, Lighting Designer; Randall Tico, Sound Designer; Dianne Graebner, Costume Designer; Danielle White, Hair & Makeup Designer; Alex Johnston, Props/Furniture Designer; Matthew Floyd Miller, Dialect Coach; Patrick Vest, Fight Choreographer; Hannah Raymond, Production Stage Manager; Christopher Beyries, Production Manager; and Stephanie Coltrin, Producer/Casting Director.

ABOUT THE CAST

* All appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S..

LARRY CEDAR* (Clown #1) is thrilled to return to The Rubicon after last playing Duke in their sensational production of Big River. Larry's hundreds of television/film credits include HBO's "Deadwood" (as opium addict Leon Stalsworth), Reba McEntire's "Happy's Place", and the just released feature film, "This Bloody Country". On stage he most recently portrayed Senator Mitch McConnell in the sold-out Off-Broadway comedy, 44: The Musical (44theobamamusical.com), and has adapted and performed several of his own one-man plays based on the writings of George Orwell (1984), Fyodor Dostoevsky (Notes From the Underground), and Franz Kafka (The Trial, The Hunger Artist, and The Burrow). Visit Larry on IMDB, Facebook (@larrycedaractor), Instagram (@larrycedaractor), Twitter (@larrycedar), and www.larrycedar.com

CHRISTIE CORAN* (Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret) is excited to make her Rubicon debut with The 39 Steps. Most recently, she played the role of Rachel in One Man, Two Guvnors at A Noise Within. Other regional theatre credits include Baskerville, A Murder is Announced, Ghost at Peninsula Players; A Christmas Carol, Man of La Mancha at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; We Are Proud to Present... u/s for Steppenwolf TYA; The Divine Comedy at Athenaeum Theatre; God of Carnage at Dunes Summer Theatre; Tartuffe, Macbeth at Accidental Shakespeare Company; Taming of the Shrew at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey NSE; Ghost, The 39 Steps (u/s) at Theatre at the Center; Constellations at Heart of Heart Theatre; The Time Machine at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Internationally, Christie appeared in Marat/Sade at the Sabancı Theatre Festival in Adana, Turkey. She is also an improviser and has trained and performed improv at UCB and iO Chicago. Christie holds an MFA in Classical Acting from the Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy and a BFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University.

JOSEPH FUQUA* (Richard Hannay) most recently appeared with Rubicon as Sheriff/Charle/Joe in Bonnie & Clyde, Thomas Allen in Dark of the Moon and Jimmy in Almost Maine directed by RTC Associate Artistic Director Stephanie Coltrin. Last spring, Joseph appeared with the Pinehurst Players, NC as Polonius in Hamlet. An MFA graduate of the Yale School of Drama, his Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Brighton Beach Memoirs, 110 in the Shade at Lincoln Center, and Raft of the Medusa. Regionally, Joseph has appeared as Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra at Actors Theatre of Louisville; Alexei in A Month in the Country at Arena Stage; Iago in Othello for Shakespeare Festival of Dallas; Louis in Angels in America at Dallas Theatre Center; and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, Macbeth and Fallen Angels at Ensemble Theatre, Santa Barbara. On television, Joseph guest starred in "The X-Files," "The Profiler," "Brooklyn South," "The Pretender," "Chicago Hope," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "Becker," and the pilot "Second Nature." Film credits include "Ed's Next Move," "David Searching," "Heyday," and as J.E.B. Stuart in "Gettysburg" opposite Martin Sheen, a role he reprised in the film "Gods and Generals." In 2000, Joseph joined Rubicon Theatre as the first company member (this year marks his 25th season!). His 35 roles with the company include the title role in Hamlet (Indy Award), The Boys Next Door (Indy Award), The Little Foxes, The Rainmaker (Robby Award and Rep Award), Murder in the First, The Glass Menagerie, All My Sons (Ovation Award), Man of La Mancha, Conviction, Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, The Importance of Being Earnest, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fuddy Mears, King Lear, Incognito, South Pacific, and, just prior to the pandemic, Pap in Big River. In July, Joseph directed his sixteenth Shakespeare production with Rubicon's Fearless Shakespeare Intensive which he co-founded. He currently serves as the director of Rubicon's Summer Youth Program. Joseph is eternally grateful to Jim O'Neil and Karyl Lynn Burns and Artistic Associate Jenny Sullivan for their trust and support over the years. Viva la Rubicon!